In the picture you can see the statue of Don Quijote and Sancho Panza in Plaza de España (Spain Square). This square is less than five minutes from Plaza de Oriente on foot.
Spain has a long history. The Romans ruled for nine centuries, leaving their irrigation's techniques, their architecture, their language --Spanish Castillian, Galizian and Catalan come from Latin; nobody knows where the Basque language comes from.
The Muslims invaded Spain in 711, and stayed in some parts for almost eight centuries. During that time, Spain was a religion tolerant territory, and the classical Greek science and eastern artistic traditions were cultivated.