Plaza de la Romanilla, Granada

The Plaza de la Romanilla, also known as Plaza de las Palmeras , is near the cathedral, on the site where one of the city's souks stood in Arab times .

The Plaza de la Romanilla has continued to evolve and change. In Moorish Granada, it was a conglomeration of houses and a place where goods were sold.

At the beginning of the 17th century, most of this area belonged to the Genoese merchant Rolando de Levanto.
In 1636 the monastery of the Sisters of the Capuchins was built here, which survived until 1837. With the advent of the Dismantling, in the first half of the 19th century, the political leader of Granada, Agustín Romero, ordered the Convent of the Capuchin Sisters to be demolished . With its rubble and that of the Augustinian convent, which had also disappeared, they formed the esplanade that rose from the center of the Plaza de Bibrambla.

After the disappearance of the convent of the Capuchin nuns, the site was paved and in 1842 turned into a square and a public vegetable market . This space was named Plaza de la Libertad (Freedom Square).

In the late 19th century, a brick market was built on "La Plaza de la Libertad", next to the market of San Agustín , which was only a few meters away. In 1973, the Romanilla Market was demolished.

The name Plaza de La Romanilla comes from the latter market and recalls the municipal market stall . In this stall one could check the correctness of the weight of the purchased items with a small Roman weight, popularly called La Romanilla , so that in case of fraud the necessary complaints could be made.

Today, this space houses a modern building that houses the Federico García Lorca Foundation and the Monument to the Water Bearer , along with tourism, stalls selling fruits, dried fruits, spices, etc. and bars.

Willem Vandenameele