Plaza de la Corredera, Cordoba's main square in the old town

Plaza de la Corredera is in the old town of Cordoba, between the Axerquía and the city's most commercial area. It's a public square you explore on foot, and it works as both a thoroughfare and a meeting point.

You'll recognise it on arrival, as it's Andalusia's only quadrangular main square with the air of a Castilian plaza. The space is rectangular and surrounded by three-storey buildings, with arcades on the ground floor and balconies above. That ring of arcades is where much of the square's daily life happens, with bars and restaurants all around.

There are three things worth looking out for at Plaza de la Corredera, as they explain its role as a main square and its links to the market and Cordoba's daily life.

At the centre of the square stands the building that holds much of its history. It has served different purposes since the 16th century. It was originally built as a town hall and prison (from 1586), commissioned by the magistrate Don Juan Gaitán de Ayala and designed by the architect Juan de Ochoa.

Later, in 1845, it became the hat factory of José Sánchez Peña, the businessman who brought the steam engine to Cordoba. After it closed, market stalls were authorised, and in 1887 the Sánchez Peña market was set up, eventually reaching 87 stalls. Today the ground floor still houses the market, alongside a space used for municipal purposes.

They run around the perimeter of the square and shape the walk at street level. Beneath them are the bars and restaurants, and the Corredera works as a meeting point for a drink or a bite to eat.

This is one of the main entrances and a good spot to take in the shape of the square as you arrive. From here you can see the whole ensemble, the continuous façade line, and the main square effect within Cordoba's old town.

Plaza de la Corredera is best understood as a space that has changed use over the centuries.

Its origins go back to Roman times, when this area formed part of a large esplanade linked to the Roman circus of Corduba (2nd and 3rd centuries AD). Remains of a Roman domus have also been found nearby, uncovered during various archaeological works.

In the Al-Andalus period, the area fell within what we now know as the Axerquía. Between the 10th and 13th centuries it was a hub of trade and craft activity, home to different communities, and it kept its character as an esplanade linked to selling and trades.

By the late medieval and early modern periods, the site had gradually become an urban square. A key phase appears in the 16th century: public buildings went up and the space began to look more like a main square, taking on uses such as town hall and prison.

The major turning point came at the end of the 17th century. Between 1683 and 1687, the magistrate Francisco Ronquillo Briceño drove the renovation that gave the square its most recognisable look: the façades were realigned, the arcades were built, and the aim was a more symmetrical square, designed to host spectacles and, notably, bullfights — hence the name Corredera.

Leaving Plaza de la Corredera through the Arco Bajo, a few steps away you'll find the Ermita de Nuestra Señora del Socorro, already in Plaza del Socorro. It's a short stop, but it helps you understand a part of the area closely tied to life around the Corredera.

Its origins go back to the 15th century: what we see today as a chapel was originally part of the Hospital de la Santísima Trinidad y Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles. The original chapel stood inside the square itself, but when the magistrate Francisco Ronquillo Briceño carried out the major renovation of the late 17th century (1683), it was moved to its current location to preserve the square's uniform look.

One detail that tends to catch visitors' attention, even when the chapel is closed, is that the camarín housing the Virgin projects out from the building and hangs over Calle Toril. If you walk that way, you'll literally pass underneath it. There are also outward-facing windows through which the image can be seen from the street.

Inside is the Virgen del Socorro, closely linked to the Corredera and the area's trading activity, traditionally regarded as the protector of the food market's traders. The current façade is Baroque (completed around 1696), with two tiers and an upper niche holding a replica of the Virgin. Inside, the main altarpiece is Baroque, dated 1791 and made by Alonso Gómez Caballero, and the image was canonically crowned in 2003.

Plaza de la Corredera changes a lot depending on the time of day, and that's part of how it's really used today. In the morning, the pace is set by the Sánchez Peña Market and the surrounding shops, so this is the time to come if you want to see it with everyday movement, working as a shopping spot in the old town.

From the afternoon on, and especially at night, the square fills up with people under the arcades and at the outdoor terraces. In summer, with Cordoba's heat, this contrast is even more noticeable: during the central hours of the day there's usually less activity, and the atmosphere shifts to the evening, when it becomes a meeting point for locals and visitors again.