Why go
Plaza de los Naranjos gives the clearest introduction to the town’s Renaissance civic architecture. The castle walls and Encarnación church add different historical layers, while Hospital Bazán connects the area to printmaking. Explore beyond the square if you want to understand how the old centre relates to its neighbouring districts.
What to look for
- Plaza de los Naranjos and its civic buildings
- Castle walls within the old street pattern
- Santo Cristo’s glazed-tile tower in Barrio Alto
The full story
The former walled town retains much of the street pattern established by the sixteenth century. Plaza de los Naranjos introduced a Renaissance civic focus after the Christian conquest, with the town hall, mayor’s house and Santiago chapel gathered around it. The chapel predates the square, which helps explain its different alignment. Other buildings show how the centre changed over time. The Encarnación church adds Baroque architecture, while Hospital Bazán and the Royal Hospital of Mercy recall charitable foundations. The surviving castle and defensive walls keep the earlier fortified settlement visible among these later additions. Old Town extends beyond the former walls. Barrio Alto rises to the north, where the Santo Cristo hermitage has a tower capped with glazed tiles. Barrio Nuevo lies to the east, across the Represa stream’s historic line. Its whitewashed houses and simpler domestic architecture offer a contrast to the formal buildings around the main square.