WEEKEND EXCURSIONS

A DAY OUT IN THE LÁCARA REGION, DEPARTING FROM MÉRIDA

This is an interesting itinerary along the banks of the Guadiana River, running from east to west through the centre of Extremadura. The river’s area of influence is clearly evident as are the sweeping extensions of irrigated crops. Mérida is the most visited tourist centre in the region. Its historic and artistic heritage has undoubtedly gained universal recognition and there is an entire range of highly important cultural attractions. The Guadiana River provides the backbone to this itinerary and all around it the day to day lives of villages imbued with history are played out whilst other villages of more recent creation dedicate themselves to agriculture, their principal source of income.

                                       Lusitania Bridge in Mérida

AN ITINERARY FOR TOURISTS

Our itinerary starts out from Mérida, the capital of the Autonomous Region of Extremadura, runs through the villages which form the so called Tierras Bajas (lowlands) of Guadiana River and ends up once again in Mérida. Taking the road to Montijo we pass through the village of Esparragalejo which stands amongst oak groves close to the Guadiana River. Founded in the 15th century by the Order of Santiago, its 16th century Parish Church of Nuestra Señora de la Concepción was built from masonry and ashlar. A few more kilometres down this same road we come to La Garrovilla, a 13th century Muslim settlement which became the property of the Order of Santiago around that same time. It is situated on the banks of the Guadiana and is famous for its extensive fields of irrigated crops. The village’s 15th century Parish Church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción possesses a very attractive plateresque portico.

Torremayor, also of Arab origin, contains one of the region’s most beautiful temples; we refer to the Parish Church of Santiago which has been declared of Historic and Artistic Interest and has an important Mannerist facade. A short distance away is Montijo, famous for its splendid agricultural products and for the very important remains of Roman buildings found in the vicinity, such as the villa of the “Torre Águila”, the Tower of the Eagle. The village contains the House of the Condes de Montijo and the large, magnificent ecclesiastical building with its impressive tower which is the Parish Church of San Pedro, built in Gothic Renaissance style in the 16th century.

From Montijo we drive on towards Talavera la Real. Just a few kilometres away we pass through Valdelacalzada which owes its name to the proximity of the Roman road which once connected Mérida and Lisbon. Today it is an important agriculture centre, with magnificent extensions of irrigated fields. As we travel along we find interesting examples of villages which were “settled” (“colonised”) and which are now entirely dedicated to irrigated agriculture. Such is the case of the localities of Guadiana del Caudillo, Alcazaba, Novelda del Guadiana and Sagrajas which is famous not only for having been the site of the Battle of Sagrajas in which the Arabs defeated the Christian troops of Alfonso VI but also for the pre-Roman treasure found nearby.

Other riverside villages are Gévora, Pueblonuevo del Guadiana, Villafranco del Guadiana which has a Fish Farm and a Fish Interpretation Centre, Balboa or Guadajira with its white buildings so typical of this type of newly built village.

The old N-V (A5) motorway runs through Talavera la Real which is just a few kilometres from Badajoz airpor. The village may well owe its “Royal” name to the fact that Doña Leonor de Austria, the sister of Emperor Charles V, died here in 1558. There are two outstanding ecclesiastical buildings in the town, the Parish Church of Nuestra Señora de Gracia, built in the 15th century and endowed with a magnificent Renaissance altarpiece and the 16th century Convent of the “Carmelitas Descalzas”. Near to the A-5 motorway is the village of Lobón. Its most important historic building is the Parish Church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, built in Gothic-Mudejar style in the 15th century.

From Lobón we return to the motorway and once again cross the Guadiana to arrive at Puebla de la Calzada which, as is the case with other neighbouring villages, owes its name to the Roman road which ran through the village although its origin dates back in fact to the Middle Ages when it was a settlement on the banks of the Guadiana. Not far from Puebla de la Calzada is the locality of Barbaño, home of the renowned Hermitage of the Virgin of Barbaño where an important procession takes place in the month of May. Continuing along the A-5 we come to Arroyo de San Serván, a mountainous area home to many birds of prey and to some interesting schematic cave paintings.

Not far from Arroyo is the flourishing town of Calamonte, quite close now to Merida. Thought to be of Roman origin, the town was repopulated in the 14th century by the Order of Santiago. In the centre is the Parish Church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción which was built in the first half of the 16th century and which has a beautiful plateresque portico.

