The works of the Puerta del Sol take a new step this Wednesday with the installation of the famous kilometer 0 of the capital, a plaque that will now be surrounded by a large wind rose and that will include the names of the provincial capitals and cities autonomous of the country.
Sources from the Works and Equipment area led by Paloma García Romero have told Europa Press that they seek to enhance the display of the plate with the design of a crown around it to increase the total size of the composition and “its presence”. in the square and in front of the Post Office.
The works of the ‘star’ project of the mayor, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, are advancing in this way, and the Puerta del Sol will show its new image “the week of April 3” with the “except” of the ‘whale’ and the statue equestrian of Carlos III.
The circle that will surround the plate has been designed as a wind rose, a symbol that marks the directions, and that is directly related to the meaning of km0, their virtual origin since the kilometer is the origin of the carts national radios.
The destinations of these directions, strictly on the original plate are six, which correspond to those of the six original national highways. Now it is given “a broader sense”, opening the space to all the provincial capitals, not only those through which the national radial highways pass.
With the location of all the provincial capitals and the autonomous cities “it is intended that visitors who arrive in Madrid locate their city of origin in this place and identify with the capital as the place of all”.
In addition, the zero kilometer also serves to number the streets of the capital. The number 1 of any street is at the end closest to the Puerta del Sol, and the numbering goes up as you get further away. Following this orientation, the odd numbers are on the left side and the even numbers are on the right.
The new design of kilometer 0 will serve as the “prelude” to the main door of the Casa de Correos building, headquarters of the regional government, since it is located on the same axis as the main door. For its complete integration, the same materials have been used for its design as in the rest of the space: gray granite, the brass pieces that mark the radii of the square, and a special black granite to make the characteristic bicolor design of the roses of the winds.
This symbolic space in front of the Casa de Correos corresponds to the installation in front of it of Carlos III as a way of remembering, with the new arrangement of the square, part of the history of Madrid.
