Corral de comedias de Almagro

This corral de comedias, initially under private ownership and later given to charity, was located within the precincts of an inn situated on the southern side of Plaza Mayor in the city center.

[1] Its establishment is on a report dated 1628 and credited to Don Leonardo de Oviedo, cleric and ordained priest of the former parish of St. Bartholomew in Calatrava.

[4] Descended from an Asturian family of Jewish origin,[4] he made a payment of 5,000 ducats, a fortune at the time, in order to build this corral by expanding the well-known Taberna del Toro through the acquisition of neighboring properties.

In 1950, when Plaza Mayor was being rebuilt, the owner of an inn, while doing his daily chores, found a hand-painted Spanish card deck dated to the early eighteenth century.

He brought it to the attention of the City Council and his alcalde, Julian Calero, who then sent it to the civil governor of the province, Don José María del Moral.

During the reconstruction work done by M. Gonzalez Valcarcel in 1953,[1] the brick walls which concealed the place were removed and the stage area of the theatre appeared almost intact, at which point it was decided that the site, still in the hands of the owners, should be restored.

It was two stories high with rooms and hooks where an awning was placed to protect the spectators in daylight hours, and the candles or oil lamps during a rainy night.

There was also a small wooden gate which gave access to the court, and on both sides of the courtyard there were podiums or steps that were occupied by traders, soldiers, officials, and people of a higher social level.