Plaza Mayor de Almagro
Almagro's vast arcaded square is one of the best-preserved Renaissance plazas in all of Spain, ringed by green-painted timber balconies that have barely changed since the 16th century. At its heart sits the Corral de Comedias, the only working open-air theatre of its kind in the world, still staging Golden Age plays exactly where they were first performed.
A square built by the Fuggers
The square owes its grandeur to the Fugger banking dynasty, who financed the Habsburg empire and poured their wealth into this Castilian market town during the 16th century. Their influence explains the distinctly Central-European feel of the colonnades — unusually refined for rural Spain.
Stroll the full perimeter early in the morning when the low Castilian light turns the stone honey-gold and the café terraces are still quiet. The geometry of the arcades and the reflections in the stone paving make this one of the most photogenic squares in the country.
The Corral de Comedias inside
Step through an unmarked door on the plaza's eastern side and you enter a perfectly intact 17th-century open-air theatre: three tiers of wooden galleries, a bare wooden stage, and a yard where the groundlings once stood. Guided visits run most mornings and cost just a few euros.
Every July the square transforms into the stage for the Festival Internacional de Teatro Clásico de Almagro, one of Europe's premier classical theatre festivals. Book tickets months in advance if you want to catch a Lope de Vega or Calderón de la Barca play under the stars.
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