Plaza Gabriel Miró

Before any Gabriel Miró set foot on this hill, 17th-century maps already named it Vistillas de San Francisco, for what could be seen from above: the river below and the Casa de Campo opening to the horizon. The site’s origins are Franciscan, tied to the foundation that gave rise to the Royal Basilica of San Francisco el Grande. The field to the north served for centuries as a popular stage, with a food market famous for its melons. Pedro de Répide, who signed his chronicles as El Ciego de las Vistillas (the Blind Man of Las Vistillas), described it as “a magnificent setting, commanding the Manzanares, and a splendid lookout.” The present name arrived in 1930, weeks after the death in Madrid of the Alicante writer Gabriel Miró, author of The Leprous Bishop and an official of the Ministry of Public Instruction during his last ten years. The gardens were designed in 1932 and rebuilt in 1945 over stepped terraces. Even so, in Madrid’s speech the square keeps its old nickname: Las Vistillas.