Old Consistory

The city, since ancient times, has an important urban development and has its own public figures, such as the Alderman and Mayors, but for a long time the lay power was closely linked to the ecclesiastical. And so, it was not until the 16th century when the Town Council meetings were held outside the Cathedral. Until this century, the meetings were held in the Hall of the Knights of the cathedral, but now it is necessary to have a place of its own for the meetings of the City Council and with a room to collect the bread. We are in the year 1563. To fulfill this purpose, it was decided to acquire two houses that had been burned in the past and that were located on one of the sides of the Cathedral Square. Along with the purchase of the same, the works of conditioning that will finish in 1569 are begun. After this date, the Imperial Coat of Arms was installed, which is still preserved today on the façade overlooking the square in 1575 and in 1582 when the building was finished off with five pipes to evacuate the water from the roof. From that time on, municipal meetings would be held here and, according to the legend above the door of the hall, they would be for the public good. The inscription read: "Here inside there is no place for Passion, fear or interest Only the public good is the one to be looked after 1584" The last reform on the façade took place in the 18th century. It is the construction of the wrought iron balcony overlooking the Cathedral Square. Today the building preserves the pipes, coat of arms and balcony and also has a small niche on its eastern façade where we can find a polychrome wooden image of San Roque from the 18th century. At the moment, these dependences are headquarters of the Municipal Public Library and the Municipal Office of Tourism.