Trujillo, Cáceres

Trujillo, Spain
Trujillo, Spain
	; Seal
	; Seal
Country	Spain
Autonomous community	Extremadura
Province	Cáceres
Municipality	Trujillo
	Government
- Mayor	Cristina Blázquez Bermejo
	Area
- Total	156 km2 (60.2 sq mi)
Elevation	564 m (1,850 ft)
	Population (2009)
- Total	9,766
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Website	City Council

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Trujillo is a Spanish city of 9860 inhabitants (INE Census, 2008), located in the province of Cáceres, in the Extremadura region. Famous for its monuments, is a premier resort in Extremadura. It was the birthplace of Francisco Pizarro, conqueror of Peru, whose equestrian statue stands in the Plaza Mayor (The main square), and Francisco de Orellana. The most important monuments are the castle (old Arab fortress), the church of Santa María (thirteenth century) and the church of San Francisco.

[edit] History

Plaza Mayor

Equestrian statue of Francisco Pizarro

Diego Garcia de Paredes

Trujillo was settled on a granite batholith during the Prehistoric times. In Roman times the town was known as Turgalium and became a prefecture stipendiary of the Lusitanian capital, Emerita Augusta. He was later populated by barbarian tribes (mainly Visigoths) although the prevalence of the population would still be Hispans. Then the Muslims came, becoming one of the main towns in the region of influence governed from Madrid (which was even formed one of the Taifa kingdoms). After five centuries of Muslim occupation, in 1186, while Alfonso VII of Castilla was the king, several missions tried to reconquer the town, but they failed. It was 25 January 1232, in times of King Ferdinand III when, according to the local legend, the Virgen de la Victoria appeared to Christian troops at the Arco del Triunfo before managing to retake the city, defeating the Arabs who were in it, anticipating the outcome of the battle.

King Juan II of Castilla gave the town the title of city in 1430. Later it had a Jewish quarter located outside of the powerful medieval walls. Trujillo, with the growth of the population was gradually extended beyond the walls.

Then some Trujillanos went to America to discover new places. When they come back, the built majestic palaces near the Plaza Mayor and surrounds, most of them can be visited today.

In 1834 the city became the official headquarters of the Judicial District of Trujillo. In the census of 1842 it had 110 households and 6026 residents.

[edit] Monuments

Trujillo has a rich heritage. Among the most important monuments are the Castle (Alcazaba), the church of Santiago, the church of Santa María la Mayor, the church of San Francisco, the Church of San Martín, the Plaza Mayor, and beautiful palaces like the palace of the Marquis of the Conquest, the palace of the Orellana-Pizarro family, the palace of the Duques de San Carlos, Marquesado de Piedras Albas, the house of the strong Altamirano, Palace Chaves (Luis Chaves Old), and of course the walled old town.

It has several museums: Museum of Coria (Javier Salas Foundation), Home-Museum of Pizarro, Enrique Elías Museum (local designer),Museum of Cheese and Wine.

[edit] Events

[edit] The Chiviri

The culmination of Holy Week is celebrated 'Resurrection Sunday' (declared event of regional interest). The square of the town is full of people dressed in typical costume. Sing, dance, eat and drink to the beat of Chíviri. The following Monday is a holiday in the city (Easter Monday) and has a habit of going to eat to the countryside.

[edit] National Fair Cheese

On May the 1st, the National Fair Cheese takes place, which is the most important cheese competition in Spain. The Plaza Mayor becomes a huge fair where is possible to taste cheeses from around Spain. More information about the history of this event. (In Spanish)

[edit] Festivities in honor of Virgen de la Victoria

They take place at the end of August, early September. During the festival the Virgen de la Victoria is moved from their normal place in the chapel of the Castle to the church of San Martín, in the Plaza Mayor, where they celebrate the religious events. In addition, there are puppets (The Adventures of Peneque el Valiente (Peneque the brave) with Miguel Pino), capeas and the Festival of Music, Dance and Theater in the Castle. Also a young local teenager is elected as "Queen of the festivities" and she has her own entourage.

[edit] Twin Cities

Cities Twin with Trujillo are:

[edit] Gallery

The Plaza Mayor (panoramic vision)	Francisco Pizarro statue	La Conquista Palace	Santa María la Mayor
Home-Museum of Francisco Pizarro	The Castle	Old church besides the Castle	The Plaza Mayor at night