Plaza Grande and Plaza Chica

Two squares joined by an arch

The centre of Zafra is two arcaded squares that touch: the Plaza Chica, the old one, and the Plaza Grande, wider and later. They are joined by the Arquillo del Pan, a covered passage in which the Esperancita, a tiny Baroque chapel, is tucked away. You can walk both without hurrying in about 45 minutes and it costs nothing: they are open streets, with café terraces under the arcades.

The Plaza Chica and the almotacén's rod

It was the heart of the medieval town: the town council and the market were here, with weekly markets authorised since 1380. Because of this commercial use it was given arcades early on, on every side except one of the short ones, where the courthouse stood. The almotacén, the official who checked weights and measures, had his room in the square, and to check the measures of goods the Zafra rod (vara) was engraved along the shaft of one of its columns.

It is rectangular and surrounded by white facades with brick arcades framed by alfices. The exception is the old council building, now the Municipal Music School. Look too for a house that keeps its Gothic-Mudéjar decoration of interlaced arches on the facade.

The Plaza Grande, on an old cemetery

Where the Plaza Grande stands today were the plot, the atrium and the cemetery of the old parish church of La Candelaria. In the mid-15th century, with trade booming, arcades were built along the edges of the graveyard so that business could be done there. When the church was pulled down and moved to its present site, a large open space was left inside the wall. Among the houses around it is the birthplace of the humanist Pedro de Valencia. The church that replaced that parish, the Candelaria Collegiate Church, with its nine Zurbarán canvases, is two minutes away.

An order for walking them

Enter by the Plaza Grande, look at the arcades and find Pedro de Valencia's house. Cross the Arquillo del Pan, look into the Esperancita and come out into the Plaza Chica: there you should find the column with the rod and the facade with the interlaced arches. To get your bearings, the tourist office is on the Plaza de España, five minutes away, and is open Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 14:00 and from 17:00 to 19:00, and on Sunday morning.

If you want to stay right in the setting, the Hotel Las Palmeras is under the arcades of the Plaza Grande. The walk is the first stop of the Sunday in Zafra, which continues to the Santa Clara Museum.