Convento del Carmen Calzado, Plano de Madrid de Texeira partearriba003 (cropped)

The Convento del Carmen Calzado (English for ''Convent of the Calced Carmel'') was a convent in the Order of Mount Carmel. It was located in the area currently occupied by the Plaza del Carmen in Madrid. Virginia Tovar Martin (2000), ''Brief History of the Baroque architecture of the Community of Madrid'', General Directorate of the Historical and Artistic Heritage, , p. 79-81 This convent was founded in 1573. The Spanish confiscation during the late 19th century left only the Parish church del Carmen and the ensanche (widening) of the area of Plaza del Carmen (which takes its name from this convent). One of the ten streets leading to the Puerta del Sol, and passing next to the facade of the parish church, is called Calle del Carmen. The site of the convent was dedicated to the Frontón Central, which would become the Cine Madrid.

History

In 1541, a Madrilenian

brothel A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub par ...

owned by María de Peralta and Francisco Jiménez was evicted and demolished by King Philip II. On the site rose the Convento del Carmen Calzado. The convent was founded in 1575 with the patronage of the king and his sister Joanna of Austria, Princess of Portugal. Author

Ramón de Mesonero Romanos Ramón de Mesonero Romanos (19 July 1803 – 30 April 1882) was a Spanish prose writer who was born in Madrid. Biography At an early age, he became interested in the history and topography of his native city. His ''Guía de Madrid'' (1831) was pu ...

alludes in 1831 to its creation in his ''Manual de Madrid'': Initially, the convent was under the patronage of

Saint Damasus Pope Damasus I (; c. 305 – 11 December 384) was the bishop of Rome from October 366 to his death. He presided over the Council of Rome of 382 that determined the canon or official list of sacred scripture. He spoke out against major heresies ( ...

who was popularly called Carmen Calzado by the Order. The inaugural mass was conducted by Papal Nuncio Juan Bautista Castaneo, later (1590) Pope

Urban VII Pope Urban VII ( la, Urbanus VII; it, Urbano VII; 4 August 1521 – 27 September 1590), born Giovanni Battista Castagna, was head of the Catholic Church, and ruler of the Papal States from 15 to 27 September 1590. His thirteen-day papacy was th ...

. The proximity of the convent to the Puerta del Sol, increased its popularity, sharing the limelight with the Convento de San Felipe el Real. Between 1611 and 1640 the building was renovated by architect Miguel de Soria. In 1836, the convent property and its contents were seized under the

Mendizábal confiscations Mendizabal or Mendizábal is a Basque surname meaning 'wide mountain'. It may refer to: *Concepción Mendizábal Mendoza (1893–1985), first female civil engineer in Mexico *Enrique Mendizabal (1918–2017), Olympic Shooter for Peru at the 1948 Lo ...

. Its inhabitants were secularized and the church building survived as Parish church Nuestra Señora del Carmen y San Luis.

References

{{coord, 40.4188, N, 3.7033, W, source:wikidata, display=title Demolished buildings and structures in Madrid Religious buildings and structures completed in 1575 Discalced Carmelite Order Buildings and structures demolished in the 19th century

History

See also

References