into Madrid''. Oil painting of
Lorenzo Quirós (1760).
Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando. The Plaza Mayor of Madrid traces its origins to the 15th century, when it was known as the
Plaza del Arrabal and served as the town’s main marketplace. In 1561, the site came under the jurisdiction of the city of Madrid. During the reign of
Philip II, the architect
Juan de Herrera was commissioned to redesign the area in the
Classical style. However, construction did not begin until 1617, under
Philip III, when
Juan Gómez de Mora undertook the project. The Plaza was completed in 1619. Throughout its history, the Plaza Mayor has experienced three major fires. The first occurred in 1631, after which Gómez de Mora led the reconstruction. A second fire took place in 1670, with
Tomás Román overseeing the restoration. On June 30, 1680, Plaza Mayor was the site of a major
auto-da-fé, during which 117 people were sentenced by the
Spanish Inquisition before a large public audience. Twenty-one were condemned to
death by burning. Over half of the accused, including most of those executed, were
conversos—Christians of Jewish descent—charged with "
Judaizing." The square's third, and most devastating fire occurred in 1790, destroying nearly a third of the square. The subsequent reconstruction was directed by
Juan de Villanueva, whose design largely defines the Plaza’s present appearance. Villanueva reduced the height of the surrounding buildings from five to three stories enclosed the corners, and added large entrance archways. After his death, the work was completed by
Antonio López Aguado and
Custodio Moreno in 1854. In 1880, the
Casa de la Panadería was restored by Joaquín María de la Vega. The
Casa de la Panadería is the piece of the façade framed by two towers. It has been used for many different purposes in history. Its name originates from its original use of the main city bakery. In 1921 the farmhouse was reformed, and then again in 1935 by Fernando García de Mercadal. In 1960s, the plaza was closed to road traffic and underground parking was added below the plaza. The last of the changes to the Plaza Mayor, made in 1992, consisted of mural decoration, the work of Carlos Franco, of the Casa de la Panadería, which represents mythological figures such as the goddess Cibeles. ==Statue==