The largest main square in Spain

You won’t find the largest main square in Spain in any of its capital cities. However, its wide dimensions explain the historical importance it has had to the village where it sits for many centuries. If you want to visit it, you will have to travel to the province of Valladolid. Around 50 kilometres from the capital province awaits the beautiful Medina del Campo, founded a very long time ago. Its magnificent square is nestled among buildings and has witnessed the cultural richness of this municipality.

A main square that gathers the history of Medina del Campo

The more than 14,000 square kilometres of Plaza Mayor de la Hispanidad unfold in Medina del Campo, overcoming the squares of Salamanca and Madrid. It’s the largest main square in Spain and one of the largest in Europe. This space has always been the heart of the city, but it was especially important in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, when trade fairs were held here and thousands of merchants from all over the world finished their negotiations with a ecclesiastical ritual.

The bases of the Ancien Régime society are pictured in this square: the clergy, the citizens, and the nobility. The impressive Gothic and Renaissance Colegiata de San Antolín symbolises the clergy. Although its dimensions are its most characteristic feature, its balcony of the Virgin of the Pópulo, facing indoors to receive the masses, is the predecessor of open chapels.

The town hall sits here too, near the tourism office. It was a royal palace. Here died Isabella I of Castile after signing her will.

From the past to the present

Medina del Campo has seen many familiar faces, but there is more to this place than them. Its main square is the perfect storyteller. It illustrates the evolution of urbanistic tendencies in Castilla particularly well, ideas that were applied in America too.

The first traces date back to the 13th century, at the intersection between Salamanca and the old road to Ávila. This old plaça de Sanatolin saw the birth of many buildings of diverse natures near the monasteries and parish churches that were already here. In the 15th century, one of the first fairs was held, which brought a golden age to Medina del Campo. This commercial activity was honoured through the names of the streets: the Potrillo, the Joyería, the Armería…

Many fires took place in the village too. One of them was particularly important, the one that happened during the Revolt of the Comuneros in 1520. These events prompted a new type of building, whose height, porticos, and eaves were regulated for the first time. The downfall of the fairs would later lead to the downfall of the town. With the arrival of the railway in 1860, progress took a turn. The appearance of the centre of the city was deeply modified, and the aesthetics of the square, which had been compared to the Piazza San Marco of Venice, were negatively affected.

In the last decades, the square of Medina has been brought back to life. After being the Plaza de la Constitución, Plaza de la República, and Plaza de España, the Plaza Mayor de la Hispanidad has regained its essence, the one it had when it held those lively fairs, religious events, festivities, bullfights, and the popular games of lanzas y cañas.

The other charms of Medina del Campo

The main square of Medina del Campo is, without a doubt, an excellent starting point to understand the history of both the town and Spain. Just in the square, you can visit the Colegiata de San Antolín and its impressive tower and the Palacio Real Testamentario, a space to learn more about Isabella I of Castile. Daily and business matters are carefully pictured in a museum of its own, the Museo de las Ferias, which explains the importance of these events since the old ages. The Centro de Interpretación Huellas de Pasión focuses on Holy Week and should be on your bucket list too.

But the visit wouldn’t be complete without the city’s great monument, the breathtaking Castillo de la Mota. It has watched over Medina del Campo since the 12th century and it’s its main symbol. The best way to end your journey is to taste the delicious roasted suckling pig or a verdejo wine of Denominación de Origen Rueda.

You can also read this article in Spanish here.

 

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