It seems that the name of Calaceite could come from the Qal’ at Zayd and Arabic expression that would refer to the castle that once dominated the town.
But the most important thing is that Calaceite is a village in Teruel full of charm and history which often surprises those who arrive there without having been informed previously.
The region keeps a few archaeological treasures, and at a very short distance from the town is the most important of them all: the Iberian village of San Antonio. Not much remains of the subsequent Roman and Arabic vacations in the place, but what we do know is that the Christian troops were given a hell of a job conquering the site for good. Later, Calaceite passed through the hands of several medieval lords, the Order of Calatrava and the bishops. Between the Renaissance and Baroque periods, several of its most symbolic buildings were erected.
This is the case of the beautiful Church of La Asunción, built at the end of the seventeenth century, or the Chapel of San Roque. From the beginning of that same century is the imposing building of the Town Hall, which preserves the prison and keeps a crucifix before which people used to ask for some rain when it was necessary.
Do take a good look at this beautiful town and its manor houses. Look at its balconies, and also at the gates of the old defensive wall, because on one of them a chapel dedicated to San Antonio was built. Sooner or later, the walk will take you to the square, which, as is usually the case, is the very heart of the town.
This space has been called Plaza de Abajo, Plaza Mayor, Plaza de Los Silos, Plaza de La Constitución and Plaza de España. And in the same way that it has had a lot of names, it has been used for a lot of things. This is where neighbourhood assemblies have gathered, bullfighting festivals and public trials have been held, markets have been set up, and even prisoners have been executed. Also, under this square silos were placed in which the goods delivered as payment of taxes were stored.
