A Walk in a Renaissance City
Introduction
The walled city of Cáceres looks rather austere as there is an almost total absence of trees or any of the softening vegetation we might expect in a city today. That’s the whole point. Cáceres is not a city of today. It is, essentially, a 16th century city. Today it is among the most beautiful examples of medieval cities to be found anywhere in the world. Indeed, in 1986 Cáceres was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The train and bus stations are on the opposite side of the modern city, about an hour’s walk away. If arriving by car, park outside the walled city. There are free car parks to the south-west around the Hospital San Pedro de Alcántara, a 10 minute walk away. The nearest paying car park is the multi-storey Obispo Garlaza just behind the Plaza Mayor.
Read the city walks introduction for opening times for monuments.
There is a small charge to enter the Bujaco Tower exhibition and the churches. Unfortunately, Cáceres has patchy signage in Spanish, never mind English, however, there is a good book in reasonable English that covers historical information for the enthusiast. ‘Cáceres Heritage of Mankind’ Ediciones Turimagen ISBN: 84-922397-9-4. It is sold in local bookshops.
Start: Plaza Mayor, Cáceres
Finish: Plaza Mayor, Cáceres
Time: 1.5 hours excluding visiting monuments and museums
Distance: 3.00km
Elevation: high: 464m, low 431m
Difficulty: low
Route: circular — map by Gisela Radant Wood
Directions
Numbers refer to the numbers on the map.
Start in the Plaza Mayor. Look towards the steps going up to the Star Arch. (3) From the left you can see the tower of the Palace of Toledo-Moctezuma, (54) the Bujaco Tower (1) and the Peace Hermitage next to it, the back of the Bishop’s Palace, (4) the tower of the Co-cathedral of Santa María, (7) the side of Ribera House, (29) the General’s Wife’s House, (32) and the Grass Tower. (30) Walk towards the Bujaco Tower. (1) Go up the steps and turn left to visit the tower and the exhibition if you want to. Next, look to the right to see the Pulpit Tower. (2) Then look at the Star Arch. (3) This was originally called the New Gate and was built in the 14th century. It was remodelled 400 years later to become what we can see today. It is angled so that carriages could pass through the arch to reach the Palace of Toledo-Moctezuma. Walk under the arch. You have now entered the walled city of Cáceres.
Walk along the narrow street straight ahead into the wide, open Plaza de Santa María. This is the centre of one of the oldest and noblest parts of the city. Turn around. The building in front of you is the Bishop’s Palace. (4) Look at the two medallions on either side of the door. The man on the left represents the Old World and the exotic female on the right, the New World. Look at the inscription above the door. In spite of the Bishop’s palace being in Cáceres the Bishop wanted to remind everyone that he was Bishop of Coria — the oldest Bishopric in Extremadura. A nice little put-down to upstart Cáceres all those hundreds of years ago. Turn right to see the Ovando Palace. (5) This was home to Hernando Ovando, son of Diego Cáceres-Ovando (15) and older brother to Nicolas Ovando the cruel governor of part of the New World. Turn right again to see the Carvajal Palace (6) in the corner. Walk towards it to look down a side road to the right to see the 12th century round tower. There is free entry to go inside the palace for the interpretation centre. The best part is the enclosed garden at the back of the palace. It gives an idea of what lies behind most of the facades within the city. The next building to look at is the Co-cathedral of Santa María. (7) There is a small admission fee to go into the church. Just outside the co-cathedral is a statue of San Pedro de Alcántara. His toes are shiny as legend has it that if you want to find ‘True Love’ you touch his toes and pray.
Keeping left, walk on to the next open space, past the Palace of the Provincial Council on the left, (8) into Plaza de los Golfínes. Look at the Lower Golfínes Palace (9) on the left. This building is pretty spectacular and has great character. Ferdinand and Isabel stayed in this palace during their 1477 and 1479 visits to Cáceres. As such, the palace carries the blazon of the Catholic Monarchs. The tower proudly carries the inscription ‘This is the house of the Golfínes’. Very grand, especially when you consider that one branch of the family had a bigger palace higher up in the city. This palace is now open to the public at certain times for a very small entrance fee. The tour is in Spanish only, but the inside is visually stunning and well worth the hour it takes to do the tour.
