Building of Cava de San Miguel 11

Alongside the Plaza Mayor, at Number 11, Calle Cava de San Miguel, stands the building which the novelist, Benito Pérez Galdós, used to set the home of his character, Fortunata, from the novel, Fortunata y Jacinta (1886-1887). The building was also chosen to film the TVE series of the same name, directed by Mario Camus in 1980.

Without a commemorative plaque to remember its appearance in the novel by Galdós, this five-storey building in Madrid of the Habsburgs preserves the traditional style of the buildings in this area  of the city, with a façade in shades of red,  lattice balconies and stone ashlars in the basement.  

The small and picturesque street in which this building stands is behind the square, and is easily recognised by several buildings with long and colourful façades. The name, Cava, is due to the fact that in the 11th century, the city’s defensive moat used to be in the same place, but it was buried in sand in 1567, becoming a street. The reason why the odd-numbered buildings have a wider base and a pronounced curve is because they restrain the Plaza Mayor.