Modern pressures have perhaps inhibited the extensive street life for which Madrid has been famous, although people still live very much in the streets, especially during the intense heat of summer when the café terraces fill and people stroll up and down in the evenings. Modern culture, in the form of film, theatre, and music, is extensively represented, as is to be expected in a city with several major universities and academies. But the tertulias for which Madrid was once noted—that is to say, the informal conversational gatherings and informal societies—have all but faded, along with the elegant cafés that ...(100 of 4535 words)