Plaza Padre Juan de Mariana, Talavera

To the west, the Plaza del Pan is bordered by a small triangular square with a monument to a famous intellectual from the era of Spain's greatest cultural rise in the 16th and 17th centuries, known as the Golden Age (Siglo de Oro). Juan de Mariana was born in Talavera in 1536 and was the illegitimate son of the rector of the church, in connection with which he was subjected to numerous harassment in his childhood. Nevertheless, the determined young man went to Alcala de Hernares, where he studied theology and art. Here he joined the Jesuit order and continued his education at the Jesuit College in Rome, then taught theology at the Sorbonne University in Paris. After returning to Spain, he settled in Toledo, where he studied various versions of the Old and New Testaments. During this period, he began work on compiling a history of Spain. The independence of his judgments drew criticism from both ecclesiastical and civil authorities, but this monumental work was accepted and considered canonical until the 19th century.

Behind the monument on the left is a building built at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries in the late Renaissance style, owned by the Counts of Oliva (Palacio Condes de la Oliva). From the outside, the building does not give the impression of luxury, only the coat of arms above the portal indicates belonging to a noble family, but the courtyard is surrounded by beautiful two-level galleries with porticos. Traces of two Roman-era tombstones can also be seen in the courtyard. King Philip II stayed in the palace for the night during a pilgrimage to Guadeloupe.

The building opposite the palace is decorated with beautiful ceramic panels of the Churrreria Mariana pastry shop.

Traditional Spanish churros are spirals of dough fried in boiling oil and eaten dipped in hot chocolate.

The main portal of the city hall also opens onto the square, and I'll tell you more about it in the next article.