Madrid - Plaza de la Villa

The Casa de Cisneros, now connected with the Town Hall by a covered bridge, was built in 1537 by Benito Jiménez de Cisneros, nephew of the great Cardinal Cisneros who founded the University of Alcalá. Its main front, one of the few examples of Plateresque (Late Gothic) decoration in Madrid, faces the Calle de Sacramento. In 1590 Antonio Pérez fled from here to escape Philip II. The house was acquired by the city in 1909 and is now the official residence of the Mayor as well as housing a beautiful collection of tapestries.