Plaça de l'Ajuntament, Valencia

Plaça de l'Ajuntament is Valencia’s civic square, gathered around the city hall, a circular fountain, flower stalls, and a broad open surface. The surrounding façades give you an urban frame, while the paving leaves the space visually expansive. This is also the setting for the traditional mascletàs held during the Fallas festival, with fireworks performed across the open area.

The square took its present form through a redesign by municipal architect Francisco Javier Goerlich, begun in 1927 and chiefly carried out between 1931 and 1933. That project replaced the former Bajada de San Francisco and was intended to create a new civic focus for Valencia. Its raised triangular platform had fountains at its corners, representing the city’s three provinces, and earned the nickname tortada because of its cake-like shape.

Beneath the platform, the Flower Market gave florists an enclosed place to trade. The vendors strongly resisted it: the space was narrow and dark, and they believed working there would ruin their businesses. The platform was later dismantled, leaving the broad, open square you see now.