希惜
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Walking through Calle Mayor from Plaza Mayor towards the Royal Palace, you pass Plaza de la villa on your left hand side. We found it worthwhile to enter the plaza, where we admired some of the oldest buildings of Madrid. One of these beautiful buildings is Casa Cisnero. It is built in 1537 by Benito Jiménez de Cisneros, the nephew of Cardinal Cisneros. He named the house in honour of the Carndinal, who founded the University of Alcalá. The front of Casa de Cisneros is in beautiful Plateresque decorative design. Plata means silver in Spanish and is a style from the late Gothic period of Castile. This is what makes Casa de Cisneros almost unique in Madrid. Around 1590 the house was used as a prison by King Philip II and later it was occupied by famous statesman. When the city of Madrid acquired ownership at the beginning of the 20th century, the house was integrated in the adjacent Casa de la Villa, which is the former old town hall. At that time the architects Bellido and Gonzalez restored the building and connected it to the Casa de la Villa by creating an arched passageway.
Also take a look at the fine statue of Álvaro de Bazán standing on a white pedestal in the middle of of Plaza de la Villa, surrounded by a wonderful arranged flower bed.
