Plaza Mayor square
A cosmopolitan environment
to encourage meetings
The plaza Mayor square in Alba de Tormes is the hub around which local life revolves. It is surrounded by buildings from various different centuries, from the 12th to the 20th, from the Romanesque San Juan church to the modernist buildings around the fountain, with the late Gothic style of the Town Hall as one of its highlights.
Three of its sides are porticoed, and under the arcades there are shops, bars, cafés, and there are improvised meetings and promenades taking advantage of the shelter they provide, the excuse for socialising that the Castilian streets and squares have always been. Its Modernist air, with a profusion of iron features and viewpoints, is consequence of the renovation it went through in the late 19th century, when the bourgeoisie imposed the materials that were the new trend, like metal and glass. This gave it a cosmopolitan look that still lives on, sustained by the exotic palm trees brought from Elda (Alicante) in 1927.
The square is, undoubtedly, a good reference point for the visitor when exploring the town.