Plaza Mayor is located in the center of Madrid, in the Sol neighborhood, next to Calle Mayor and 300 meters from Puerta del Sol.

The beginnings of the square date back to the 16th century, when at the confluence of the roads of Toledo and Atocha, on the outskirts of the medieval town, the main market of the city, known as "Plaza del Arrabal", was held on this site. town. At that time a first porticoed house, or fish market, was built to regulate commerce in the square.

In 1580, after having transferred the court to Madrid in 1561, Felipe II entrusted Juan de Herrera with the remodeling project of the square. That same year the demolition of the "apple houses" of the old square began. The construction of the first building in the new square, the Casa de la Panadería, began in 1590 by Diego Sillero, on the site of the old fish market. In 1617, Felipe III, commissioned the completion of the works to Juan Gómez de Mora, who will complete the square in 1619.

The Plaza Mayor has suffered three major fires in its history, the first in 1631. Juan Gómez de Mora himself was in charge of the reconstruction works. The second fire occurred in 1670, and it was the architect Tomás Román who was in charge of the reconstruction. The last fire, which destroyed a third of the square, took place in 1790. Sabatini directed the extinction work, and Juan de Villanueva was commissioned to rebuild it, who lowered the height of the hamlet that surrounds the square from five to three floors and closed the corners enabling large arches for access. The reconstruction works would last until 1854. After the death of Villanueva, they were continued by his disciples Antonio López Aguado and Custodio Moreno.

In 1848, the equestrian statue of Felipe III was placed in the center of the square, the work of Juan de Bolonia and Pietro Tacca dating from 1616.

In 1880, the Casa de la Panadería was restored; Joaquín María de la Vega was in charge of the project.

In 1921 the farmhouse was reformed, work by Oriol.

In 1935 another reform was carried out, carried out by Fernando García de Mercadal.

In the 1960s, a general restoration was carried out, which closed it to road traffic, replaced the Arabic tile on the roofs with slate and enabled an underground car park under the square.

The last of the performances in the Plaza Mayor, carried out in 1992, consisted of the mural decoration, the work of Carlos Franco, from the Casa de la Panadería, which represents mythological characters such as the goddess Cibeles.