The bull shows, documented since the Middles Ages in Valencia, established themselves as one of the most popular festivities in the 18th century. There were almost-weekly runnings of the bulls in front of the Nuevo (“New”) and Russafa entrances to the city. Occasionally, the general hospital, which had a monopoly on the managment of the bulls, celebrated the running of the bulls on elevated rings within the Plaza del Mercado. In 1860 an actual plaza of the bulls was erected on Xativa street and the runnins were, by far, the most followed form of entertainment by the popular classes in Valencia at the end of the 19th century.