The National Philatelic Exhibition, known as Exfilna, is being held in Cádiz in 2025, an event that brings together philatelic enthusiasts and curious onlookers alike.
As every year, the celebration is reflected not only in the stands and exhibits, but also through a commemorative stamp that highlights one of the city's most emblematic landmarks: Cádiz City Hall.
The location of Cádiz City Hall has remained unchanged since the 16th century, although the building itself has evolved over time. In fact, the current structure, erected in 1799, was built on the site of former town halls. The appearance you see today is the result of two phases: the first, led by architects Pedro Ángel Albisu and Torcuato Benjumeda, followed the prevailing academic or neoclassical style of the time. A second phase, in the Isabelline style, dating from around 1865, was carried out by Manuel García del Álamo, who refined the interiors.
If you stand facing it, you'll see a wide portico with a balcony featuring four prominent Ionic columns. Above the columns is a triangular pediment with a relief figure of Hercules, the city's founder, although from a distance the columns on either side are barely visible. A little higher up rises a slender, three-tiered tower in the Mannerist style. The first tier, square in plan, houses two sculptures: Saint Servando and Saint Germán, patron saints of Cádiz. The second tier is octagonal with niches along its sides and supports the uppermost tier, which resembles a small temple with Ionic columns, a gleaming tiled dome, and a bell.
Inside, it houses various rooms arranged around a square courtyard, from which a late 17th-century staircase opens. The white marble sculpture of Hercules, which once stood in a fountain in the city, and two large canvases located on the staircase—one depicting the miracle of Our Lady of the Rosary and the other the patron saints of Cádiz—are of singular beauty.
The City Hall's Plenary Hall boasts rich ornamentation, featuring stucco, marble, and Isabeline-style frescoes. The vaulted ceiling is painted with frescoes, and the side walls with trompe-l'œil. Exquisite Venetian glass chandeliers in various colors hang from the ceiling. Also noteworthy are the Clock Corridor, the Local Government Board Room, and the Isabeline Hall.
City Hall of Cádiz
