Alcaraz

Alcaraz lies among the mountains at the southern edge of La Mancha. Alfonso VIII captured the town from Muslim rule in 1213, and its castle guarded a route toward Granada. In the sixteenth century the town created a spacious Plaza Mayor for its market and civic life. Arcaded halls surround the square, while the towers of the Trinity church and El Tardón rise together above it. The architect Andrés de Vandelvira contributed to the decoration of El Tardón, begun in 1555.