Their layout is very different from the rest of the quarters in the historic part: streets are straighter with a uniformly arranged series of rectangular blocks.
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With the 12th century enlargement of the walls, the quarters of San Vicente and San Lorenzo were incorporated into the city. Despite this, neither were urbanised until after the Reconquest. This is why their layout is very different from the rest of the quarters in the historic part: streets are straighter with a uniformly arranged series of rectangular blocks where palaces, such as that of El Infante Don Fadrique, and convents, such as those of Santa Clara and San Clemente, were built. At one end is the Alameda de Hércules, a boulevard which was urbanised in 1574 by the Count of Barajas and is presided over by two statues of Julius Caesar and Hercules, supported by Roman columns. In the Plaza de San Lorenzo is the basilica which houses the famous El Gran Poder, a 17th century religious image made by Juan de Mesa which enjoys a lot of popular devotion. |