Alcántara

Its location at the meeting point of the rivers Tagus and Alagón, as well as its closeness to the Portuguese border, has played a decisive role in the shaping of Alcántara.

Various historians have claimed that this town was the "Norba Caesarea" of the Lusitanians. Others relate it to "Colonia Caesarina" and "Interamnium", meaning between two rivers. In spite of the considerable Roman presence it was to be the Visigoths who named it "Oliva" at the start of the 8th century, and halfway the through the same century the Arabs were to give it its final name of "Kantara-Ass-Saif", meaning "the bridge of the sword", due to a legend concerning a golden sword found inside it.

The town was to be finally conqueres by Alfonso IX, who handed it over to the Knights of the Order of Calatrava for them to defend against the Arabs. The fact that it was far away from the lands of Calatrava led the Order to pass it on in turn to the small Military Order of San Julián de Pereiros, which moved there in 1218 in order to defend it better and which from then on was to be known as the Military Order of Alcántara. From that moment on the history of this town was to be the history of the Order, which played a major role in events such as the disagreements between Henry IV and Isabel I in the wars with Portugal, embarked upon by Philip V.

If anything stands out in Alcántara, it is its Roman bridge. This is a magnificent piece of engineering, stated in the times of Trajan by the architec Caius Julius Lacer. This monument has a heigh of  71 metres, is 194 metres long and 8 metres wide. Supported on six graceful arches, raised in the central part on parapets is the Arch of Triumph with memorial tablets to Charles V and Isabel II.

At the head of the bridges is a small temple in honour of Trajan and the gods Romulus and Remus, while on the other side is the Golden Tower, a defensive element for the fort of Alcántara, and built in 1778 during the reign of Charles III.

No less representative is the convent of San Benito, the priorial house of the Military Order of Alcántara. Its construction started in 1505 and is in the Renaissance style outside with a very lovely Gothic cloister and a church divided into three naves with Plateresque ornametation. Careful restoration of the convent has auditorium built next to its facade acts as an unsurpassable setting for holding the annual Festival of Medieval and Renaissance Theatre.

A trip through the centre of the town brings the visitors to a rapid descent towards the church of Santa María de Almócovar, Built on an Arab mosque in the 13th century, the main facade in Romanesque style and its interior in which the Herrerian style dominates are both outstanding. The church houses important tables from the "Divine" Morales as well as a recumbent Christ of great artistic value, attributed to Martínez Montañés.

Between this temple and the house where he was born can be found the statue of San Pedro de Alcántara, sculped by Navarro Gabaldón in 1978.

The temple of San Pedro de Alcántara was erected in honour of the Franciscan saint on account of his canonization. Built in the 17th century over the house where he was born, it is in the Herrerian style and inside a beautiful Baroque altarpiece can be admired.

A stroll through the streets brings one to some surprising civil buildings, such as the houses of the Topetes Escobar and of the Barcos families. The former contains a notable facade in Gothic-Renaissance style, while the latter was built in the 17th century. Equally interesting are other buildings such as the houses of the families Barrantes, Apontes, the Marquises of Torreorgaz and Calderón, and the synagogue of la Soledad. The Arch of la Concepción, a symbol of the fortifications in Alcántara, along with the Bridge of el Pilar, built in the 16th century, and the Plaza de la Corredera, complete the tradicional nature reflected in corners such as Balconcillo and Calle Soledad.

Very close to Alcántara is the hermitage of Nuestra Señora de los Hitos. Its primitive construction must have been carried out immediately after the reconquest of the town.

Besides this hermitage, Alcántara has others, such as that of los Remedios, San Antón, Santa Ana, la Piedad and la Soledad.