Tarazona de la Mancha

Human settlement around Tarazona de la Mancha goes back a long way. A 1978 archaeological survey recorded evidence of Palaeolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iberian, Roman, and late medieval occupation across the municipal area.

The Romans left the most visible mark. A well-preserved Roman bridge still stands and is still in use over the Río Valdemembra, thought to have formed part of an ancient road through the area. A Roman villa at a spot known as "Casa de los Guardas" yielded mosaic floors that are now on display in the Museo Arqueológico de Albacete.

During the late Middle Ages the territory belonged to the Council of Alarcón, passing to the Marquesate of Villena in 1476. The present town grew from an older hamlet called "Casas de Cuarto Alto", settled by people from Villanueva de la Jara. King Philip II granted it the status of a town (villazgo) on 11 October 1564, giving it jurisdiction as far as the Río Júcar. By 1575, royal surveys recorded 400 houses and 500 households. In 1779 the town received the right to hold a weekly tax-free market, and under Charles III it served as the administrative capital of a corregimiento covering Madrigueras, Quintanar del Rey, and Villalgordo del Júcar. The mid-19th century Madoz dictionary put the population at over 5,000. The town took its current name, Tarazona de la Mancha, only in 1916, having previously been known simply as Tarazona.

During the Spanish Civil War the town served as a base for the Abraham Lincoln Battalion, the American volunteer unit fighting on the Republican side. On 16 October 1937, two US congressmen visited the barracks and were received with a parade across the main square. A roughly 40-second fragment of a documentary filmed that day, *Norteamérica en España*, still survives.

The heart of town is the Plaza Mayor, a declared national historic-artistic monument. It is a coherent ensemble of vernacular colonial-style architecture — wooden balustrades on projecting balconies, stone arcades, and an unhurried, aged feel. The town hall (Ayuntamiento), completed in 1692, faces onto the square and is the only building that retains its original stone portico, carried on semicircular arches. An inscription records the construction date. The square is entered through four arches; a fifth was demolished in 1910 and is known only from a photograph. A papal coat of arms of Innocent XI is carved into one corner, and a fountain installed in 1928 stands at the centre. In the time of Charles IV, bullfights were held here. The square and the church esplanade alongside it were once divided by low stone walls separating the civic from the religious zone; these came down in 1934.

The parish church of San Bartolomé stands beside the Ayuntamiento. Construction began in 1549 and the tower was completed in 1649. The interior has three naves and five bays divided by Ionic columns, with ribbed vaulting featuring ligatures and tiercerons. Several side chapels are attached. The doorway shows the influence of the Valdivira architectural tradition, and the square bell tower is topped by a slate spire.

Walking the streets, you will also come across houses with carved heraldic shields, the hermitage of San Antonio Abad, and a bullring with an unusual design — excavated directly into a hillside rather than built up from the ground.