Sightseeing in Cáceres

Casco Antiguo (Ciudad Monumental)

Once within the walls, the realities of the outside world fade away, replaced by thoughts of the past, the stories and histories that have survived within these walls. Over here perhaps sat a conquistador who fought alongside Cortéz; and there, maybe a tired shepard of the Middle Ages with only his flock and the clothes on his back. There are many Spanish sites to encourage fanciful notions, though few, on account of their ticket booths and torrential tourists, can provide the solitude necessary to truly sense their history. In this medieval town at dusk, though, shadows outnumber the tourists and, with no gates to ever close it for the night, one can keep on pretending.

Through Arco La Estrella is Iglesia de Santa María, a predominantly 16th-century construct of Romanesque and early Gothic styles, that greets visitors standing in the captivating plaza of the same name. Its plateresque sacristy door and its tediously carved cedar altarpiece are worth your attention, as are the three naves that harbor the remains of various influential citizens from the city’s past. The “Cristo Negro” is worth a look in a side chapel. But be careful. Tradition has it that any who dare look at this figure of Christ will die. During Holy Week members of the Brotherhood wear white gloves and dawn hoods just to be safe as they carry the statue in procession.

Casa de Carvajal is a good first stop. In what was once a mansion built in the 15th and 16th centuries, subsequently destroyed by fire, and then rebuilt in the mid-1900s, is the provincial tourism office, where free tours of the old city can be arranged .

Palacio de Toledo-Moctezuma was built between the 16th and 17th centuries in the Renaissance style and can be located by the pale dome of the nearby brick tower (Torre de los Espaderos). It was once home to descendents of the conquistador Juan Cano de Saavedra, of Cortéz fame, who married the daughter of the last Aztec emperor, Montezuma II.

Palacio de los Golfines de Abajo, fronting the Plaza de San Jorge named after the patron saint of Cáceres, was home to the Catholic Monarchs when they came to visit the city. In suiting such royalty, its façade is reputed to be the grandest example of the ornate plateresque style found in Cáceres.

Casa de las Cigüeñas, formerly the home of Fray Nicolás de Ovando, first governor of La Isla Española in the Indies (today shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic), maintains the only tower not to have been felled by order of Isabel la Católica in what was a two-part gesture: to signify the successful Reconquest, and to stymie the infighting of the city’s noble class.

Casa de las Veletas, built atop the foundations of a 12th-century Moorish fortress, takes its name from the pinnacles, or “veletas,” crowning it, though others prefer to call it the Casa de los Aljibes for practical reasons. Today it is home to Museo de Cáceres. The surviving 12th-century Moorish cistern, or aljibe, in the basement is believed to be one of only two of its kind remaining in the world. The museum space is mostly devoted to the province, with areas displaying traditional relics including handicrafts, archaeological remains, as well as a small collection of works by the likes of Picasso, Miró and El Greco.