Walk ahead. Just before Plaza de San Jorge, on the left, is Cuesta del Marquise which goes down to the old Jewish Quarter. We will go there later but for now make a slight detour to the House of Durán de la Roche (11) on the right. Just next door, also on the right, is the Yusuf Al Borch Arabic Museum showing Moorish cultural life. (12) Go back to Plaza de San Jorge and look up at the Jesuit Church (10) which dominates the square. The church has an exhibition inside and there is an entrance fee — but the view from the tower is worth it. After leaving the church, return to the square and maybe, take time to sit down and have coffee. There are public toilets attached to the café and a small shady garden.
Walk up a few steps of Cuesta de la Compañia on the right of the square and visit Becerra House. (13) The building is now the MCCB Foundation named after Doña Mercedes Calles and her husband Carlos Ballestero. Mercedes was born in Cáceres in 1915. She wanted her city to benefit from her legacy and the building is filled with her collections of furniture, paintings, glass, antiques and jewellery. It’s free but they do take donations. Occasionally there are small, but good, art exhibitions on the top two floors. There is a small charge for these.
Continue up the steps of Cuesta de la Compañia. Pass Calle de la Manga on the right. Turn next right and in the corner on the right is the House of the Sun. (14) This house gets its name from the coat of arms of the Solís family who built the house. Look carefully at the image of the sun. See the monsters nibbling at the ends of the rays? A reminder that everyone is mortal no matter how rich or powerful. Retrace the few steps back to Cuesta de la Compañia and continue it upwards to enter Plaza de San Pablo on the left.
Starting from the left is the magnificent Cáceres-Ovando Mansion (15) also called ‘The House of Storks’. It was here that Diego de Cáceres-Ovando built his palace and it was the only building allowed to have a high tower with crenelations. He had been Isabel’s Captain-General during the Succession Wars and he was well-rewarded for his loyalty. He was the father of Hernando and Nicolas. The building is currently a Military Museum. Walk on into Plaza de las Veletas. Opposite and in the corner is the Veletas Palace. (16) It was built on the site of the old Moorish citadel. Below the courtyard there is the original cistern complete with horse-shoe arches with reused Roman pillars. Only the cistern in Cordoba is larger, in Spain. The palace has been the Cáceres Museum since 1933 (shut Mondays) and it’s free. See the cistern if nothing else. To the right of the Veletas Palace is the small Convent of San Pablo. (17) It houses a community of cloistered nuns of the Order of St. Clare. If you do the walk early on a Sunday morning you can sit on the granite ledge at the side of Plaza de San Mateo and hear the nuns sing Mass at 09.00.
Walking ahead into Plaza de San Mateo, the very large building on the left is the 15th century Ulloa Mansion (18). Diego de Ulloa was known as ‘The Rich’ and he endowed many buildings in Cáceres. The building is currently the Cáceres School of Fine Arts. Directly opposite the mansion is the Church of San Mateo (19) which was built at the highest point of the city. To the left of the church is the ivy-covered Sande House and Tower. (20) The tower is now a restaurant. Next door is Sande House known as the House of the Eagle (21) as the eagle was the heraldic device of the Sande family.
Retrace the route to Plaza de San Mateo. The final side of the square is a new hotel. The jury is still out as to its aesthetic qualities. With the hotel on the left and the restaurant on the right, walk down Calle Condes. The house on the left at the end is the Upper Golfínes Palace. (22) It actually incorporates 17 other houses and fronts on to three streets. Built in the 15th century, this is a strong and easily defended house. During the Civil War it served as an early HQ for General Franco and there is a plaque to this effect to the left of the front door. Turn right down Cuesta de Aldana. The house on the left is the Moorish House and dates to the 12th century. (23) It is the only example of the Mudéjar style (Moorish-Christian) in the walled city of Cáceres. Further down the street, on the right is the House of Aldana (24) which is now a restaurant. Going down the steps, also on the right, is the House of the Monkey. (25) This house gets its name from the stone monkey set on a handrail on the staircase in the inner courtyard. The facade has an impressive coat-of-arms and cheeky gargoyles.
