ARCH ALLEY
It is considered one of the most unique streets in Puerto Real.
Its construction began in 1718 when the site where it was built was given to Tomás de Hemosilla, lieutenant colonel of infantry, who at that time was working as a castellan in one of the main fortifications on the coast of Puerto Real, the castle of Santa Cruz de la Matagorda.
At that time, this area was an undeveloped area where different people linked to the Carrera de Indias began to settle, attracted by the recent installation in the Bay of Cadiz of the Casa de la Contratación (1717), which led to a rapid urban expansion of this area in those years.
In a short time the surrounding blocks were built and it took on its present appearance as a small street with a single access and a balcony overlooking the sea, framed at both ends by ornamental semicircular arches of oyster stone topped by baroque elements.
In 1798 Callejón del Arco already had four houses. In the arch facing the sea a tombstone was placed in 1964 dedicated to the apocryphal Machado poet José María Torres and his poem entitled “Sea”, whose birth places Antonio Machado in Puerto Real in 1838.
The neighbors always keep this place decorated with colorful pots of geraniums and rose bushes, making it one of the most typical pictures of Puerto Real. All this earned him the award for tourism promotion of the town of Puerto Real.
