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The Cathedral of Santa María, in Ciudad Rodrigo, is a National Monument that fuses Romanesque and Gothic. Its Pórtico del Perdón, of great sculptural richness, and its cloister of diverse styles stand out. The Tower of the Bells still shows traces of the War of Independence. Inside, the choir of Rodrigo Alemán is an essential jewel.
Cruelly mistreated during the War of Independence, as the traces of the bombs make clear, its recent restoration was completed in March 2001. Erected between 1764 and 1772, it was designed by Juan de Sagarbinaga. The lower body of the tower, the access doorway, overturns semicircular arch flanked by four columns of composite order that support a triangular pediment. Inspired by an engraving by Serlio or perhaps by the north façade of the cathedral of Zamora, a late 16th century work designed by Juan de Ribero Rada, a coat of arms with the cathedral's coat of arms is placed on the upper vertex of the pediment. The second body, excessively massive, has a simple balcony and two small windows on all sides. The body of bells, which is resolved by two separate semicircular openings flanked by paired pilasters and ends in a balustrade, ends in a ringed cupola that gives way to an openwork lantern on which rests a cupuline also with a ringed break.
The Casa de los Velasco is located in the Plaza de Amayuelas, a square that gives access to the cathedral through its north door. The Casa de los Velasco was built in the early twentieth century, and is one of the houses that help maintain the environment and the medieval atmosphere of the city despite its modernity.
Construction began in 1552. Its promoter was Canon Hernando de Miranda, who placed the coats of arms of his parents, that of Miranda, over the door, and on the sides those of Robles and Chaves, his maternal lineages. With a simple façade, the alfiz, topped by flambeaux, and the linteled doorway with sculpted coats of arms stand out. Inside there is a courtyard with eight columns, topped by capitals with coats of arms of Mirobrigenses lineages. During the War of Independence it suffered great damage to its rear part, which had to be rebuilt at the end of the 19th century.
Its construction began in the late nineteenth century, on the plots of houses belonging to the estate of Corbalán that had fallen to the Marquis of Espeja. Its promoter, a descendant of the latter, was Doña Concepción Narváez y del Águila, Marquise of Cartago. Of neo-Gothic style, the lintel of the façade stands out, with the coats of arms of Narváez and Águila; the corner balcony and the decoration of the windows in which the fleur-de-lis and the eagle, symbols of the lineage, are taken as ornamental motifs. This lady died without finishing the work and the new owners reformed and finished it in 1953.
The Urinal Museum is dedicated to this utensil of domestic use, showing more than 1350 pieces of twenty-nine nationalities, of different styles, models and designs being the oldest of the second century A.D. of Roman origin. This museum was created thanks to a collector born in Ciudad Rodrigo, José María del Arco Ortiz "Pesetos", who dedicated himself to obtain pieces all over the world, visiting antique shops, hospitals, street markets, etc. Being the urinal or chamber pot the hygienic utensil of daily use, therefore, it has been part of the history of "man, woman and child; of king and queen; of lady and maid; of the nun, the bishop, the priest and the sacristan, of the sick and the healthy", so it shows the evolution and use of it throughout history. This museum opened to the public in 2006 on the occasion of the celebration of the exhibition "Las Edades del Hombre" in Ciudad Rodrigo, although already in 1991 this collection had been shown as a traveling exhibition in different parts of Spain and Portugal. The evolution that the chamber pot has undergone for centuries and how it has adapted to different fashions and periods, socioeconomic levels of the population, ranks, social position and particular demands, such as long trips in which there were also models that could be carried with them on these occasions. An example of socioeconomic status within the world of the chamber pot are the so-called "Dompedros", furniture made of noble wood such as mahogany or palo santo, oak, chestnut or cherry, some of them with inlaid marquetry or gold leaf, with chamber pots hidden inside. With the appearance of sideboards, chairs, armchairs or armchairs, they filled and adorned the noble houses, palaces and castles, being just another item of conventional furniture. The pieces exhibited in this original museum, all of them documented and catalogued, are made of different materials such as ceramic, brass, clay, wood, porcelain, aluminum, glass or iron, and some of them even have gold and silver inlays, and others, paintings or drawings. The Urinal Museum of Ciudad Rodrigo, is among the ten most curious museums in the world and also holds a Guinness record for being one of the most unique exhibitions in the world.
It was ordered to be built in the 15th century by Francisco Vázquez, and its original angled doorway stands out, on which rests the family coat of arms of the Vázquez family, placed at an angle (as is common in many of the palaces of Ciudad Rodrigo) and framed in an alfiz. Inside, the staircase leading to the upper floor and the marvelous coffered ceiling stand out. It belonged to José Manuel Sánchez-Arjona y de Velasco, the Good Mayor. In 1928 King Alfonso XIII slept in this palace. Built by the Vázquez family at the beginning of the 16th century, its exterior combines Gothic elements, such as the alfiz that frames the main door or the window on the upper floor, and the virtuosity of the stonework, with both openings on the corner. In the second decade of the 20th century, Mr. José Manuel Sánchez-Arjona y de Velasco, the Good Mayor, owner of the house, rebuilt the exterior following a neo-medieval, neo-Renaissance and neo-Islamic style. It is possible to visit the hallway where you can admire the coffered ceiling and part of the rich Sevillian tiles (workshops Vda. de Tova Villalva) also present in other rooms, which Alfonso XIII enjoyed in 1928 when he stayed at the palace during a visit of the monarch to the city. Since 1944 it is the headquarters of the Post Office.
It is unknown who was the promoter of this palace dating from the late fifteenth century. Originally flanked by two towers, its façade stands out for its Renaissance conception in which the elements are arranged geometrically, following the line of the first Renaissance palaces in Spain. To this style belong the windows, reminiscent of those of the Casa de las Conchas in Salamanca, and the angels holding the coat of arms over the door. The door, in Gothic style, is formed by a segmental arch with large voussoirs and framed by moldings. It is flanked by two large torsal columns topped by the figures of two lions. It was the barracks of General Herrasti during the War of Independence.
Built between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries by Hernando de Güemes and his son for the Aguila family, one of the most important lineages of Ciudad Rodrigo. In its facade the different constructive phases can be seen. The door of great voussoirs, with the family shields and framed by an alfiz in whose ends, on candlesticks we see the lion and the eagle, symbols of the family. The rich window on the left is Renaissance, while the balcony is from the Baroque period. The interior hides an imposing Plateresque courtyard. The carving of the sills of the upper floor, with men, masks and winged centaurs, stands out. The east bay was built by J. Tarabella in 1910, imitating the others.
Built in the time of Henry II of Trastámara (14th century) in the highest and steepest part of Ciudad Rodrigo, defending the side of the river that serves as a natural wall. In the middle of the fortified enclosure, topped with merlons, stands the keep, consisting of two cubic bodies, smaller and modern the upper one. It was a museum and hotel in the 20s of the last century, on the initiative of the "Good Mayor", Manuel Sánchez Arjona. Since 1931 it has been a Parador Nacional, making it one of the oldest in Spain.
