Let's move now to a more modern
square that seemed to be the heart of the town on the
sleepy Sunday we visited.
Behind the magnificent Renaissance square Plaza
Vázquez de Molina, we found the more mundane City
Hall plaza pictured at
top with the view looking west (at top) over the
barbeque grills (actually they're upscale recycling and
trash bins) and then below that looking eastward.
Many of the buildings on this
square are of more modern construction. One exception, of
course, is the City Hall (Ayuntamiento), which, in fact,
is the back of the magnificent Palacio de las Cadenas
facing the adjoining Plaza Vazquez de Molina. The
contrast between these two squares could hardly be
greater but this building is on both!
While tourists flock to the monumental Plaza Vazquez de
Molina, the townspeople go about their daily lives in
Ayuntamiento Square. We found these children out playing
in their Sunday best.
While these children may appear to be
unsupervised, in fact, their mothers were keeping a
watchful eye from the outdoor cafes serving Sunday
dinner. Above one strolls from one of the cafes, beer in
hand, to supervise the tykes. The monument is to the
fallen in the Spanish Civil War. Úbeda has better
angels, at least stone ones.
Francisco Vela de los Cobos Mansion
But kitty-corner to the prosaic
city hall square rises this elegant mansion (pictured below) built by
Andrés de Vandelvira for another of the de los
Cobos family. In the old town of Úbeda, one never
seems far from one of his Renaissance palaces. Hidden by
the tree are two stark white Dorian pillars in front of
corner windows on the two upper stories. These stand out
dramatically from the mellow brown stone on the rest of
this palace.
Below left is Vandelvira's restrained doorway. The coats
of arms are probably of the owner, don Francisco Vela de
los Cobos and his wife. Earlier de los Cobos Ferdinand
and Isabella drive the Moors from Granada. This palace
was built during the 1570s.
The gallery (above
right) is somewhat reminiscent of the
mannerist-decorated tower we saw a few pictures back. We
found these open galleries on the top floors of many of
the palaces of Úbeda, but not as well arcaded as
what we have here
Next let's travel to the next square to the east towards
the old city walls where we will find Úbeda's
Plaza 1st of May. Please join us by clicking
here.
Please join us in the following slide show to
give Úbeda the viewing it deserves by clicking here.
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