Madrid´s Last Remaining Corner Madonna

A casual observer may not notice them wondering the streets of many the towns and historical quarters of some of Spains oldest cities but for centuries the corner madonnas and saintly images that decorate them have had an important and multi-purpose role.

Some depicted the patron of the church opr cathedral, extending the sacrality of the church. Others worked miracles, cured the afflicted,
and guarded against plague; some succored the poor, protected against street crime, or discouraged blasphemy in the street under the beady of the virgin mother.

Madrid has just one remaining.

The last of the “corner Madonnas” in the city. It is an ornate statue found in a niche in a building on the corner of the Plaza de Ramales and the Calle de Vergara.

These Madonnas were traditionally placed on the outsides of buildings and over doorways by the faithful in thanks for having their prayers answered, or even just as a sign of piety.

This Holy Virgin is known as “La Dolorosa”. Many such images can still be seen in Andalusian cities and other parts of Spain, but virtually non survive in Madrid.

The ground floor of the house is taken up by the Café de las Austrias, a pleasant stopping-off place for a coffee, a drink or even a meal.

It was also on this square that on July 29, 1994 the Basque terrorist organization ETA set off a bomb in which three people lost their lives and damage was done to some of the buildings. Curiously, the corner Madonna remained unharmed, other than the glass protecting it on the outside, which was soon replaced.