City Council

18th century

Architect Ángel Vicente Ubón designed the project and oversaw the construction in exchange for 38,000 reales. Construction began in 1769 and was completed in February 1771.

Ubón built a Town Hall with arcades along its facade, from which several doors opened: the main door led to the entrance hall and staircase leading up to the main floor; the others led, one to the royal granary, one to each of the two trade halls, and another smaller one that served as the exit from the bullpens. On the ground floor, in addition to the aforementioned rooms, there was a large granary with two doors opening onto the street—which is why it was called “de la Alhóndiga” (today the “Banda de Música”)—and a large corral in the rear with two pens for the bulls. There were also two small cells accessible through separate doors at the back of the entrance hall. On the main floor, the majestic Council Chamber stood out; from there, one could step out onto the corridor to watch public events, especially bullfights. The Council Chamber led to the City Council Chamber, which housed archives and a chapel.

The central section of the building has two stories. The lower story, which is open to the entrance hall and features Tuscan columns reused from the old City Hall, has embedded in its façade a coat of arms of King Philip II, two of Bishop Tello (all reused from the old Town Halls), and a plaque commemorating the old Town Halls and the construction of these new ones.

Above the entablature of the portico stood columns supporting an arcade that formed the front of the main-floor gallery; today, this has been altered by some rather uninspired concrete pillars that support the architrave in place of the graceful arcade. The clock on the roof was installed in 1886.

The towers at either end were funded by Bishop Bernardo Antonio Calderón so that