Almagro

It is not known when people first settled here; finds in the Casas Maestrales and outside the centre point to a possible Bronze Age settlement, and Roman coins and a headstone have been found. The name comes from the Arabic al-magra, red clay, the local clay that is one of the materials of the Plaza Mayor. Almagro's rise came in the 13th century, when the military Order of Calatrava chose it as a residence and made it the centre of its government; tradition holds that a master of the order gave the town its charter in 1213. Alfonso X held the Castilian Cortes here in 1273, and in 1374 Henry II granted the town two fairs, which helped its trade.

In the 16th century the financial troubles of Charles V made the German Fugger bankers beneficiaries of the mines of Almadén, and their German administrators settled in Almagro; the Plaza Mayor took its galleried form under their influence, and some of their mansions survive. The population roughly doubled during the 16th century, new districts grew beyond the walls, and convents, churches and noble houses multiplied. In the 18th century the Conde de Valdeparaíso, a native of the town and finance minister, encouraged the textile trade, especially lace, and Almagro was the provincial capital of La Mancha from 1750 to 1761.

The 19th century brought decline, competition from Ciudad Real, the sale of church lands and the demolition of the walls in 1886, though the railway arrived in 1860. Revival came with the rediscovery of the Corral de Comedias in the 1950s, the restoration of the square, recognition as a historic-artistic zone in 1972 and the first classical theatre festival in 1978.

Almagro is Spain's theatre town. The Corral de Comedias, the only 17th-century playhouse of its kind to survive intact, was found during building work in 1953, reopened in 1954 with a play by Calderón de la Barca and declared a national monument in 1955. The International Festival of Classical Theatre has been held every year since 1978, now in July, using the Corral, theatres, churches, courtyards and squares, and the National Museum of Performing Arts, called the National Museum of Theatre until 2024, has its home in the town.

Lace is the other great tradition. Encaje de bolillos, or bobbin lace, and blonde lace were organised as an industry in the 18th century and became a mark of the town's identity; the encajeras who make it still work, and the lace museum keeps collections made in Almagro and the surrounding district.

The town's festivals mix the religious and the civic: the patroness, the Virgen de las Nieves, is venerated in the church of the Madre de Dios, and the fair in honour of Saint Bartholomew fills late August. The bullring of 1845 gave Spanish an expression — to end up "like Cagancho in Almagro" means to fail very publicly, after a bullfighter's disastrous afternoon there.

About 9,200 people lived in the municipality in 2025, according to the INE. The town lies on the plain of the Campo de Calatrava, a district of low hills and old volcanoes in the centre of Ciudad Real province, close to the provincial capital.

Most economic activity now turns on hospitality and tourism, built around the theatre festival, alongside farming — cereals, vines, olives and cotton — livestock, woodworking and construction. Basalt quarries and mines of manganese and plaster add to the local economy, the town's dressed aubergines are a well-known product, and lace-making survives as a traditional craft. In the 19th century Almagro faced competition from its neighbours Ciudad Real and Bolaños de Calatrava.

Life follows the rhythm of a Spanish country town: quiet midday hours in the heat, evenings out on the Plaza Mayor and the surrounding streets. July changes everything, when actors, companies and audiences arrive for the festival and the square stays busy late into the night.

The town's most famous product is the berenjena de Almagro, a small aubergine pickled in a special traditional dressing, a way of preserving it that may go back to the cooking of al-Andalus; since 1994 it has been a protected geographical indication. It is usually eaten as a snack alongside other tapas such as banderillas, and green beans are sometimes prepared with the same dressing.

Other dishes of the district are those of La Mancha: duelos y quebrantos, gachas, asadillo manchego, tiznao and somallao, and pisto manchego, a warm dish of tomatoes, onions, courgettes or aubergine, peppers and olive oil, often served with a fried egg. Manchego, the firm cheese made from the milk of the Manchega breed of sheep, is protected by a designation of origin and has Protected Designation of Origin status in the European Union; it is aged between 60 days and two years.

The surrounding plain is wine country, with vines grown around the town, and the bars and terraces of the Plaza Mayor are the place to try local wine with a dish of aubergines.