Plaza de la Constitución

You are standing in Málaga's old main square. Back in Nasrid times it was already a principal square, known as the Four Streets, and after the Castilian conquest it became the seat of power: the City Hall stood here until 1869, along with the magistrate's house, the jail, the high court and the butchers' stalls.

1A name that changes with history

In 1812 it was named Plaza de la Constitución after the Cádiz Constitution. Since then it has been Liberty Square, Federal Republic Square and, under Franco, José Antonio Primo de Rivera Square. With democracy it got its name back. In the paving you'll see steel plates, laid in 2004, showing the newspaper front pages from the day the 1978 Constitution was approved.

In December 1831, General Torrijos's companions were locked up in this square's long-gone jail before being shot. Soon after, in 1837, the businessman Manuel Agustín Heredia opened the Pasaje de Heredia beside it, modelled on the shopping arcades of Paris and London.

2The Genoa Fountain

The fountain is a Renaissance piece from the 16th century. It is said to have come from Genoa, though no document confirms it; what is on record is that it cost the City Council a thousand ducats. It spent years in the park and returned to the square in 2002, when Calle Larios was pedestrianised.

Today this is where the Holy Week grandstand goes up, along with Fair stalls and the New Year's Eve grapes.

3What to look for

• The Genoa Fountain, with mermaids whose tails intertwine and an eagle on top.
• The newspaper plaques from 1978 in the pavement.
• The entrance to the Pasaje de Chinitas, recalling the flamenco café that inspired Lorca.