One of the
most characteristic buildings in the city of Zaragoza is la Lonja (the Contracting Exchange), used for dealing in agricultural
products, especially grain. The building was constructed between 1541
and 1551 to ensure that all the dealings for the city were conducted in
one place and not in public or religious places. It was one of the most
important places of its time. The building is Renaissance in style with
Florentine influence, having four equal sides with three floors, built
in brick and slightly evoking the mudejar style. The first floor has large
windows and elegant doors with half-pointed archways. The second floor
is similar to the first, with circular windows inside the arches and the
third floor has a typical Aragonese gallery with arches containing other
smaller arches. decorated with circular medallions containing busts.
The inside
of the Exchange is a square room made up of three naves with star-vaulted
ceilings, held up by two dozen conical pillars. These pillars are decorated
with gilt rosettes.
The Exchange,
with its unusual design, half Gothic and half Plateresque adds its graceful
presence to the illustrious past of this wonderful city. |
