Benavente, Zamora

Benavente
Plaza del Ayuntamiento in Benavente.
Coat of arms
Benavente Location in Spain.
Coordinates: 42°0′11″N 5°40′27″W
Country	Spain
Autonomous community	Castile and León
Province	Zamora
Comarca	Benavente y Los Valles
Government
• Mayor	Saturnino Mañanes García
Area
• Total	45.12 km2 (17.42 sq mi)
Elevation	800 m (2,600 ft)
Population (2009)
• Total	19,119
• Density	420/km2 (1,100/sq mi)
Demonym	Benaventanos
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Website	Official website

Benavente is a municipality in the north of the province of Zamora, in the autonomous community Castile and León of Spain. It has about 20,000 inhabitants.

Located north of the capital on an important communications hub, it was repopulated by King Ferdinand II of León, who also awarded it law-codes in 1167.

Main sights

• Parador de Turismo Fernando II, which occupies the Caracol Tower, a 16th century castle with wide segmental miradors and a Mudéjar coffered ceiling in the main section
• church of Santa María de Azogue, in Romanesque style, begun in 1180. It has a Latin cross plan, with a nave and two aisles, separated by cruciform pilasters, with five apses. The nave has Gothic cross vaults added in the 16th century. The interior is home of several Gothic sculptures, such as that of the "Annunciation" (13th century)
• San Juan del Mercado, in Romanesque style (12th-13th centuries). It has three decorated portals with the Adoration of the Magi, the Virgin and Child and scenes of the birth of Jesus.
• hospital of La Piedad, an old pilgrim hostel.
• Hermitage of Soledad (early 16th century)
• Caracol Tower

Climate

It is characterized as a Mediterranean climate with continental characteristics as with the altitude of the municipality and its distance to the sea. However, the amount of the winter frosts is lifted, taking place even in spring, with the consequential damage to some of the local agriculture.

Dukes of Benavente

Juan Francisco Pimentel y Ponce de León, 7th Duke of Benavente, deceased 1652, by Diego Velázquez, 1648.

	Titular	Period
Primera creación por Enrique II
I	Fadrique de Castilla y Ponce de León	1370–1394
Segunda creación por Enrique IV
I	Rodrigo Alonso Pimentel	1473-
II	Alonso Pimentel y Pacheco
III	Antonio Alonso Pimentel y Herrera de Velasco
IV	Luis Alonso Pimentel Herrera y Enríquez de Velasco
V	Juan Alonso Pimentel Herrera y Enríquez de Velasco
VI	Antonio Alonso Pimentel y Quiñones
VII	Juan Francisco Pimentel y Ponce de León
VIII	Antonio Alonso Pimentel y Herrera Zúñiga
IX	Francisco Casimiro Pimentel de Quiñones y Benavides
X	Antonio Francisco Pimentel de Zúñiga y Vigil de Quiñones
XI	Francisco Alonso Pimentel Vigil de Quiñones Borja Aragón y Centelles
XII	María Josefa Pimentel, Duchess of Osuna
XIII	Francisco de Borja Téllez-Girón y Alfonso Pimentel
XIV	Pedro de Alcántara Téllez-Girón y Beaufort Spontin
XV	Mariano Téllez-Girón y Beaufort Spontin
XVI	Pedro de Alcántara Téllez-Girón y Fernández de Santillán
XVII	Ángela María Téllez-Girón y Duque de Estrada	actual tituar

Notable people

• José Carlos Guerra, painter.
• Maria Josefa Alfonso Pîmentel Tellez Girón Borja y Centelles, fourteenth Countess and twelfth Duchess of Benavente, a patron of Goya and Boccherini
• Fray Toribio de Benavente o Motolinía (1477–1569), a missionary to Mexico
• Alonso Briceño, one of the thirteen conquistadors led by Francisco Pizarro
• Pita Pizarro (1792–1845), a minister of Isabella II of Spain
• Francisco de Castro Pascual (1871–1949), microbiologist
• José Nuñez Pernía (1805–1879), a Marquis of Nuñez and the first president of the Sociedad Hahnemanniana Matritense
• Pedro Nuñez Granés (1869–1944), engineer
• Celestino Alonso Rodríguez Valdespino (1828–1875), chess player
• Federico Silva Muñoz (1923–1997), politician
• Laura Iglesias Romero, a scientist who does research for the CSIC
• Francisco Jose Yndurain Muñoz (1940–2008), scientist
• Almudena Fernández (born 1977), model

Language

Regional speech is influenced by Leonese language.

Events

The Tower of the Caracol.

An enraged bull (2005).

• Fiestas de la Veguilla. The local celebration in honour of the Virgen de la Vega to celebrate the torno al llamado (Monday of Pascuilla).
• Fiestas del toro enmaromado. Celebrated the day before the corpus, where the young men run (Running of the Bulls) in front of a long rope held on the horns of a bull.

See also

• List of municipalities in Zamora
• San Pedro De Zamudia, Zamora
• Sandin, Zamora
• Almudena Fernandez - Famous model from Benavente.