The Palacio de los Alarcos in the Plaza Mayor of Yecla

A 16th century palatial residence built in Yecla by an important noble family

The Palacio de los Alarcos is one of the historic baroque and Renaissance buildings which stand around the Plaza Mayor in Yecla, and was built in the 16th century by one of the most important noble families of the time, who went under the lengthy name of Gil de Alarcos y Palao de Alarcos. The family coat of arms is clearly displayed on the side of the building which looks out onto the square.

The Palacio de los Alarcos in the Plaza Mayor of Yecla Despite maintaining its external appearance the palatial home of this noble family underwent extensive renovation and repair work in the 20th century, and it is now used as an annex to the Town Hall (a building previously known as the Palacio del Concejo which was built between the 16th and 18th centuries). Alongside these two buildings in the Plaza Mayor are the 19th century clock tower, which stands on a spot formerly occupied by a church, works by the Murcia painter José María Párraga on the outside of the Lonja (the old food market which is now the municipal auditorium) and the cloisters of the old wheat grain store, the Pósito.

The Palacio de Los Alarcos was built in the Castilian style in the 16th and 17th centuries as a family residence but was sub-divided into various smaller homes in the 19th century. By the 1970s the ground floor was a music shop and a tobacconist’s, and its deterioration made renovation necessary.

The current appearance of the building is elegant, with white-painted stonework offset by ornamental window frames with wrought iron decoration. The coat of arms of the Alarcos family is still in pride of place on the façade in the Plaza Mayor, and on the side, in Calle Francisco Corbalán, is an attractive corner window.

Both the Palacio de los Alarcos and the Town Hall adjoin a tower bearing the first coat of arms of Yecla and an inscription from the reign of Carlos II (1665-1700) which dates the tower in 1687.

For more information about the historical buildings in Yecla, see the history of Yecla.

If visiting Yecla don’t forget to make sure one of your first ports of call is the tourist office (Plaza Mayor, 1, telephone 968 754104, email turismo@yecla.es).

For more local events, news and visiting information go to the home page of Yecla Today.