[Dec. 2022] The second day in Caceres, a town in Extremadura, Spain, was fully devoted to sightseeing.
First, we went to the tourist information centre facing Plaza Mayor.
I thought it would be nice if there was a walking tour that we take here and there, but unfortunately they had only ones in Spanish.
Caceres is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but it is not so well known internationally, so it may be that there are not many individual foreign visitors.
However, the man at the tourist information office was very enthusiastic.
He explained the places to see, marked them on the map, and gave us a nice thick booklet introducing the province of Extremadura.
Also, he let us know where the toilets are in the old town, which I thought very thoughtful.
We decided to walk along the route he recommended.
First, enter the Old Town through the Arco de la Estrella, a gate of the ramparts that we have already passed through several times.
The gate is said to be from the 18th century.
There is a tower on the side with a balcony similar to the one in “Romeo and Juliet”.
It is Torre de Bujaco, a 12th-century tower, which the guidebook said you could enter, but it was closed at the time.
After a short distance, you will come to a square called Plaza de Santa Maria, surrounded by historic buildings.
The highlight is the Cathedral of Santa Maria.
It cost €5 per person with an audio guide.
The guide was too detailed, so I gave up on the way.
The highlight is the 16th-century main altar.
The fine carvings of the cedar wood are wonderful.
The choir seats are also beautiful, but it seems that this is from the beginning of the 20th century.
The patron saint of this town is also St. George, who is famous for exterminating dragons, and there is also a wall painting of a dragon.
St. George was also the patron saint of Barcelona, which we visited recently, as well as Georgia and England.
He seems to be a saint who widely guards here and there.
Another highlight of this cathedral is climbing the bell tower.
The scenery seen from the top of the spiral staircase was wonderful.
The weather was fine that day, and the view was good, and the haze in the distance was also beautiful.
A bronze statue stands in the corner outside the cathedral and it is eye-catching.
This is San Pedro de Alcantara, a monk from the 16th century.
I wondered if there was a reason why the feet were so shiny that they would make you beautiful if you touched them, or that they would heal you from illness.
However, when I looked it up, I found that the believers kiss the feet of the statue only out of respect.
I thought the statue was old, but it’s not, it was made only in 1954.
In addition, there was information on the internet that it was a self-portrait of the sculptor, and that was a little disappointing.
