Plaza de España, Los Corredores and the Archaeological Museum

Plaza de España is the centre of the old town, at the foot of the hill. It is dominated by the Los Corredores building, with its wooden galleries, which houses the Municipal Archaeological Museum: pieces from the Neolithic to the 19th century arranged by theme (religion, society, war, daily life), remains of Roman Consabura, objects from the Islamic period and the Order of Malta, one of the best surviving collections of medieval footwear and a Carpetanian incense burner. It has audioguides in several languages.

The square

It is the meeting point of the people of Consuegra and the cultural and leisure centre of the village, with La Mancha architecture alongside Castilian-Mudéjar buildings. The town hall, from 1670, is late Mudéjar with an influence of popular La Mancha Baroque: an exposed-brick façade with rubble-stone panels in Toledo bond and, on the upper floor, a colonnaded balcony with wooden beams. At the very top it has a Roman sundial, a nod to the forum that stood on this very spot. Its archive holds documents of the Order of St John in the Grand Priory of La Mancha and of the village's privileges. Next to it, the Clock Tower, from the first third of the 20th century, crowns the arch attached to the town hall.

Opposite is Los Corredores, a 17th-century palace and one of the most photographed buildings in Consuegra, with wooden galleries and balconies that recall a corral de comedias (open-air playhouse). It was an alfolí, that is, a salt store, and a grain silo for the area, and later a town hall and court. The tourist office explains that these wooden galleries were a sign of prestige: wood was scarce in La Mancha and only wealthy villages could afford it.

The Archaeological Museum

The museum, renovated, occupies Los Corredores and offers a journey through the history of Consuegra from the Neolithic to the 19th century, arranged by theme and supported by maps, infographics and images. You see vestiges of Roman Consabura, remains of the Islamic occupation and liturgical and military objects of the Order of Malta, which governed the village from the castle. Its two treasures are one of the best surviving collections of medieval footwear and a Carpetanian thymaterion, a ritual incense burner decorated with stars, perhaps the most important piece. Audioguides are available in several languages. The municipal website does not publish the museum's opening hours or price: ask at the tourist office (925 47 57 31).

The walk from the square

From the square, streets lead to the churches of Santa María la Mayor and San Juan Bautista, the Casa de la Tercia and the chapel of the Cristo de la Vera Cruz, at the foot of the climb to the hill. From there you walk up to the windmills on Calderico hill and La Muela castle. If you come in the second half of October, the square is the setting for the husking finals and the folklore festival of the Saffron Rose Festival. For lunch, El Alfar.