Schamann Neighbourhood – Ciudad de Galdós

The figure of Benito Pérez Galdós is present in many corners of the city. The characters who inhabit his novels give their names to many of the streets of the Schamann neighbourhood, in Ciudad Alta.

Walking through the area is a way of recalling Doña Perfecta, Marianela, Pedro Infinito or Fortunata, and of bringing novels such as Misericordia or Zaragoza into the present day. In the Plaza de Don Benito, visitors can sit on a bench beside a sculpture of the novelist, created by the artist Ana Luisa Benítez. To complete the Ciudad de Galdós Route, eight murals painted on the façades of various buildings pay tribute to the Gran Canarian writer.

In total, 51 streets, three squares and one roundabout in this neighbourhood bear the names of characters and works by Benito Pérez Galdós, an initiative promoted by the poet Saulo Torón.

Schamann is a lively residential and commercial neighbourhood where the traditional model of local businesses still thrives, with small shops and personalised service. It takes its name from Alfredo Schamann, the first owner of the plots on which the area was developed from 1930 onwards. In 1959, the construction of the Church of Nuestra Señora de los Dolores (designed by the Catalan architect Joan Margarit i Serradell) marked the beginning of the neighbourhood’s expansion. Its 33-metre-high tower stands detached from the main church building.