Essential History | The top sights in London, Madrid and beyond
The best cultural and historical sights in London, Madrid and beyond.
The area of Embajadores is a barrios in transition. Down-at-heel at the bottom of Calle de Embajadores, gentrifying as you rise up to Plaza de Cascorro - graffiti giving way to street art, hipster barber shops and artisanal bakeries. The Fabrica De Tabacos closed in 2000, after more than two hundred years as Madrid’s main [...]
By 1930, failure of the Spanish economy, governmental corruption and a military coup favouring a republic, led to the resignation of the ‘mild dictator’; Miguel Primo de Rivera, who died shortly after in exile. The subsequent 1931 general election returned a left-wing republican government and Spain experienced an all-too-brief period of democracy. Strident in its [...]
Located near Plaza de Colon, the Jardines del Descubrimiento recall the discovery of America by the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus on 12 October 1492, landing at El Salvador in the Bahamas. Voyages of other Spanish-funded ventures during the ‘Siglo de Oro’ are commemorated on the brutalist plinths by architect, Joaquin Vaquero Turcois. Opened in 1970 [...]
Plaza del Rey is home to the curiously named Casa de Las Siete Chimeneas (House of the Seven Chimneys) - apparently each representing one of the seven deadly sins. Completed in 1577, it’s one Madrid’s oldest buildings, and is now home to the Ministry of Education and Culture. Plenty of lore is associated with the [...]