When you visit Iglesia de la Virgen de la Paloma Madrid, you're stepping into one of the city's most beloved religious sites, tucked away in the heart of La Latina neighborhood. This isn't your typical Madrid church filled with marble saints and golden altarpieces. Here, the main attraction is a painting – a simple 17th or 18th-century canvas depicting the Virgin of Solitude.

The story behind this image reads like a fairy tale. Back in 1787, some children were playing among debris near Paloma Street when they stumbled upon an abandoned canvas. A local woman named Isabel Tintero spotted the kids with the painting and traded them a few coins for it. She cleaned it up and hung it in her doorway, where neighbors began gathering to pray before it.

The street name itself has its own curious history. Where the church now stands, there used to be courtyards belonging to nuns from San Juan de la Penitencia. They had domesticated a dove that would always fly above a sculpture of the Virgin of Wonders. When the nuns moved to a convent on Palma Street, the dove followed the Virgin statue, but left its name behind on this street and its courtyards.

What strikes me about this place is how the neogothic and neo-Mudéjar architecture from the late 19th century creates such an intimate atmosphere. The church was built between 1896 and 1912, designed by Lorenzo Álvarez Capra and Dimas Rodríguez Izquierdo. You can enter either from the plaza that bears the Virgin's name or from Toledo Street.

Inside, there's a painting right at the entrance showing the moment Isabel Tintero discovered the canvas – a nice touch that brings the legend full circle. The devotion here feels genuine and local rather than touristy. During August, this becomes the epicenter of Madrid's famous Paloma festival, when the entire neighborhood comes alive with traditional celebrations.

Discover all the secrets of Iglesia de la Virgen de la Paloma with our complete Madrid audio guide and learn how a discarded painting became one of the most cherished religious images in the Spanish capital.