Just after this house turn right and walk left around the building. This is a convent. Continue along the street to re-enter the Plaza de Santa María. The house next to the convent but facing into the square is the House of the Dukes of Valencia. (26) Next door is the Moraga House. (27) It is now an exhibition centre and shop showing the work of Extremeño craftspeople. The last building in the square and the last one of this circular walk is the Mayoralgo Palace. (28) Above the door and between the two windows at the top is the magnificent Blázquez-Mayoralgo coat of arms. The rest of the facade is a modern reconstruction as this building was hit by the Republican Air Force during the Civil War. Walk ahead. You are now back at the Star Arch where you can finish the walk.
To see more, do not exit, but turn left to go up the hill. As you walk the city walls will be on your right for most of the time. On the left is the Ribera House. (29) This house is currently used by the University in Cáceres. Opposite, is a break in the city walls and a viewing point. To the right is the Grass Tower (30) dating from Moorish times. To the left is the Oven Tower. (31) Although the base of this tower uses Roman stones, it dates from the same period as the Grass Tower. The main city oven was attached to the wall at the corner of this tower and so it gets its name. Just across the street is the General’s Wife’s House. (32) The house gets its name from the 18th century when its owner, Maria Cayetana Vicenta de Ovando married Lieutenant General Don Vicente Francisco de Ovando Rol. She became the ‘General’s Wife’. The drum machicolation above the doorway is a reminder that these houses were defensive.
Further on, also to the left is the Palace of the Counts of Adenero (33). Notice the doorway. It is not the usual style of city doorway and was constructed after an Italian design. Opposite and to the right is the Postern and Tower of Santa Ana. (34) After the reconquest this was a side entrance to the city. The defensive tower is hard to see unless you go through to the other side and look back. Retrace your steps through the postern and turn left, then right to continue up the road. The walls to the right are very old. The tower of El Aver or La Ved (35) can be glimpsed over the wall opposite the entrance to the Golfín Restaurant. This tower is from the Moorish fortress constructed between the 12th and 13th century. It has a Roman base.
The street bends around to the left into Puerta de Mérida. Turn first left into Olmos. On the left is the Hospital of San Antonio built by Ulloa ‘The Rich’ to house monks from the Monastery of San Francisco which he also had endowed. Many monks became ill as the monastery had been built on poorly drained land. (36) Today a community of nuns from the Order of St. Jerome live here and they sell delicious sweets. On the right is the House of Ovando-Perero (37) now part of the Parador and the Olmos entrance to the House of Lorenzo Fernándo de Ulloa (38) one of the many houses the family owned. At the end of Olmos turn right to walk into Plaza de San Mateo once more.
Turn right down Calle Ancha. On the left is the Parades- Saavedra House. (39) The house displays many different styles of architecture as over the years the facade has changed. Opposite is the Mansion of the Knight Commander of Alcuéscar otherwise known as the house of the Marquis of Torreorgaz. It has been a Parador (40) since 1989. You can go inside and look around the public rooms and courtyard. At the bottom of Calle Ancha turn right and walk a few paces to see the Knight’s Hospital, another building endowed by Ulloa ‘The Rich’. (41) This is a beautiful little building with charming windows. It was only used as a hospital for a short while and is now a private house. A bit further on and opposite are the scanty remains of the Gate of Mérida facing towards that city. Look left. An original Roman inscription is in the wall.
Retrace your steps to see the House of Sánchez-Paredes (42) opposite Plaza de Santa Clara. If you want to make a detour to walk into the square you will see the Convent of Santa Clara. This has always been a convent and is currently the home of a community of Clare nuns. They make sweets which can be purchased through the door in the square. If you look down Calle Torremochada you can see the tower of the same name. From the House of Sánchez-Paredes walk ahead into a very small square. In front of you is the House of Pereros (43). This house has an inner courtyard that can be visited where family coats of arms are on display. Walk down Calle Pereros to the left of the house. As the street bends to the left you can see the back view of the Veletas Palace and the gardens. These connect to the House of Horses (44) which houses the Fine Art Museum.
Turn right to enter Barrio de San Antonio and the Jewish Quarter. The houses here are much smaller and are painted white. Walk into the square. Turn left. Just past the square, on the right is the Tower of the Wells (45) and an exhibition centre. The guides speak English and are very knowledgeable. The view of the city walls and towers is especially good from the top of the Well Tower. Stand facing the city, from the left and on the left, you can see the following; the Mochada Tower (46) (which you also might have seen from Plaza de Santa Clara), the Albarrana Tower (47) and the Adosada Tower. (48) The Coraja Tower (49) is part of the same defensive system as the Well Tower. On the right you can see a glimpse of the Christ Arch and Tower (50) which is the oldest gate in the city, It is made of Roman stones and probably dates from the 3rd century. The Tower of the Gate of Concejo (51) is just outside the arch. On the far right you can see the top of the Ochavada Tower. (52) A pretty impressive array of defensive towers.
