Plaza de España (the Parche) and its three palaces

Chapter 5/10 · Avilés

This is Plaza de España, which the people of Avilés call the Patch. It is the kilometre zero of the town. It was born in the seventeenth century, when the walled area became too small and the town grew southward. The most typical streets of Avilés start from here, and the plaza is full of arcades and terraces.

Three palaces surround it. The town hall, with its arcades and its clock tower. The palace of the Marquis of Ferrera, now a hotel, with a corner tower, one of the most original in Asturian civil architecture. And the Llano Ponte palace, or García Pumarino palace, built by a man who made his fortune in Peru and came home. Only its façade remains. For years it was the Marta y María cinema.

The nickname dates from 1893: by a council order of 6 October that year, the open space in front of the town hall was extended and, the story goes, people saw the addition as a patch. Now we take Calle de Rivero, which starts beside the Llano Ponte palace.

← Carlos Lobo Square: Franciscan Fathers church and Alas chapel · Calle de Rivero: Holy Christ chapel and Caños de Rivero fountain →