Plaza de la Merced (Merced Square), Malaga (must see)

Merced Square is one of Málaga’s oldest and most historically charged public spaces and forms the heart of the La Merced neighbourhood. Located just outside the former Moorish city walls, it functioned early on as an open civic space. In August 1487, it became the stage for a defining moment in the city’s history: the formal surrender of Málaga by its Muslim rulers. The ceremony unfolded as a grand procession led by Bishop Pedro de Toledo, accompanied by the Catholic Monarchs, knights, nobility, and freed Christian captives.

In 1507, the square took on a new identity with the arrival of the Mercedarian friars, whose mission was the redemption of Christian captives. They built a church and a large convent that gave the square its enduring name and anchored it as a religious and social centre. Over the following centuries, Merced Square evolved into a residential and civic space, framed by houses, institutions, and places of gathering.

At its centre stands a 19th-century obelisk commemorating Spanish liberal soldier General José María Torrijos and his companions, executed in 1831 for their opposition to absolutist rule. Beneath the monument lies a crypt containing their remains. While the crypt is not open to the public, the names of the fallen are inscribed on the pedestal.

Merced Square is also closely tied to Pablo Picasso. He was born in 1881 at number 15 at the northern corner of the square, a building that now houses a museum and the headquarters of the Pablo Ruiz Picasso Foundation. Additionally, the northern corner of the square hosts a bronze statue of Picasso seated on a bench with notebook and pencil in hand, leaving space beside him for visitors. The marble bench and the statue can be found right in front of the square's northern access point.

Today, cafés and terraces line the perimeter, making the square a lively meeting point.