Barrio de Las Letras, Madrid (show location) Share

Barrio de Las Letras
The Barrio de Las Letras is the moniker given to the neighbourhood which was home to some of the greatest writers in the history of Spain. Lope de Vega, Quevedo and Gongora to name just a few. This literary neighbourhood was in its heyday from the XVI to the XVII centuries during the Siglo de Oro, or Golden Century of Spanish literature.
The Barrio de Las Letras is home to the classical la Cruz and Principe (now the Español) Theatres, which were the most important during the Siglo de Oro. Although Cervantes was not a denizen of this area, his most famous work, Don Quijote de La Mancha was printed in this neighbourhood, and there is a beautiful relief plaque marking the site where it was printed. This area was mainly built in the XIX and XX centuries and very little remains of what it might have looked like during the time of these great authors. You can still visit the Lope de Vega house museum which is where he lived for about 25 years.