Ciudad Rodrigo, with about 12,000 inhabitants, is a town in the province of Salamanca, in Castile and León, on the Águeda river about 25 km from the Portuguese border. Its old town, ringed by walls and bastions, is one of the best-preserved monumental ensembles in the region.
History
The name recalls Count Rodrigo González Girón, who resettled it in the 12th century. King Ferdinand II of León made it a stronghold against Portugal. The town was besieged many times, the last in January 1812, when the Anglo-Portuguese troops of the Duke of Wellington retook it from the French in the Peninsular War: Wellington was made Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo for it. Cannonball marks are still visible on the cathedral tower.
What to see
- The walls, over two kilometres long, with 17th- and 18th-century bastions, which can be walked.
- The cathedral of Santa María, begun in the 12th century, between Romanesque and Gothic, with the Portal of Glory and fine wooden choir stalls.
- The 14th-century castle of Henry II of Trastámara, now a parador, overlooking the river.
- The Plaza Mayor, with the Renaissance town hall and the Casa de los Cueto.
- Noble palaces, such as those of the Castro and Montarco families.
- The so-called Roman bridge over the Águeda, actually medieval on Roman foundations.
The Carnaval del Toro
The Carnaval del Toro, in February, is of international tourist interest: the Plaza Mayor becomes a wooden bullring, closed off with boards and carts, and for five days there are bull runs on foot and on horseback, capeas and bullfights, along with masked parades. An ancient and deeply felt tradition.
Food
Farinato, a sausage of flour, fat and spices served with fried eggs, hornazo, Iberian ham from Guijuelo, morucha beef and sheep's cheese.
Around and getting there
The Siega Verde site, with Palaeolithic rock engravings, a UNESCO site together with Portugal's Côa valley, the Sierra de Francia with the village of La Alberca, and the nearby Portuguese fortress of Almeida. Ciudad Rodrigo is about 90 km from Salamanca, linked by bus.