The Bull Ring

Constitution Square stands in the center of the Old Town of San Sebastian-Donostia in northern Spain near the border with France.

A giant outdoor room with four stories of balconies looking down on everything taking place below. Annual festivals  have made this an important meeting place since its completion in the early 1800’s after a fire swept through the city creating a canvas for new construction.

As you stand in the center and look up at the apartments above you notice the numbers over each door. This is a decoration left from the days when the square was used as a stadium for bullfights. The numbers mark spectator boxes. Knowing this helps you hear the roar of the crowd from days gone by and imagine the faces in the windows now long gone like the bulls who died under the blade of the of the matador’s estoque.