Plaza del Potro

Plaza del Potro takes its name from two possible origins that local historians still debate: an old inn where colts and mules were bought and sold, or the fountain that presides over the space, topped with the figure of a colt (potro). The first references to the area as "Potro" appear at the beginning of the 14th century, linked to the livestock trade and the fairs held there. In the second half of that century, with shops and inns already built around it, the space came to be formally recognised as Plaza del Potro.

At the end of the 15th century the square shrank when the convent of San Francisco and the Hospital de la Caridad, the building now occupied by the square's two museums, were built beside it. In 1577, under the magistrate Garci Suárez de Carvajal and during the reign of Philip II, the fountain that gives the place its name was erected. In 1847 that fountain was moved to its current position and crowned with the sculpture of the colt that can still be seen today.

The square's literary hook comes from Miguel de Cervantes, who lived in Córdoba and mentions the place in Don Quixote and in Rinconete y Cortadillo. The specific reference speaks of the Posada del Potro as a meeting point for merchants, travellers and rowdy characters during the 16th and 17th centuries, a reputation that made the square one of the most portrayed corners in Spanish Golden Age literature. A commemorative plaque today recalls that link between the writer and the city.

Plaza del Potro concentrates in a very small space four points that are normally visited separately: the fountain that gives the square its name, the inn Cervantes mentions and two museums housed in the same historic building. Covering them in a single walk, without leaving the square, is the most efficient way to get to know this corner of Córdoba without missing any of its attractions.

The Renaissance fountain that presides over the square was built in 1577 on the commission of the magistrate Garci Suárez de Carvajal. It is octagonal in plan, with four spouts pouring water into the lower basin and the figure of a rearing colt on top. It stood elsewhere in the square until 1847, when it was moved to the site it occupies today.

The Posada del Potro was for centuries an inn for merchants, muleteers and travellers, and is the building that Miguel de Cervantes mentions in Don Quixote. Its façade, with the inner courtyard typical of Cordoban inns, survives next to the fountain and remains one of the reasons the square features on the city's literary routes.

The Córdoba Museum of Fine Arts occupies part of the former Hospital de la Caridad, founded in the 15th century by the Catholic Monarchs. It brings together a collection of Cordoban art ranging from the medieval period to the 20th century, with painting, sculpture and engraving as the main threads of the visit.

In the same building, but with a separate entrance and collection, is the Julio Romero de Torres Museum, dedicated to the Cordoban painter who gives the space its name. The house-museum keeps much of his original work and lets you understand, on the same walk as the fountain and the inn, another of the city's most recognised artistic figures.

The Museum of Fine Arts (Plaza del Potro, 1) opens Tuesday to Saturday from 9:00 to 21:00 and Sundays and public holidays from 9:00 to 15:00 between 16 September and 15 June; in summer hours, from 16 June to 15 September, it opens Tuesday to Sunday from 9:00 to 15:00. Closed on Mondays. Entry is free for European Union citizens and costs 1.50 euros for all other nationalities.

The Julio Romero de Torres Museum, in the same building, has different hours: Tuesday to Friday from 8:15 to 20:15 and Saturdays from 9:30 to 17:30 in the winter season, with Sundays and public holidays closing at 14:15. In summer it opens Tuesday to Sunday from 8:15 to 14:15. The general ticket costs 5 euros, the reduced one 2.50 euros, and it is free for under-17s and Córdoba residents. On non-holiday Thursdays entry is free from 18:00 in winter or 12:00 in summer, subject to capacity.

Both museums close on Mondays, as well as on 1 January and 25 December in the case of the Julio Romero de Torres Museum. It is worth checking the calendar of local holidays before your visit, as it may occasionally alter these hours.

Plaza del Potro is about 10 minutes' walk from the Mosque-Cathedral, through the streets of the historic centre towards the Guadalquivir river. The route passes some of the most characteristic little streets of the monumental area before opening onto the square, next to the fountain and the two museums.

Its proximity to the river also makes it a good waypoint towards the Roman Bridge or the Ribera district, so it is often included in itineraries that combine the Mosque with the rest of the historic centre in a single morning.

Plaza del Potro is just one stop within a much larger historic centre, and the best way to understand it in context is to explore the rest of the monumental centre with a guide. The Free Tour of Córdoba connects these secondary corners with the main points of the city on a route of about 2 hours, with a voluntary tip of 10 to 15 euros per person.

Book your place on the Free Tour of Córdoba and discover Plaza del Potro within a complete route through the historic centre.