Come out from the exhibition, turn right and come to the Hermitage of San Antonio, right. (53) This was a Jewish synagogue but with the expulsion of the Jews it became a Christian hermitage dedicated to St. Anthony. Walk ahead along a tiny lane. Turn right, then left to go downhill. On the right is the Arch and Tower of Christ or the River Gate. (50) The arch is very nice but I think it looks better from the other side. In any event to get a close-up view of the Concejo (51) you need to walk through the arch. It was, of course, a defensive tower for people using the arch to get water. Walk along the Avenida del Cristo. As the street bears left there is just a glimpse of the Ochavada Tower. (52) Walk up the Obras Pías de Roco to come to the Espadero Tower and the Coria Gate. (54) The gate was originally Roman and got its name from the city it faced — even though the city is about 70km away. The gate was demolished as part of ‘progress’ in 1879. It was defended by two towers whose remains can be seen incorporated into nearby houses.
If you want to make a detour go through the gate and turn right into Plaza de Socorro. Go down the steps and at the crossroads with Calle de Caleros turn left. On the right is the Church of Santiago. Across the street on the left of the church is the Godoy Palace. Walk around the building and see the top of the King’s Tower. Return to Plaza de Socorro and turn right. Walk straight ahead from the Coria Gate. At the top of the street turn left and there is the splendid Palace of Toledo-Moctezuma. (55) Juan Cano de Saavedra, of the Toledo family, was a captain for Hernan Cortés during the conquest of Mexico. Once the conflict was over Juan married Isabel de Moctezuma the daughter of the last Aztec Emperor. One of their grandsons Juan de Toledo Moctezuma married Mariana de Carvajal y Toledo. There is evidence to suggest that they built this house. Walk ahead to return to the Star Arch and well-deserved refreshments in the square.
The walled city of Cáceres looks rather austere as there is an almost total absence of trees or any of the softening vegetation we might expect in a city today. That’s the whole point. Cáceres is not a city of today. It is, essentially, a 16th century city. Today it is among the most beautiful examples of medieval cities to be found anywhere in the world. Indeed, in 1986 Cáceres was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The train and bus stations are on the opposite side of the modern city, about an hour’s walk away. If arriving by car, park outside the walled city. There are free car parks to the south-west around the Hospital San Pedro de Alcántara, a 10 minute walk away. The nearest paying car park is the multi-storey Obispo Garlaza just behind the Plaza Mayor.
Read the city walks introduction for opening times for monuments.
There is a small charge to enter the Bujaco Tower exhibition and the churches. Unfortunately, Cáceres has patchy signage in Spanish, never mind English, however, there is a good book in reasonable English that covers historical information for the enthusiast. ‘Cáceres Heritage of Mankind’ Ediciones Turimagen ISBN: 84-922397-9-4. It is sold in local bookshops.
Start: Plaza Mayor, Cáceres
Finish: Plaza Mayor, Cáceres
Time: 1.5 hours excluding visiting monuments and museums
Distance: 3.00km
Elevation: high: 464m, low 431m
Difficulty: low
Route: circular — map by Gisela Radant Wood
Directions
Numbers refer to the numbers on the map.
Start in the Plaza Mayor. Look towards the steps going up to the Star Arch. (3) From the left you can see the tower of the Palace of Toledo-Moctezuma, (54) the Bujaco Tower (1) and the Peace Hermitage next to it, the back of the Bishop’s Palace, (4) the tower of the Co-cathedral of Santa María, (7) the side of Ribera House, (29) the General’s Wife’s House, (32) and the Grass Tower. (30) Walk towards the Bujaco Tower. (1) Go up the steps and turn left to visit the tower and the exhibition if you want to. Next, look to the right to see the Pulpit Tower. (2) Then look at the Star Arch. (3) This was originally called the New Gate and was built in the 14th century. It was remodelled 400 years later to become what we can see today. It is angled so that carriages could pass through the arch to reach the Palace of Toledo-Moctezuma. Walk under the arch. You have now entered the walled city of Cáceres.
