If in Madrid they boast of the Alcalá Gate, in Alcalá de Henares the Madrid Gate remains as a monumental access to the historic center. Perhaps the Alcalá gate is not as famous or sung about as the capital’s, but in addition to its historical significance, it has a special cinematic touch.
Stanley Kubrick surrounded it with hundreds of local extras and converted it into a Roman arch for the filming of Spartacus. In short, this corner of Alcalá de Henares is fabulous for crossing its old medieval walls and entering streets that are part of a complex classified as a world heritage site.
There are several names with which this town in the Community of Madrid is immediately related. For example, with words like university and complutense, terms that refer to two key moments in local history. On the one hand, the founding of the University in Alcalá during the times of the Catholic Monarchs. And on the other, the most distant origins of the city in Roman times.
At the end of the 1st century BC. C. Complutum was created, a Roman settlement that grew over time and whose vestiges are still visible to the south of the town center. While in the center you can visit the Archaeological and Paleontological Museum that houses many of its archaeological finds, especially large mosaics that decorated ancient homes.
The memory of that remote time is also evoked in the Via Complutense, a current traffic artery that runs along the route of the ancient Roman road that linked the cities of Emerita Augusta and Caesaraugusta, that is, Mérida and Zaragoza. By the way, this Complutense road is now flanked by the old walls of Alcalá and also by dozens of contemporary sculptures signed by artists such as Eduardo Úrculo, Amadeo Gabino or Pablo Serrano that establish a very suggestive artistic dialogue between the past and the present.
As for the University of Alcalá de Henares, it must be considered yesterday and today as its most distinctive feature. At the end of the 15th century, the powerful Cardinal Cisneros promoted the first Renaissance and humanist university in Spain here. Which meant development for the entire city. It still is today, since the student population of very varied origins abounds. And of course the monumental legacy is a hallmark of Complutense identity.
Starting with the San Ildefonso school. Seeing its imposing façade from Plaza San Diego allows you to discover different sculptures symbolizing the knowledge imparted here for centuries. To then cross its gate and walk through the patios of Santo Tomás de Villanueva, de los Filósofos and el Trilingüe, in whose surroundings classrooms and lounges were distributed, which remain as the university’s rectorate and stage for such formal events as the delivery of the Cervantes Prize.
In addition, the chapel of San Ildefonso stands out, which houses the mausoleum of Cardinal Cisneros. Although it is empty, since the remains of the character are in the nearby magisterial cathedral of Saints Justo and Pastor, a temple of medieval origin but whose current appearance is largely due to the Renaissance renovation promoted by the cardinal himself.
In reality, this transformation went beyond specific buildings and monuments. Alcalá is distinguished by its conception as a total university city. Not only were places built to teach classes or accommodate students. Infrastructures were also built for its government or to care for the sick, and it even had its own laws.
Its spirit of educational community survives and faculties of different subjects are discovered throughout the center. With the added charm that these temples of knowledge occupy historical spaces such as the Carmelitas Calzados convent, which is the headquarters of the School of Architecture, or the San Francisco de Paula school, which houses the Faculty of Economics.
Just to breathe that university atmosphere it is worth visiting Alcalá de Henares. But this destination has another attraction that attracts hundreds of tourists any day of the year. It is none other than visiting the birthplace of Miguel de Cervantes. His birthplace remains open on Calle Mayor de Alcalá, by the way, the longest double-arched street in Spain.
Miguel de Cervantes came into the world in 1547 and during his first years of life he resided here. The family house was recovered some time ago to recreate how a family of a certain purchasing power would live at that time. Since we must not forget that Rodrigo de Cervantes, father of the future writer, was a doctor-surgeon who perhaps came here to work at the Antezana hospital, which is also on Calle Mayor and adjacent to the Cervantes house.
The visit to the Birthplace of Cervantes is obligatory and free. Historical furniture is displayed there as well as editions of Don Quixote of various dates and languages. By the way, both the ingenious gentleman and his good-natured squire are in charge of welcoming people to the house.
The life-size bronze sculptures of both sit on a bench on Calle Mayor. They seem to rest their buttocks after so many adventures, while they wait for strangers to sit next to them, since they have become the most photographed frame in the city.
