Plaza Mayor of Cañete

A square opened among buildings

The Plaza Mayor of Cañete is arcaded, with an irregular trapezium plan. It was opened among the houses in the Middle Ages and has barely changed: its present form dates from the late Middle Ages, probably from an enlargement by a lord in the 14th or 15th century. Only two buildings have a grand appearance, the town hall and the church of San Julián, once the two halves of the former grammar college. The rest are ordinary houses above the arcades.

The town’s centre

For centuries everything happened here: the weekly market, the more prestigious shops, the festivals. From the square, men were called to war under the council banner, cavalry and infantry musters were held, and punishment was inflicted at the jurisdictional column or pillory, demolished in the 19th century. Processions from Santiago, Santa María and San Andrés arrived here; the latter two parishes no longer exist.

The council

During the High Middle Ages the council met in a church forecourt or in the square itself; in the 14th century it sought indoor premises and eventually settled in the grammar college. Under Moya’s fuero (town charter), Cañete had two mayors, an annually appointed judge, bailiffs and an almotacén (market inspector), appointed by the lord; almost always the Hurtado de Mendoza family, who held the town for almost five centuries.

Plan your visit

Combine with

From the square, continue on foot to El Postigo, the gates in the town wall and the castle.