This is the Plaza Mayor of San Sebastián:
If you look closely, you’ll see that there are numbers over each balcony door:
Here they are:
These are not apartment numbers. But what are they? How were these numbers used historically?
4 responses to “A Spanish Riddle”
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(cliff arroyo)
How were these numbers used historically? The whole square reminds me a bit of an outdoor opera house with the balconies as boxes…. So I’ll guess that the balconies are used for spectators of some event or events that take place in the square.
The question is how do the spectators gain access? Are there portable stairs or do residents have to let them through their apartments?
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You are absolutely right that these were an equivalent of a seat number for a public spectacle. Now we have to guess which event it was that people would gather to watch in the square. I didn’t guess because the plaza is quite small, so I didn’t think that particular event could happen there. Now it’s all apartments and the numbers were preserved for historical flavor.
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A conservative literary critic and college professor
Clarissa's Blog 
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