Plaza Mayor, Madrid

Madrid’s rectangular Plaza Mayor is one of the greatest relics of the old city. Completely enclosed by three-storeyed buildings, several balconies look out onto the central area. The plaza’s Casa de la Panadería has a façade which is decorated with large allegorical frescos. Construction of the plaza (above an old market) began in 1617 and was completed within two years. In the middle of the 19th century, an equestrian statue of King Felipe III was erected in the centre of Plaza Mayor. One of the major plazas in Madrid, it has been over the centuries the site of bullfights, judgements, and executions.

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Madrid (city)

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