Things to see and do Extremadura

5 km from the town, the oldest remains of this town, dating from the Chalcholitique (the third millennium BC), are located in the first Gisement I deposit, and account for a larger period for the second, Castillejo II, which houses vestiges from the Neolithic (4 th Millennium BC.) to the Romans. On this second site, you will notice the urban route and the robust defensive structures. Explanatory panels are located on both locations.

25 km south of Plasencia by C 524. Monfragüe's natural site is one of the most beautiful parks in Europe. Opened since 1979, it covers over 500 km ² of steep peaks in the north, wooded hills, rivers, Taje and Tiétar. Its typically Mediterranean flora gives it a great ecological interest: green oaks and cork oaks, strawberry or lauriers, wild olive trees, brooms to brooms. Its rich and varied fauna includes a large number of protected species such as mongooses, black vultures, black storks, imperial eagles, wild boars, red deer or Iberian lynx.

Since 2014, Francisco de Zurbarán's home has reopened, on the occasion of the 350 th anniversary of his death, after a great renovation of the places that allowed the spaces to be redistributed (rooms, rooms…) to construct a logical path and to equip him with leading-edge technological tools, transporting the visitor to the rural era and mystic lived by the painter and transmitted by his works. Audiovisual materials, videos and games of light and music, at the entrance, accompany the visit, an extremely didactic circuit on the author and his works even if it contains no original paintings. The first hall, Zurbarán, presents the personality of the painter, as reflected in his works and in the objects of his daily life (cups, plates, bodegones…), with a space devoted to his son Juan, unknown to the greatest number but who worked alongside his father and died very young. The second hall, Estrémadure, traces its monastic work since its return from Seville and the installation of its workshop in Llerena. Beginning with paintings like his famous Christ on the Cross (Cristo in la Cruz) of 1627, this stage will be decisive for its future since this type of painting will bring him numerous requests for work for different religious orders and will be the beginning of a huge notoriety. The third hall, Seville, reports on the great number of works devoted to the theme of the Virgin Mary, a means for Zurbarán, to use painting as a tool for spreading the Seville fervor of his time, in favor of this theme. Finally, the Pasillo de las Santas chamber presents, in small format, the countless saints painted by Zurbarán and the concern of the painter that they are identified in the future as bearers of his brand.

Located in the heart of the village, it is a church of the fifteenth century rectangular form with a nef divided into five parts. From the top of his tower, we have a very nice view on the surrounding area, but it's mostly inside the church that you find his main retable, built between the end of the fifteenth century and the beginning of the sixteenth century, which is one of the most important ensembles of late Gothic painting in Extremadura, style. mixed with the first expressions of the Renaissance. Declared a historical and artistic monument in 1982, it was deeply restored on that date. It was realized by Antón de Madrid, a painter of great prestige having been entrusted with numerous works by the ecclesiastical authorities of the province of León and residing in Zafra. In total, this table has 28 tables, distributed in three bodies and eleven vertical paths that recreate the life of Mary and Christ, in an extremely didactic way for the faithful.

Today known as the castle of Montemolín, this fortress was first the work of the Almohades in the th century before passing to the hands of the order of Santiago. From its Arab era, it maintains a forum, consisting of a double wall, with square crenellated towers, characteristics of this type of architecture, as well as entrances to elbow or inflection, making access to the fortress more difficult. Other characteristics, underground tunnels allowing water and food supply and also flight, in the event of encirclement. Note, its very broad and rectangular seat that took into account the irregularity of the terrain by including the rocky projections in the general construction. After the recapture, the Order of Santiago brought changes such as the creation of a small church and a dungeon. It will then go hand in hand, to the Royal Crown, to the Seville Council, to the Genoese merchants, who have all left their marks. This fortress then deteriorated in the th and early st century, but the Alba Plata project helped to recover and strengthen the defensive towers, to consolidate the wall, to carry out archaeological excavations, to restore the central underground tank (Aljibe) or the well of the colours (pozo de los colores) and to improve its access and signalling, to the great satisfaction of the inhabitants who, for that reason, had the greatest satisfaction. would like to see continued work on the recovery of his memory.

The visit. Take two good hours to get there and turn it around. Reward for this grimpette: very nice on the village and surrounding area at every stop. Inside, a sign and explanatory signs of the main points encountered.

Popularly known as the Santo Domingo, it was built in the th century by the lords of Zuniga and now welcomes the parador. Come and admire its Renaissance cloister and its old chore adorned with azulejos from Talavera.

By bus, you don't expect to discover an architectural price: Well, this will be the case in Casar de Cacéres. Created in 2004 by Justo García Rubio, a estrémègne architect, the station earned its author to be a finalist in the Spanish National Award of Architecture and awarded by the Estrémègne prize of creation, with numerous photos in the newspapers. The building is a white concrete ribbon painted on itself to do two loops, similar curves, one small and the other big, wrap over. The largest loop welcomes buses and serves as a shelter for travellers by protecting them from rain or wind. The second is a very chic and stylish bar area. If the ensemble of the ensemble does not reflect Oscar Niemeyer's architecture, aesthetics have not been the only bias of this project since, for the sake of functionality, its curve is also studied so that the exhaust gas of buses is diverted from nearby schools. A board, go to see it and enjoy a drink in the bar: The cellar is good and you will be used, among other things, for tentempiés (small snacks destined literally to keep you on foot).

Its th-century Romanesque steeple and the high lying tower facing it set the arc de Santiago, one of the seven doors of access to the old town.

It was the great church of Montemolín, built in 1525 on the location of a hospital where pilgrims were resting, cheminant towards Santiago de Compostela. With a very large dimension, it marks the transition between late Gothic and Renaissance, with a rectangular, single-nave shape and beautiful Gothic design. It has fifteen altars (altar), each with a altarpiece, mainly of the th century. In addition to beautiful jewellery pieces, it houses a large collection of sacred books, including chronologies, ranging from 1575 to the present.

It is one of the most beautiful palaces of Plasencia, built in the fifteenth century by the marquis of Mirabel who were ducs of Plasencia. On the outside, you will notice its Plateresque balcony, unique in the city. The interior houses a magnificent neoclassical patio of two floors, decorated with Roman archeological remains and azulejos from the Yuste Monastery. There is also an interesting collection of nineteenth-century hunting pieces.