The toponym of the city comes from the motto given by its founder, King Alfonso VIII of Castile, on the shield given to it: "Ut placeat Deo et Hominibus", a Latin word that means "To please (please) God and men."[28] However, before the arrival of Alfonso VIII there was an inhabited place in the area whose exact name is unknown, and said place may have been called Ambroz, Ambrosía, Ambracia or Pagus Ambracensis.[29]​[30]​.

As for the demonym, the term most used to refer to the natives of Plasencia is "placentino".[31]​ According to the Dictionary of the Spanish Language, this word derives from the Latin Placentīnus and can be used as a demonym for both the municipality of Extremadura and the Italian city of Piacenza.[2]​ The Royal Spanish Academy also recognizes in its dictionary the words "plasentino" and "plasenciano" as valid demonyms of the town Extremadura.[3][4]​.

Sharing the same name as the city of Jerte there are other towns in the world. In Spain there is the municipality of Plasencia de Jalón in the province of Zaragoza and the district of Plasencia del Monte in the province of Huesca.[32]​ In Spanish, the name Plasencia is usually given to the Italian city of Piacenza "Plasencia (Italy)"), with which the Extremaduran city is twinned.[33]​.

Another very similar name is Placencia "Placencia (Belize)"), a municipality in Belize whose name was given by Spanish explorers[34]​ and which shares a name with the Guipuzcoan municipality of Placencia de las Armas.[35]​ Placencia and Plasencia can be homophones in some Spanish dialects due to the siseo and lisp.

In Canada there is a municipality called Placentia "Placentia (Newfoundland and Labrador)"), in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and its name derives precisely from the city of Jerte.[36]​ In California there is also another Placentia "Placentia (California)").[37]​.

The heraldic shield "Escudo (heráldica)") of Plasencia is one of the oldest shields in the province, since Alfonso VIII of Castile printed on it at the end of the century the motto Ut placeat Deo et hominibus.[38]​ The shield, without a motto, is heraldically defined as follows:

The flag, which contains the shield in its center, is defined as follows:

Several towns in the old town of Plasencia have included Placentine weapons in their shield, for example Navaconcejo.

Contenido

La ciudad se sitúa a 80 kilómetros de la capital provincial. El relieve del municipio es variado, ya que cuenta con las últimas elevaciones de la sierra de Gredos que contrastan con el Valle del Jerte y las primeras dehesas típicamente extremeñas. La sierra del Gordo, al norte, está integrada en los Montes de Traslasierra, siendo su punto más elevado el pico Gordo (998 metros). Al noreste está la sierra de San Bernabé, un ramal de la sierra de Tormantos, que esta zona llega hasta los 790 metros. Al suroeste está la sierra de Berenguel, donde destaca el pico Merengue (655 metros). El río Jerte, en su curso bajo, es el curso fluvial más destacado, poco antes de desembocar en el Alagón. Sus aguas se represan en el embalse de Plasencia. La altitud oscila entre los 998 metros (pico Gordo) y los 260 metros a orillas del Jerte. El casco urbano se alza a 352 metros sobre el nivel del mar.[40]​.

El término municipal de Plasencia limita con los siguientes municipios:[9]​.

Hydrography

Practically the entire municipal area is located in the hydrographic basins of the Jerte and Alagón rivers, the first being a tributary of the second, which in turn is a tributary of the Tagus. The mouth of the Jerte River in the Alagón is located downstream of Plasencia, in the municipality of Galisteo. 4 km upstream from the city is the Plasencia reservoir, built in 1985, with a capacity of 59 hm³, which regulates the flow "Flow (fluid)") that passes through the city, avoiding the floods of yesteryear. The purpose of the reservoir is to supply drinking water to the population. There are no important aquifers in the municipality.[41]​.

Climate

According to the Papadakis climate classification system, most of the municipal area of ​​Plasencia is included within the continentalized Mediterranean climate. In the mountains that border Plasencia the climate corresponds to the classifications of temperate Mediterranean and cool Mediterranean. Summers are very warm during sunny hours and cool at night, and winters are cold. In the coldest months of the year the temperature drops below 0 °C and in the hottest months it rarely exceeds 40 °C. It therefore registers less hot temperatures than the rest of the cities in the region.[42][43]​.

According to the criteria of the Köppen-Geiger classification, Plasencia has a subtropical city climate of dry and hot summers Csa (Mediterranean climate).[44]​.

