In the 19th century, the Pontevedra cattle fair, whose origins date back to the Middle Ages, was held on the site of the current
Palm Trees Park. At the end of the 19th century, when the
Palace of the Deputation of Pontevedra was built and the Palm Trees Park was created, it was necessary to move the fairground to another location due to the lack of space. After several controversies, the proposal of the builder Manuel Vidal Boullosa was finally accepted in 1896, offering a plot of land (an esplanade) located between the old Progreso Street to the south (now
Benito Corbal Street) and the wall of the
Convent of Saint Clare to the north, which would become the present-day Plaza de Barcelos. In 1898 the land was bought by the city council of Pontevedra for 40,000 pesetas. The land was leveled and
plane trees were planted for the installation of the fair and was named
Campo de la Feria (Fairground), where fairs were held for decades since 1900. In August 1970, during the festivities of the Pilgrim Virgin, the city was twinned with the Portuguese town of Barcelos. and the street market that was previously held in the
Plaza de la Herrería began to be held there. The market in which the traders sold their textile and food products was held in the square on the 1st, 8th, 15th and 23rd of each month until 23 September 1988. In January 1998, the
Tree Monument, the work of the sculptor José Luis Penado, was installed on the south side of the square to commemorate the many plane trees that were cut down during the construction of the underground car park and the development of the square. In September 2016, two multi-sports courts were installed in the north of the square next to the convent wall, consisting of a court with baskets and goals and a table for ping-pong. == Description ==