In 1733, the Real Maestranza de Caballería obtained permission from Felipe V to build a bullring.
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For centuries nobles practiced equestrian sports which involved the chasing of bulls in places like the Puerta de Córdoba, Plaza del Duque, Plaza de Armas, Tablada and Plaza de San Francisco and there is documented evidence of this going back to 1405. In 1707 a square wooden arena was built against the walls of the Convent of El Populo which is today the Market of El Arenal. In 1733, the Real Maestranza de Caballería obtained permission from Felipe V to build a bullring. |
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Constructed from wood, it was the first round bullring in Spain. In 1761, architect Vicente San Martín drew up the design for the bullring we see today but it was not completed until 1881. The last stage of the works were directed by Juan Talavera de la Vega. Over that period of time, a series of buildings were adjoined to the bullring, a fact that made it impossible to achieve the perfect circular shape of the initial design. As a result of this, the whole complex, including the actual arena, had to be adapted. The main façade, in an austere baroque style, was completed in 1787. |