The climate in this area, despite the relative proximity to the microclimate of the Jerte Valley, and the nearby Sierra de Gredos, is similar to what we find in the Extremadura pasture, given the similarity of altitude above sea level of the population, unlike the municipalities of the Valleys further north. On the other hand, given the longitudinal orography of the Sierra de Gredos, they cause greater rainfall than in the rest of the central plateau, although in absolute data, the amount of this is more similar to that recorded in the southern plateau than in mountainous regions such as the Ambroz Valley or the Jerte Valley, with great differences being observed in the same episode between the city and the municipalities just 20 kilometers north of it. Rainfall falls within a range that ranges between 800 and 1000 mm per year, being scarce during the summer season, but slightly higher than that recorded in the capitals of Extremadura.[42]​[43]​.

Nature

The original vegetation present in the region has been modified by human intervention. The more forest type flora was replaced by agriculture and pastures "Pasture (livestock)"). The current vegetation cover is made up mainly of holm oak and cape meadows, as well as grasslands, riverside vegetation, irrigation and urban flora of parks and gardens.[41]​.

The olive grove is mainly located on the slope of the Santa Bárbara mountain range, arranged in terraces, but currently the area is highly urbanized. The holm oak forests are found in pastures, while the cork oak forests are found in the northern part of the municipality. The arcornocals occupy approximately 1200 ha and also form pastures like the holm oak forests. In the Valcorchero pasture there are mixed areas of holm oaks and cork oaks. The pastures are used for livestock exploitation and in many cases correspond to abandoned farmland. The bushes in the area are mainly brooms with grasses that are also used for seasonal livestock exploitation.[41]​.

The riverside vegetation is mainly made up of small poplar plantations. The irrigated lands are mainly concentrated on the banks of the Jerte downstream from the city, although there are also some family gardens near the urban center.[41]​.

In the pastures of the municipality, the pastures are used for grazing, mainly goats, sheep and cows. In the summer months, transhumance takes place to cooler areas of Castilla y León. Along with domestic mammals there are wild mammals such as various species of voles and field mice, the hedgehog and the rabbit.[41]​.

The group with the greatest diversity is that of birds. In the area you can sometimes see large birds of prey such as booted eagles or peregrine falcons, which live in the Monfragüe national park and in the foothills of the Gredos mountain range and fly to Plasencia in search of food. The most common bird species are birds such as the chaffinch, blue tit, great tit, whitetail, wood thrush, woodcreeper, common treecreeper, common shrike, black starling, great tit, goldfinch, common linnet, and pardal, as well as several species of cuckoo and, in winter, the wood pigeon. Partridges and quails are also found in the municipality.[41]​.

Among the amphibians and reptiles present in the area, several species of toads, the bastard snake, the ocellated lizard, several species of lizards and the gecko stand out. In the Jerte River and on its banks there are several species of fish such as barbel, chub, calandino, tench and colmilleja.[41]​.

The municipality is part of the Hesperico massif, in the southern part of the Central Iberian zone. Stratigraphically, Precambrian sediments consisting of graywacke and slate "Slate (rock)") predominate, as well as granite from the Béjar-Plasencia area.[41]​.

Tertiary and Quaternary sediments are also found, mainly linked to the river system. The Tertiary deposits are found in the Coria basin and in that associated with the Messejana-Plasencia fault-dam. Quaternary sediments are more noticeable in the various alluvial platforms related to the Jerte River. The most common materials are quartz pebbles, schists and granites in a sandy-clay matrix. The granitic rocks of the Béjar-Plasencia area occupy the northern part of the municipality.[41] There are no signs of mineral exploitation in the municipality. There were quarries for the extraction of different materials, including some for industrial ceramics in the tertiary deposits, but all of these exploitations are abandoned.[41]​.

Ancient Ages and Middle Ages

Although the current city of Plasencia was not founded until 1186, there is evidence that the territory was already inhabited in Prehistory, as remains of ceramics have been found in the Boquique cave.[47] In addition, Pascual Madoz's dictionary indicates that a disappeared place called Ambroz or Ambracia could have been located in the current Plasencia, although it is possible that said location was in Aldeanueva del Camino while in Plasencia there was a payment called Pagus Ambracensis.[29]​ In any case, the existence of constructions of Arab origin prior to the founding of the city is known. Among these constructions, there was a century tower located next to the Trujillo bridge called Torre del Ambroz, next to which a small Arab farmhouse was built.[30]​.

In a document issued in Burgos in 1181 under the reign of Alfonso VIII of Castile, it was established - in contradiction with the Treaty of Medina and with the border of La Plata between the kingdoms of León and Castile - that a good part of the territory of the north of the current province of Cáceres and the northwest of the province of Toledo belonged to the alfoz of the council of Ávila.[48] This situation changed in 1186, with the separation councilor of the city of Plasencia, founded that same year by Alfonso VIII; The monarch established the delimitation of the territories of the new council in 1189.[49][50]​ The motto of the newly founded city was Ut placeat Deo et Hominibus, which in Latin means "to please God and men." In 1189, Pope Clement III created the diocese of Plasencia with its headquarters in the city.[11]​ The beginnings of the city were hard, due to being in a border area and its proximity to territories dominated by Muslims.[51]​ In 1196 it was taken by the Almohads,[51][52]​ as a consequence of the Castilian defeat in the Battle of Alarcos. (1195),[16]​ but Alfonso VIII and the kingdom of Castile would recover it that same year, on August 15.[51]​ After this reconquest, the decision would be made to build the city walls.[51]​.