Walk along the narrow street straight ahead into the wide, open Plaza de Santa María. This is the centre of one of the oldest and noblest parts of the city. Turn around. The building in front of you is the Bishop’s Palace. (4) Look at the two medallions on either side of the door. The man on the left represents the Old World and the exotic female on the right, the New World. Look at the inscription above the door. In spite of the Bishop’s palace being in Cáceres the Bishop wanted to remind everyone that he was Bishop of Coria — the oldest Bishopric in Extremadura. A nice little put-down to upstart Cáceres all those hundreds of years ago. Turn right to see the Ovando Palace. (5) This was home to Hernando Ovando, son of Diego Cáceres-Ovando (15) and older brother to Nicolas Ovando the cruel governor of part of the New World. Turn right again to see the Carvajal Palace (6) in the corner. Walk towards it to look down a side road to the right to see the 12th century round tower. There is free entry to go inside the palace for the interpretation centre. The best part is the enclosed garden at the back of the palace. It gives an idea of what lies behind most of the facades within the city. The next building to look at is the Co-cathedral of Santa María. (7) There is a small admission fee to go into the church. Just outside the co-cathedral is a statue of San Pedro de Alcántara. His toes are shiny as legend has it that if you want to find ‘True Love’ you touch his toes and pray.
Keeping left, walk on to the next open space, past the Palace of the Provincial Council on the left, (8) into Plaza de los Golfínes. Look at the Lower Golfínes Palace (9) on the left. This building is pretty spectacular and has great character. Ferdinand and Isabel stayed in this palace during their 1477 and 1479 visits to Cáceres. As such, the palace carries the blazon of the Catholic Monarchs. The tower proudly carries the inscription ‘This is the house of the Golfínes’. Very grand, especially when you consider that one branch of the family had a bigger palace higher up in the city. This palace is now open to the public at certain times for a very small entrance fee. The tour is in Spanish only, but the inside is visually stunning and well worth the hour it takes to do the tour.
Walk ahead. Just before Plaza de San Jorge, on the left, is Cuesta del Marquise which goes down to the old Jewish Quarter. We will go there later but for now make a slight detour to the House of Durán de la Roche (11) on the right. Just next door, also on the right, is the Yusuf Al Borch Arabic Museum showing Moorish cultural life. (12) Go back to Plaza de San Jorge and look up at the Jesuit Church (10) which dominates the square. The church has an exhibition inside and there is an entrance fee — but the view from the tower is worth it. After leaving the church, return to the square and maybe, take time to sit down and have coffee. There are public toilets attached to the café and a small shady garden.
Walk up a few steps of Cuesta de la Compañia on the right of the square and visit Becerra House. (13) The building is now the MCCB Foundation named after Doña Mercedes Calles and her husband Carlos Ballestero. Mercedes was born in Cáceres in 1915. She wanted her city to benefit from her legacy and the building is filled with her collections of furniture, paintings, glass, antiques and jewellery. It’s free but they do take donations. Occasionally there are small, but good, art exhibitions on the top two floors. There is a small charge for these.
Continue up the steps of Cuesta de la Compañia. Pass Calle de la Manga on the right. Turn next right and in the corner on the right is the House of the Sun. (14) This house gets its name from the coat of arms of the Solís family who built the house. Look carefully at the image of the sun. See the monsters nibbling at the ends of the rays? A reminder that everyone is mortal no matter how rich or powerful. Retrace the few steps back to Cuesta de la Compañia and continue it upwards to enter Plaza de San Pablo on the left.
Starting from the left is the magnificent Cáceres-Ovando Mansion (15) also called ‘The House of Storks’. It was here that Diego de Cáceres-Ovando built his palace and it was the only building allowed to have a high tower with crenelations. He had been Isabel’s Captain-General during the Succession Wars and he was well-rewarded for his loyalty. He was the father of Hernando and Nicolas. The building is currently a Military Museum. Walk on into Plaza de las Veletas. Opposite and in the corner is the Veletas Palace. (16) It was built on the site of the old Moorish citadel. Below the courtyard there is the original cistern complete with horse-shoe arches with reused Roman pillars. Only the cistern in Cordoba is larger, in Spain. The palace has been the Cáceres Museum since 1933 (shut Mondays) and it’s free. See the cistern if nothing else. To the right of the Veletas Palace is the small Convent of San Pablo. (17) It houses a community of cloistered nuns of the Order of St. Clare. If you do the walk early on a Sunday morning you can sit on the granite ledge at the side of Plaza de San Mateo and hear the nuns sing Mass at 09.00.
