Dedicated to the city's patron saint, the well-digger and labourer San Isidro, the Museum of the Origins sits on the spot where he supposedly lived and performed one of his most famous miracles: when his son, Illán, fell into a well, Isidro made the water rise and thus was able to rescue the unfortunate lad. The well - or a well, anyway - is preserved inside the Museum of the Origins, as is the chapel built in 1663 on the spot where Isidro allegedly died. According to legend, he was originally buried here too. This is, then, a Museum of the Origins that deals in legends as much as in solid artefacts, and the current material on show is a little limited.
More interesting are the finds from local archaeological digs, formerly kept in the Museo Municipal and now in the basement of the Museum of the Origins. They include items from lower-Palaeolithic settlements in the area, as well as artefacts from the Roman villas along the Manzanares, from the Muslim era.
Address Plaza de San Andrés 2
Transport Metro La Latina.
Telephone 91 366 74 15
Open Sept-July 9.30am-8pm Tue-Fri; 10am-2pm Sat, Sun. Aug 9.30am-3pm Tue-Fri; 10am-2pm Sat, Sun.
Admission free.