At the end of the century the king granted the "Fuero de Plasencia"), which gave great importance to the coexistence between Christians, Muslims and Jews. This led to the formation of an important Jewish community, which was the largest in Extremadura and had considerable economic power.[53]​.

One of the first written references to a bullfight is found in the Cantigas de Santa María by Alfonso

The city then had the right to vote in the Cortes of Castile, proof of which was the sending of two procurators to the courts held in Madrid in 1391. The century was a key period in the history of the city, during which the feudalizing behaviors of the Middle Ages gave rise to the end of the royal statute and the consequent establishment of a jurisdiction of lordship. In 1442, King Juan II of Castile gave the city to the Estúñigas or Zúñigas family, granting Pedro de Zúñiga "Pedro de Zúñiga (d. 1453)") the title of count of Plasencia. Upon becoming a lord, Plasencia lost the right to vote in the Cortes.[55]​ In 1446, at the request of its bishop, Cardinal Juan de Carvajal "Juan de Carvajal (Cardinal)"), Humanities studies were created in the city, which were the first general studies of university rank that existed in what is now Extremadura.[56]​.

In the second half of the century, Plasencia had some participation in the conflict over the succession of Henry IV of Castile. King Henry IV was deposed in the city on April 27, 1465 as sovereign of Castile. Later, the Count of Plasencia took an active part in the Farce of Ávila, snatching the sword, a symbol of justice, from the wooden statue that represented the Castilian king and proclaiming the infante Alfonso as such. Argollas (Plasencia)") of Plasencia, where kings of Castile and Portugal were proclaimed.[59]​.

In June 1488, the duke died and was succeeded by his grandson Álvaro de Zúñiga y Pérez de Guzmán. The Placentine nobility took advantage of the opportunity to take up arms against the Zúñiga and thus recover the power they previously held over the city and over the income from the lands that depended on it.[60]​ The rebels were supported by the Catholic Monarchs, who revoked the donation made by John II, arguing that it had been excessive and against their will.[55]​ The revolt triumphed and the royal statute was restored, with the ratification of the October 20, 1488 at the doors of the cathedral, with the presence of Fernando the Catholic, who swore to always defend the privileges and freedom of Plasencia.[60]​[61]​.

Modern Age

During this time Plasencia was the place recommended by the court doctors to Ferdinand the Catholic as the healthiest place in all his kingdoms and where he should establish his residence. The monarch moved to live in Plasencia in 1515. He died in Madrigalejo in January 1516 while traveling from Plasencia to Guadalupe "Guadalupe (Cáceres)") to attend the chapter of the orders of Calatrava and Alcántara in the monastery of Guadalupe.[62]​.

Between 1520 and 1522, during the War of the Communities of Castile, Plasencia participated on the communal side, managing to establish a community in Plasencia but this was diminished by the proximity of nearby royalist centers, such as Ciudad Rodrigo or Cáceres.[63]​.

Between 1528 and 1531 the composer Cristóbal de Morales lived in Plasencia, who held the position of chapelmaster there.[64]​.

Plasencia also had some importance during the conquest of America. In 1539, an expedition financed by Bishop Gutierre de Vargas Carvajal went to the Strait of Magellan. One of the expedition ships, led by Alonso de Camargo, managed to cross the strait.[65]​.

In 1573, the Placentine bishop Pedro Ponce de León "Pedro Ponce de León (bishop)") donated part of his library to the monastery of El Escorial, among whose works was the Códice Emilianense from the monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla. In 1665, another bishop, Diego de Arce y Reinoso, had a library of 3,880 works in 10,000 volumes at the time of his death.[66]

When the first 18 provinces of Castile emerged in 1502, they were established based on the cities that had a vote in the Cortes. No city in modern-day Extremadura had such a vote, so most of the region belonged to the province of Salamanca. Due to this, in 1653 Plasencia decided to buy the vote in Cortes that it had previously had, a purchase that it made jointly with Alcántara, Badajoz, Cáceres, Mérida "Mérida (Spain)") and Trujillo "Trujillo (Spain)"). This was the moment of creation of the old province of Extremadura, which was composed of the party of Trujillo&action=edit&redlink=1 "Province of Trujillo (Crown of Castile) (not yet drafted)") and the territory of León of the Order of Santiago (divided into two parties, