Welcome to my "Plaza de Espaņa" description page, for photos & videos of this site click --> HERE.
One of the largest
open squares in Madrid, the Plaza
de Espaņa (Plaza of Spain) sports what used to be the tallest building in
the city, the "Torre de Madrid"as well as the "Edificio de
Espaņa" (currently houses many businesses as well as a huge hotel). Both
of these buildings were designed by the designed by the Otamendi
brothers and were finished in the early 1950s which was when the plaza became a
popular city sight.
The attractivenes of it's
centerpiece, a huge monument dedicated to Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes and
his most (in)famouse fictional characters Don Quijote and Sancho Panza,
keeps visitors flocking to it. The photo at left is of the monument's front,
click HERE
for loads of photos and videos of the Plaza and monument. The monument tells the
tale of Don Alonso Quijano's (Don Quijote) journeys around Castilla La Mancha
from the novel by Cervantes and the 4 faces of the monument are replete with
characters and scenes form the novel, including of course his beloved
"Dulcinea de El Toboso" who, in his fantasy world, was a beautiful
maiden but in reality (as in the statue) is depicted as the serving wench doing
the wash. The meaning of the statue's faces will escape the average visitor who
has not read, perused or even heard of the world famous Novel by Cervantes (translated
into most world languages by the way) but nonetheless, the plaza has become
an obligatory visit for anyone coming to Madrid.
On any given fair weather day one can find the Plaza filled to the brim with sunbathers, vendors and locals and tourists alike.
Metro
stop: Plaza de Espaņa - line ){kind=small}
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