Walking ahead into Plaza de San Mateo, the very large building on the left is the 15th century Ulloa Mansion (18). Diego de Ulloa was known as ‘The Rich’ and he endowed many buildings in Cáceres. The building is currently the Cáceres School of Fine Arts. Directly opposite the mansion is the Church of San Mateo (19) which was built at the highest point of the city. To the left of the church is the ivy-covered Sande House and Tower. (20) The tower is now a restaurant. Next door is Sande House known as the House of the Eagle (21) as the eagle was the heraldic device of the Sande family.
Retrace the route to Plaza de San Mateo. The final side of the square is a new hotel. The jury is still out as to its aesthetic qualities. With the hotel on the left and the restaurant on the right, walk down Calle Condes. The house on the left at the end is the Upper Golfínes Palace. (22) It actually incorporates 17 other houses and fronts on to three streets. Built in the 15th century, this is a strong and easily defended house. During the Civil War it served as an early HQ for General Franco and there is a plaque to this effect to the left of the front door. Turn right down Cuesta de Aldana. The house on the left is the Moorish House and dates to the 12th century. (23) It is the only example of the Mudéjar style (Moorish-Christian) in the walled city of Cáceres. Further down the street, on the right is the House of Aldana (24) which is now a restaurant. Going down the steps, also on the right, is the House of the Monkey. (25) This house gets its name from the stone monkey set on a handrail on the staircase in the inner courtyard. The facade has an impressive coat-of-arms and cheeky gargoyles.
Just after this house turn right and walk left around the building. This is a convent. Continue along the street to re-enter the Plaza de Santa María. The house next to the convent but facing into the square is the House of the Dukes of Valencia. (26) Next door is the Moraga House. (27) It is now an exhibition centre and shop showing the work of Extremeño craftspeople. The last building in the square and the last one of this circular walk is the Mayoralgo Palace. (28) Above the door and between the two windows at the top is the magnificent Blázquez-Mayoralgo coat of arms. The rest of the facade is a modern reconstruction as this building was hit by the Republican Air Force during the Civil War. Walk ahead. You are now back at the Star Arch where you can finish the walk.
To see more, do not exit, but turn left to go up the hill. As you walk the city walls will be on your right for most of the time. On the left is the Ribera House. (29) This house is currently used by the University in Cáceres. Opposite, is a break in the city walls and a viewing point. To the right is the Grass Tower (30) dating from Moorish times. To the left is the Oven Tower. (31) Although the base of this tower uses Roman stones, it dates from the same period as the Grass Tower. The main city oven was attached to the wall at the corner of this tower and so it gets its name. Just across the street is the General’s Wife’s House. (32) The house gets its name from the 18th century when its owner, Maria Cayetana Vicenta de Ovando married Lieutenant General Don Vicente Francisco de Ovando Rol. She became the ‘General’s Wife’. The drum machicolation above the doorway is a reminder that these houses were defensive.
Further on, also to the left is the Palace of the Counts of Adenero (33). Notice the doorway. It is not the usual style of city doorway and was constructed after an Italian design. Opposite and to the right is the Postern and Tower of Santa Ana. (34) After the reconquest this was a side entrance to the city. The defensive tower is hard to see unless you go through to the other side and look back. Retrace your steps through the postern and turn left, then right to continue up the road. The walls to the right are very old. The tower of El Aver or La Ved (35) can be glimpsed over the wall opposite the entrance to the Golfín Restaurant. This tower is from the Moorish fortress constructed between the 12th and 13th century. It has a Roman base.
The street bends around to the left into Puerta de Mérida. Turn first left into Olmos. On the left is the Hospital of San Antonio built by Ulloa ‘The Rich’ to house monks from the Monastery of San Francisco which he also had endowed. Many monks became ill as the monastery had been built on poorly drained land. (36) Today a community of nuns from the Order of St. Jerome live here and they sell delicious sweets. On the right is the House of Ovando-Perero (37) now part of the Parador and the Olmos entrance to the House of Lorenzo Fernándo de Ulloa (38) one of the many houses the family owned. At the end of Olmos turn right to walk into Plaza de San Mateo once more.
