Casa del Conde - To travel by Extremadura, Traveling by Extremadura
Pza. de la Independencia,9
Santa Cruz de la Sierra 10260 Cáceres
Tfnos: +34 927.342.243 - 679.442.343

casadelconde@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

Extremadura THE GREAT STRANGER, a land that inspires the traveler
  • Trujillo
  • Cáceres
  • Mérida
  • Guadalupe
  • P.N. Monfrague
  • Los Ibores
  • The Saw

TRUJILLO (15 minutes away) Trujillo is a beautiful city because of its important set of churches, castles and casonas h. This city has left an important fingerprint in history, since in the XVI century it was a cradle of illustrious prominent figures linked to the Discovery of America, such as Francisco de Pizarro, discoverer of  Peru, and Francisco de Orellana.. After being occupied by Romans and visigodos, Trujillo remained under Arabic authority for more than five hundred years.
What can you visit:
Iglesia de San Martín, XIV and XVI century
Palacio de los Duques de San Carlos,  XVI century
Palacio del Marquesado de Piedras Albas, casona renacentista
Palacio de los Marqueses de la Conquista o del Escudo.  XVI century
Santa María la Mayor y la de Santiago, Both from medieval times.
Iglesia de Santiago,  XIII century
Castillo árabe califal  X-XI century

Cáceres, was declared in: 
- 1949 National Monument. 
- 1986, Patrimony of the Humanity for the UNESCO. 
- 2016, European City of the Culture.
The ancient city of Caceres constitutes a privilege found only in Spain. The walled enclosure contains a scene of more important civil and religious architecture from the Spanish Renaissance that remains intact in our days. Palaces, casonas, churches and convents allow the visitor to move back in time and to enjoy the sound of its steps for improbable alleys in which the stone, the storks and the vencejos are the protagonists of the landscape. Standing out among them:

1-Palacio de mayorazgo,
2-Torre de Sande,
3-Casa de los Golfines de Arriba,
4-Palacio de Ovando,
5-Iglesia de Santiago,
6-Iglesia Concatedral de Santa Maria,
7-Casa de las Veletas,
8-Iglesia de San Juan Bautista,
9-Muralla y Arco de Cristo,
10-Palacio Episcopal,
11-Convento de la Compañía de Jesús,
12-Casa de Carvajal,
13-Casa de las Cigüeñas,
14-Iglesia de San Mateo,
15-Casa del Sol,
16-Torre de Bujaco,
17- Plaza Mayor,
18-Casa de los Golfines de Abajo,
19-Casa del Águila.

MERIDA (40 minutes) Merida was declared in:
 - 1993, Patrimony of the Humanity for the UNESCO,
The city was founded in 25 B.C. with the name of Emeritus August
The term emeritus means "retired" in Latin and was refers to the soldiers who retired with honor.
The city was the capital of the Lusitania's Roman province, from which was born a period of great brilliance to which they give testimony its magnificent buildings: the theatre, the amphitheatre, the circus, the temples, the bridges and aqueducts. Its contribution to the Conquest and American settling, is be numerous and significant. Approximately 210 people went to the Indies, two of whom were captains of renowned status and stand out in the conquest of Venezuela: Juan Rodríguez Suárez and Garci Gonzalez de Silva

Here is a list of its important archaeological and monumental sites:
1-Los Roman bridges,
 2-Las Redes Hidraulicas,
3-Teatro, amphitheatre and circus,
4-Museo Nacional de Arte romano,
 5-Templo de Diana,
 6-Arco de Trajano,
7-Basílica de Santa Eulalia,
 8-Murallas de la Alcazaba
9-Casa del Mitreo.
To emphasize, the Festival of Classic Theatre of Merida during July and August.

GUADALUPE (40 minutes)
its Monastery was declared:
- 1993, Patrimony of the Humanity for the UNESCO,
The legend speaks about the discovery of an image of the Virgin Mary at the end of the XIII century or the beginning of the XIV century by a peasant. The image had been left centuries before, close to Saint Lucas's body. The image was exposed in Rome and in Seville, and until in 714, in the full Moslem invasion, the image was hidden close to the river Guadalupe, where it remained until its discovery.

Visit to the Royal (Real) Monastery of Our Lady of Guadalupe, XIV-XV centuries:
1-Iglesia de Nuestra Señora,, Gothic (XIV century), of three ships and vaults of crucería. its decoration is baroque; the major altarpiece, Juan Gómez de mora's work was esculpido in the  XVII century, gilded and polychrome for Giraldo de Merlo and Jorge Manuel Theotocópuli, son of El Greco , it frames big fabrics of Vicente Carducho and Eugenio Caxés.
 2-El Camarín de la Virgen, of the  XVIII century, it(he,she) contains Luca Giordano's pictures
3-Claustro mudéjar
4-Claustro gótico.
5-Sacristía y capilla de San Jerónimo, with paintings Zurbarán
6- Museums, of painting and sculpture (Juan de Flanders, Zurbarán, Goya, Juan Correa de Vivar, Nicolás Francés, Egas Cueman, Pedro de Mena and El Greco  one among others),
7-Tesoro with embroidered altar frontals.
 8-Museo of big books of coros miniados (XV-XVI centuries).

MONFRAGUE's national PARK. (40 minutes)
Monfragüe's national park, surface of 18,396 hectares, replete of life and diversity Monfragüe's park was declared in:
 - 1979, Nature reserve.
- 1.991, Zone of Special Protection for the Birds (ZEPA), to 116.160 hectares.
 - 1.998, Zone of Special Conservation.
 - 2.000, Place of Community Interest.
 - 2.003, the 116.160 hectares, Reserve of the Biosphere was declared by the UNESCO
. - 2.006, National Park since it is a question of one of the Mediterranean spaces of forest and bushes better preserved

What to visit:
 Monfragüe also  receives a great variety of Mediterranean fauna, like the Iberian lynx and birds such as the imperial Iberian eagle and others as scanty as the black stork. The Park shelters the major colony of Europa's black vulture. Species live as the tawny vulture, the pecular falcon, the royal eagle, the kite, etc., as well as deer, jabalíes, roe-deer, rabbits, hares and other mammals, amphibians and reptiles.

THE IBORES. (40 minutes)
As Don Miguel de Unamuno writes: " ... we go down by means of the thickest and leafy forests that in my life I have enjoyed. I never saw such a gigantic and thick chestnut-tree. And quite embalmed by the aroma of perfumed bushes ". It is a question of a mountainous and rural zone in which the valleys are combined with the roquedales and saws. The vegetation of the zone is varied. There is a strong contrast between the vegetation in the sunlight and the vegetation in the shade. The shores of the rivers and creeks are bordered by trees of major importance. This is what the Extremaduran Pasture is like.
Fauna: The rough relief of this region receives a great variety of animals. Many of them are protected species. You can see animals like mammals, such as the deer, the roe-deer, the buck, the muflón, the wild goat or the wild boar

As far as birds go, Extremadura has mostly large, carnivorous birds: eagles, falcons, kites or vultures. Other birds that reside in the region are storks, owls, blackbirds, partridges, quail or the magpie. Smaller birds include, sparrows and goldfinches.

The saw is connected to the village. It is 844 meters tall, ideal for walking in groups on a calm and beautiful day. Its beauty is stunning and it provides easy ascent to both peaks (children of 4 years have already conquered the top). For history lovers, the landscape and photography are very rich. In 1931, The historical set of the saw Archaeological National Monument was declared

Totally isolated of the mountainous prolongations of the Mountain chain Oretana. From its summit big extensions of area control themselves, it is a real natural watchtower formed by two peaks, the conical and different abrupt and steep one used as bastion of defense, being a military fortification of great importance in the Arabic and Roman dominations, endowed with cisterns, pits, warehouses and undergrounds, to support the long struggles. In the IX century it turned into warehouse of thefts and haunt of tribes, accumulating big wealths and booties, the famous Spanish convert to Islam Meruán, with his value and trickery had in constant scare to the caliphs Moors. Still there exist remains of the Roman settlement. One tells the popular tradition that was here where Viriato was executed, the Lusitanian commander, since a tablet exists with his name.