Dehesa de la Villa dates back to the 12th Century when King Alfonso VII donated pasture land to the Villa of Madrid. The green area, formerly known as Meadow of Amaniel (Dehesa de Amaniel), was named after one of its owners, Lope de Amaniel, who served King Enrique II of Castile. The status of a villa came later on with its ownership by the Madrid municipality. Before the usage of the area as a pasture it was full of oaks, many of which were uprooted at the time. Also, a great deal of the land originally donated by King Alfonso VII has been sold or used for other purposes other than for recreation and this resulted in shrinking the overall area of the modern public facility. Back in the middle of the 15th Century, the area of the Villa totalled 2,529 fanegas, a traditional Castilian measurement for agrarian surface. One fanega equals about 6,460 square metres.

With the transformation of about a half of the area into arable land and the building of some constructions at the beginning of the 16th Century, much of its previous glamour, as well as the size of the wooded facility were lost. Thus, when Carlos III and Isabel II arrived at the place, it was approximately the same size as it is presently, and since then it has been in public use for recreation and relaxation. In May 1860, the army that fought in Africa in the so-called African war (Spanish-Moroccan War) encamped the place for two days and thousands of visitors came to see the event. A year later it was sold in order to erect a great construction which actually never happened. Instead, by 1890, about 10,000 trees were planted. In 1901, the area was proclaimed a public recreational land by the State. In 1929, the University was built on 320 hectares and more structures arose there over the course of time - including the nuclear research centre CIEMAT. During the Civil War, the park became a part of the defence line.

Dehesa de la Villa is a forest-like park that features many species of plants animals in their natural surroundings. The Meadow Villa is not a park, but a forest engulfed by the city and when visiting the place one has the opportunity to get in touch with nature not far away from the urbanised area. The trees that are most commonly seen there are different kinds of pines, as well as oaks, acacias and elm trees. You can also spot beautiful butterflies and bumblebees flying over the verdant meadows, sparrows, magpies and doves. Moreover, the Manzanares River is close to the park and combined with the rest of the serpentine alleys, the green meadows and the shadowy trees, one cannot but feel the relaxing atmosphere of Dehesa de la Villa.