Corella

Its origin was not medieval, but responded to the urban expansion that Corella experienced from the sixteenth century, when, having achieved peace after the conquest of Navarre and its annexation to Castile, the then town experienced a period of prosperity and growth, both demographic and economic, thanks to the development of trade, livestock and agriculture. 

Possibly this agora had a commercial origin, as attested by its old name as place del Mercado, and would have been formed under the protection of the parish of the Rosary, from which it also took its name on occasion. The aforementioned church was erected in the 16th century, although after 1656 it underwent a major remodeling and enlargement, so that the monumental brick building closed off the southern flank of the urban expansion. However, the final configuration of the current place de los Fueros took place in the 17th century. In 1690 the City Council obtained permission from the Royal committee to spend 3,000 ducats on the bridge over the Alhama River and to acquire and demolish several houses that were in the place, an operation that sought not only to regularize it in order to hold bullfights there but also to make it more beautiful, functions that were added to the already existing commercial ones. A slightly irregular rectangular floor plan was thus created, in which Baroque style houses were built, most of which have unfortunately disappeared or have been greatly transformed, with balconies with rich wrought iron railings and arched galleries on their façades. In the center of the north side stood the town house, that is, the town hall, renovated in 1669. It was presided over by a wide overhanging balcony for the authorities, flanked by two coats of arms of Corella, one of which has been preserved in the present building. Among all the domestic buildings erected, the main house of the Virto de Vera family stood out on the eastern side, sponsored in 1741 by Juan Fermín Virto de Vera and his wife Josefa Anchorena, both belonging to prominent families dedicated to business and especially to the wool trade.