Plaza Mayor and City Hall of Plasencia

Ever since the 18th century when Alfonso VIII founded the city of Plasencia, there has been a traditional market celebration where farmers, villagers, and artisans arrive from throughout the sub-region with the goal of selling, exchanging, or simply showing-off their wares. Even today, this festival known as “Martes Mayor” (“Big Tuesday”) is celebrated the first Tuesday of August and has been declared a Fiesta of Regional Touristic Interest which manages to draw over 30,000 visitors. On the eve of Martes Mayor, there is a small village party held in the square and on Tuesday morning, free wine is handed out to visitors in the plaza.

The Plaza Mayor of Plasencia was and still is a meeting point for townspeople and a lively place where even taking a walk becomes entertainment. The square is long and inclined presided over by a cute Renaissance-style town hall at the high end. This airy municipal building from the 16th century has a tower holding Grampa Mayorga, a colorful folk character who watches over the comings and goings of the town.

Wherever you go, you note the provincial air in the small streets filled with haberdashers, old-fashioned hardware shops, bookstores, and taverns. Here you can smell the aroma of the day’s stew and feel the bustle of the townspeople moving at a comfortable rhythm marked by the occasional squawking of nesting storks.

I was in Plasencia during the last bank holiday for the constitution in 2012. I spent several days there and it is very nice indeed. Irregular cobblestone streets form a lovely old town, full of shops and places to get lost. I could list the cathedral (worthy of a major city), the hostel, the arch of San Anton, the wall ... I have to say that to be the second largest city in the province of Cáceres, it is small, with approximately only 42,000 inhabitants. However, despite this, it has all the amenities worthy of a big city (there are franchise stores such as White , Pull & Bear, Stradivarius, Kiko, Woman's secret ...