BY Richard
The
ancient structures in Caceres sneak up on you. You just have to walk a short
way from streets full of cars and buses and past the plaza with its calm
restaurants, in order to come across the historic old walls of Caceres, which
appeared to me still to be in excellent condition.
The
most interesting part of the Ciudad Monumental, as it is called, is that cars
frequently drive through its narrow streets. I loved that people would just be
singing by the streets (hoping for money, no doubt). I also felt this
incorporation of the ancient with the ordinary when our class stopped at a
small outdoor restaurant, the same kind we would find outside in the plaza,
right in the middle of the old city.
I
suppose that any reader would be angry with me if I just said that there is “a
lot” in this city from centuries past. However, I must admit my memory was
overwhelmed with the history. Many of these places blend together in my memory.
I knew that there are many historic cathedrals, including a Jesuit church, San
Francisco Javier, and one church with a connection to a person who had visited
the newfound Americas. I wish I had my camera on me when we visited one of the
old cathedrals; this one had beautiful architecture which seems to have had
much Arabic influence. Here’s a picture of the San Francisco Javier cathedral just
past the San Jorge plaza:
Here’s
a picture of what may be the church with the connection to the New World
explorer:
However, Caceres takes us back further than that. A
museum to the history of the many peoples of Spain throughout its history is
housed in an old Moorish building.
And here are more pictures of the architecture of
the old city:
