Plasencia is a beautiful town in the Spanish province of Cáceres. The city was founded in the 12th century and offers numerous interesting sites.

• Las Catedrales is a fusion of two cathedrals. At the end of the 12th century, construction of a Romanesque Cathedral started, but in the 15th century it was decided that a grand Gothic Cathedral should be constructed on the same site, demolishing the Romanesque Cathedral in the process. Construction started in 1498 and work continued until the 18th century, when the project was abandoned. The result that most of the Nave is the one of the Old Cathedral, while its cloister and its Octagonal Tower are attached to the New Cathedral. The new choir that was supposed to stand along the New Nave was positioned across the transept.
• Close to the Cathedral is a Museum houses artworks by Jusepe de Ribera and Luis de Morales.
• The church of San Martín dates from the 13th century. It has a nave and two aisles and in 1570, a retablo was added.
• The church and convent of Santo Domingo, or St. Dominic, was inaugurated in the 15th century.
• The church of San Esteban has a Gothic apse. The high altar was constructed in a transitional Plateresque-Baroque style. The curch dates from the 15th century.
• Construction of the sanctuary of Virgen del Puerto was started in the 15th century, but it was not finished until the 18th century. It is 5 km from Plasencia.
• The medieval town-walls consist of a double line of walls that include six gates and 68 towers. Construction of the walls commenced in 1197. The Alcázar, or Keep, was demolished in 1941.
• The Arcos de San Antón are the remains of a 16-century aqueduct.
• The Renaissance Town Hall is located in the Plaza Mayor (Main Square).
• The Casa consistorial was constructed over a perion from the 16th to the 18th centuries.
• There are several marvelous palaces in Plasencia, including the Palacio de los marqueses de Mirabel, which includes two-order court. It dates from the 16th century.
• Nature resorts in the vicinity of Plasencia include the Monfragüe National Park and the Canchos de Ramiro y Ladronera Protected Area.

Accommodation is available in town and there are numerous restaurants. Plasencia is on the Jerte river in Extremadura, 205 km southwest op Madrid.

Plasencia ©Manuel Torres Garcia