Nuestra Señora del Pilar School

This school, located in the Salamanca District was founded as a school for governesses, in 1910, by María Diega Desmaisieres y Sevillano, Countess of la Vega del Pozo and Duchess of Sevillano. It later passed to the Marianist order, which converted it into a boys’ school. This building has been declared a BIC heritage site by Madrid’s Regional Government.

The building was constructed between 1910 and 1916 by architect Manuel Aníbal Álvarez Amorós. It's built on a symmetrical, octagonal base (a very common practice in educational buildings at that time), with marked neo-gothic influence, making it very mediaevalist. In 1960, the building was extended by architect Luis Moya Blanco, with a new pavilion, which faces onto Calle Ramón de la Cruz.

Its most prominent features include the chapel, with a neo-gothic layout comprising three naves and a semi-circular apse, with its own separate entrance from the street. There are a further three stand-alone pavilions that house the school, the porter’s office, and the nurse’s office. Inside it is particularly sumptuous, especially the assembly hall, transformed by the Marianists into a chapel for adults, and the dining room, both on the main floor, with a double height ceiling and a gallery for visitors.