From Calamonte we come to Torremejía, a village of medieval origin, situated very close to the A-66 motorway. In the village centre we can observe some sculptures from Roman days which form part of the foundations and the facade of the Palacio de los Mexía, later the property of the Becerra de Moscoso family.

From Torremejía we come to the end of our itinerary, which is no other than the city of Mérida through which the Guadiana River has flowed since its foundation in the year 25 B.C. Declared a World Heritage site, amongst the city’s most interesting monuments are those of the Roman era. We should mention the Theatre, a construction which was financed by Agripa, the nephew of Octavio Augusto, in the years 16 and 15 B.C. – it has a capacity for some 6,000 people. Built in the year 8 B.C. the Amphitheatre was a space dedicated to contests with Gladiators or wild animals. In the nearby House of the Amphitheatre there are magnificent mosaics which represent the Goddess Venus and Eros and a scene from the wine harvest. Just beside the Theatre and the Amphitheatre is the National Museum of Roman Art, inaugurated in 1986, the creation of architect Rafael Moneo Vallés. Its undeniably didactic nature facilitates our comprehension of the Roman world. In the Casa del Mitreo house , an ancient residence from the Roman era, the so called “Cosmogenic Mosaic” is of note whilst a short distance away we may visit the Circus or the Hippodrome, built in the 1st century B.C. with a capacity for some 30,000 spectators. The Aqueduct of San Lázaro or Rabo de Buey (Oxtail), just beside the Circus, was used to supply water to the area of the Theatre and the Amphitheatre. Just a few metres away we come upon the remains of the Xenodoquio, a Visigoth hospital from the time of Bishop Mausona and the magnificent edification which is the Basilica of Santa Eulalia in which the remains of the martyr may have been interred – there is a model in the interior of the excavated areas. On the outside the famous “little oven” has been conserved. This was built in honour of the Saint with the remains of what was once a temple dedicated to Mars, the Roman God.

                          Roman Bridge and The Aqueduct of Milagros

The Aqueduct of Milagros, built to transport water from the reservoir in Lake Proserpina, measures some 830 metres and is 25 metres high. As well as these constructions it is well worth visiting the Roman bridge over the Albarregas river; the Trajano Arch, 15 metres high and 9 metres long; the Temple of Diana, dedicated to the Imperial cult and built towards the end of the 1st century B.C; the Portico of the Forum, built in the 1st century B.C. although recently restored and the majestic Roman bridge over the Guadiana which was built in the year 25 B.C., 792 metres and 60 arches long. Other historic eras are represented by the 9th century Arab “Alcazaba” or fortress, with an interesting “aljibe” or dungeon; the Convent of the Order of Santiago (currently home to the Presidency of the Extremadura Regional Government); the archaeological site known as the "Morerías", the Concathedral of Santa María, situated in the centre of the Plaza Mayor (Main Square) and probably built on the site of the ancient Cathedral of Santa María of Jerusalem. The Museum of Visigoth Art is dedicated to the exhibition and conservation of many of the objects from the Visigoth period which have been discovered in Merida. It amounts to one of the best collections to be found in Spain. Towards the outskirts of the city we should not forget to visit the Roman dam at Proserpina, about 5 kilometres from the city, the largest known artificial dam from the Roman period in the entire Mediterranean world nor indeed the Roman dam in Cornalvo, close to Trujillanos in the Nature Park of the same name.

GASTRONOMY

Lamb stews, gazpacho, and a fish salad of bogue and barbel known as “moje”. Iberian cold cuts, sausages and hams are found throughout the region.

HANDICRAFTS

Ceramic and basket weaving in Mérida. Wrought iron and woodwork.

FESTIVITIES

The Easter celebrations in Mérida have been declared of interest as a Regional Tourist Attraction. Every summer the Mérida Theatre Festival is held in the theatre and in the amphitheatre.

NATURE AND COUNTRYSIDE

Along the banks of the Guadiana there is a peculiar proliferation of vegetation used as their habitat by birds and otters and which alternates with enormous, wide-spread areas of irrigated land in which corn and rice are becoming ever more important.

The stork is the bird par excellence in these latitudes although there is also a fair number of cranes and other migratory birds.