Turn right down Calle Ancha. On the left is the Parades- Saavedra House. (39) The house displays many different styles of architecture as over the years the facade has changed. Opposite is the Mansion of the Knight Commander of Alcuéscar otherwise known as the house of the Marquis of Torreorgaz. It has been a Parador (40) since 1989. You can go inside and look around the public rooms and courtyard. At the bottom of Calle Ancha turn right and walk a few paces to see the Knight’s Hospital, another building endowed by Ulloa ‘The Rich’. (41) This is a beautiful little building with charming windows. It was only used as a hospital for a short while and is now a private house. A bit further on and opposite are the scanty remains of the Gate of Mérida facing towards that city. Look left. An original Roman inscription is in the wall.
Retrace your steps to see the House of Sánchez-Paredes (42) opposite Plaza de Santa Clara. If you want to make a detour to walk into the square you will see the Convent of Santa Clara. This has always been a convent and is currently the home of a community of Clare nuns. They make sweets which can be purchased through the door in the square. If you look down Calle Torremochada you can see the tower of the same name. From the House of Sánchez-Paredes walk ahead into a very small square. In front of you is the House of Pereros (43). This house has an inner courtyard that can be visited where family coats of arms are on display. Walk down Calle Pereros to the left of the house. As the street bends to the left you can see the back view of the Veletas Palace and the gardens. These connect to the House of Horses (44) which houses the Fine Art Museum.
Turn right to enter Barrio de San Antonio and the Jewish Quarter. The houses here are much smaller and are painted white. Walk into the square. Turn left. Just past the square, on the right is the Tower of the Wells (45) and an exhibition centre. The guides speak English and are very knowledgeable. The view of the city walls and towers is especially good from the top of the Well Tower. Stand facing the city, from the left and on the left, you can see the following; the Mochada Tower (46) (which you also might have seen from Plaza de Santa Clara), the Albarrana Tower (47) and the Adosada Tower. (48) The Coraja Tower (49) is part of the same defensive system as the Well Tower. On the right you can see a glimpse of the Christ Arch and Tower (50) which is the oldest gate in the city, It is made of Roman stones and probably dates from the 3rd century. The Tower of the Gate of Concejo (51) is just outside the arch. On the far right you can see the top of the Ochavada Tower. (52) A pretty impressive array of defensive towers.
Come out from the exhibition, turn right and come to the Hermitage of San Antonio, right. (53) This was a Jewish synagogue but with the expulsion of the Jews it became a Christian hermitage dedicated to St. Anthony. Walk ahead along a tiny lane. Turn right, then left to go downhill. On the right is the Arch and Tower of Christ or the River Gate. (50) The arch is very nice but I think it looks better from the other side. In any event to get a close-up view of the Concejo (51) you need to walk through the arch. It was, of course, a defensive tower for people using the arch to get water. Walk along the Avenida del Cristo. As the street bears left there is just a glimpse of the Ochavada Tower. (52) Walk up the Obras Pías de Roco to come to the Espadero Tower and the Coria Gate. (54) The gate was originally Roman and got its name from the city it faced — even though the city is about 70km away. The gate was demolished as part of ‘progress’ in 1879. It was defended by two towers whose remains can be seen incorporated into nearby houses.
If you want to make a detour go through the gate and turn right into Plaza de Socorro. Go down the steps and at the crossroads with Calle de Caleros turn left. On the right is the Church of Santiago. Across the street on the left of the church is the Godoy Palace. Walk around the building and see the top of the King’s Tower. Return to Plaza de Socorro and turn right. Walk straight ahead from the Coria Gate. At the top of the street turn left and there is the splendid Palace of Toledo-Moctezuma. (55) Juan Cano de Saavedra, of the Toledo family, was a captain for Hernan Cortés during the conquest of Mexico. Once the conflict was over Juan married Isabel de Moctezuma the daughter of the last Aztec Emperor. One of their grandsons Juan de Toledo Moctezuma married Mariana de Carvajal y Toledo. There is evidence to suggest that they built this house. Walk ahead to return to the Star Arch and well-deserved refreshments in the square.