Travesía de Bringas

Travesía de Bringas was born of a merchant with a reputation for high prices, but it was once something else. In Texeira’s 1656 map it appears as Cobertizo de San Miguel, after the covered passage beside the church of San Miguel, now gone. The alley links Plaza de San Miguel with calle Mayor. The change of name came from a shop. Francisco Antonio de Bringas traded in the Portal de Paños of the Plaza Mayor. When the fire of 1790 devastated the whole western side of the square, Bringas paid out of his own pocket to rebuild his premises following Juan de Villanueva’s plan. His reputation for steep prices stuck to the street. Madrilenians are said to have quipped: “buy at Casa Bringas and you either haggle or get fleeced”. The surname clung so tightly to the place that in 1835 the register made it official.