Town Hall Square (Plaza del Ayuntamiento)

Chapter 4/11 · València

This is Plaza del Ayuntamiento, Town Hall Square, the city's great living room. The thirteenth-century convent of San Francisco stood here until it was demolished in 1891. The square has changed its name several times: it was named after Emilio Castelar, after «the Caudillo» during the dictatorship and after the País Valencià, and since 1987 it has simply been called Town Hall Square.

The town hall building joins two constructions: the old Casa de Enseñanza, a school founded by Archbishop Mayoral in the eighteenth century, and the large façade with its tower and clock by Carlos Carbonell, opened in 1930. Opposite you will see the Palace of Communications, the post office building, built between 1913 and 1922.

During Fallas, from 1 to 19 March, the square fills up every day at two in the afternoon for the mascletà, a firecracker show that is heard more than seen. The city's own falla is also set up here, and on the night of 19 March everything goes up in flames in the Cremà.

We leave from the north end of the square and, along Carrer dels Manyans and Carrer del Síndic, enter Plaza Redonda.

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