Plaza de la Constitución

Baena’s Plaza de la Constitución is the real heart of the town. There are 18th century baroque buildings such as the Monte building, as well as more modern examples like local government buildings and the Liceo theatre. The Town Hall is at the front of the Plaza, a recently constructed building. It received an award from Western Andalusia’s Official Architects’ College in 1989. On a pedestal in front of the town hall, we can see the monument to the figure of the Jew. It is sculpted in bronze and represents the main character of Baena’s Easter Week, the Colinegro Jew and the Colinblanco Jew. There are also two more statues in Plaza de la Constitución, commemorating Santo Domingo de Henares and Juan Alfonso de Baena. The former was an 18th century Dominican monk sent as a missionary to Vietnam, where in 1802 he was named bishop and where he later died as a martyr and was canonized by John Paul II. The latter was a 15th century poet covering medieval texts in a manuscript known as Baena’s collection of verse. To the right of the Plaza is the Liceo theatre, the town’s centre for cultural activities. It opened in 1999 and seats more than 400 as well as the stalls at either side. The majestic Casa del Monte house occupies the complete right-hand side of the Plaza. This rococo building owes its name to the fact that it was constructed in 1774, charged to Monte Horquera’s funds, being a communal property. Built with brick and rough stone, with a colonnade, it has several balconies between pilasters, some of which are topped with triangular pediments. The main balcony, which preserves interesting decorative iron railings, was occupied by a painting that represented the Divina Pastora, which is why the balcony is called “Balcón de la Pastora”. It now holds a tiled shrine of the icon of Sagrado Corazón, baroque in style.