Jerez Arcade

Arab Art and XIII and XIV centuries’ Gothic Art.
Main access door to the Old Quarter, built by the Arabs and to which Christians added a Gothic arcade and that bears a commemorative plaque in honor of the ‘VERY NOBLE, VERY LOYAL AND HEROIC CITY OF TARIFA’. Inside, the ‘tableau of the God of the Winds’, by Guillermo Pérez Villalta (XX century).
The Jerez Arcade is one of the most important and emblematic monuments of the city. After the Christian conquest, the ramparts were further extended and the Jerez Arcade was opened. This is a door set in between two square towers with a straight access and which comprises three consecutive arches. The first one is a pointed arch set in sandstone, behind which a cannon vaulted ceiling opens up. Separated by a canalization possibly carved by rake, there is the first horseshoe arch, and next to that there is a ribbed vault that opens up to the third arch, which is also in the shape of a horseshoe and that finally opens to the city.
The Arcade was restored in 2000 and a space was provided to house the painting ‘The Christ of the Winds’, undertaken by the local artist, Guillermo Pérez Villalta.
The coat of arms that can be seen above the door shows an inscription that commemorates the taking of the city by Sancho IV, the Brave, on 1292.
From the Jerez Arcade we can reach several typical streets such as:
• Silos Street, taking its name from the silos or grain storages that historically lined the street.
• Luz (‘Light’) Street, having always featured numerous stores and thereby being frequently used.
• Jerez or Lorito (‘Little Parrot’) Street.
• Pesos (‘Weights’) Street, where weights used for grain coming from the nearby storages were made. Number 4 still has the hook where the steelyard was hanged.