Calle San Carlos (Madrid)

Calle San Carlos is located between the streets of Lavapiés and Ave María, in the quarter of Lavapiés (Madrid, Community of Madrid, Spain).

In this street, and in one of its houses, the princess of Rebech, wife of Charles Montmorency, had a painting with the effigy of the archbishop of Milan, one of the most illustrious figures of the Council of Trent, Saint Charles Borromeo. The exhibition of the painting to the neighbors seems to be the cause of starting to call this street that way.

On the Espinosa map, the section between Ave María and Olivar streets appears under the name of Campillo de Manuela.

Capmany mentions this street and explains its origin. He intends to locate a Jewish quarter here, which existed in the times of King Henry III of Castile (1390-1406). After the expulsion of the Hebrews, the neighborhood was abandoned and burned. Later, a woman named Manuela settled here in the form of a tavern where the worst people in the town went, although her reputation later improved, and – always according to Capmany – it became common to make appointments in the Campillo de Manuela to eat or dance.

For many years, the first section of San Carlos street was known in this way, but later that name was forgotten. The City Council wanted to revive a very traditional point in the Madrid slums by calling the corner of Lavapiés and Jesús y María Campillo de Manuela, although such labeling does not usually appear on street signs.