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Ronda de Atocha

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Ronda de Atocha
Typepublic thoroughfare
LocationMadrid, Spain
East endPlaza del Emperador Carlos V
West endRonda de Valencia [es]

The Ronda de Atocha is a thoroughfare in Madrid, Spain. It is part of the rim of streets rounding up the city historical centre, following the layout of the Walls of Philip IV.

History and description

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Starting in the Plaza del Emperador Carlos V and ending in the Ronda de Valencia [es],[1] the ronda de Atocha conforms a stretch of the southern limits of the Centro district.[2] The Ronda occupies part of the layout of the ancient Walls of Philip IV.[3]

The ronda already existed when the map of Texeira [es] (1656) was created.[4]

The area was refurbished during the reign of Charles III (late 18th century), and the Ronda de Atocha became part of a trident of forested boulevards (along the Paseo de las Delicias [es] and the Paseo de Santa María de la Cabeza [es]) that followed the patte d'oie configuration in vogue at the time.[5]

Following the end of the 1936–1939 Spanish Civil War, during the Francoist dictatorship, the name of the Ronda de Atocha was changed to "General Primo de Rivera",[6] in reference to Miguel Primo de Rivera. After 1968, the thoroughfare featured one of the three overpasses of so-called "scalextric" of Atocha, that infamously became one of the largest hotspots of air pollution in the entire city.[7][8]

On 25 January 1980, during the municipal government of Enrique Tierno Galván,[n. 1] the City Council voted in favour of returning the name of the thoroughfare back to "Ronda de Atocha" along a wider change of another 26 street names connected to the Francoist dictatorship or the Civil War.[9] Meanwhile, the dismantling of the "scalextric" started in 1985.[7] Works were completed in 1986.[10]

References

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Informational notes
  1. ^ Although, convalescent from a retinal detachment repair, the Mayor could not attend to the voting and delegated the chairing of the plenary session to Ramón Tamames.[9] The Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD) opposed the proposed changes and submitted a full amendment. The initiative came through with the votes from the municipal councillors of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and the Communist Party of Spain (PCE).[9]
Citations
  1. ^ "Callejero Oficial del Ayuntamiento de Madrid" (PDF). Ayuntamiento de Madrid. 2015. p. 59.
  2. ^ Alcolea Moratilla & García Alvarado 2002, p. 192.
  3. ^ Domingo, Marta R. (7 June 2019). "Del Paleolítico a la era romana: los vestigios bajo la plaza de España". ABC.
  4. ^ Peñasco de la Puente & Cambronero 1889, p. 87.
  5. ^ "La memoria de la industria en el sur de Madrid". Madridiario. 9 July 2010.
  6. ^ Montoliú 2005, p. 84.
  7. ^ a b "El 'scalextric' de Atocha, el efímero héroe contra el tráfico". Madridiario. 16 May 2018.
  8. ^ Valdés y González-Roldán 1970, p. 21.
  9. ^ a b c Ramírez, Daniel (13 February 2016). "La última vez que Madrid cambió sus calles franquistas". El Español.
  10. ^ Miranda San Miguel 2017, p. 7.
Bibliography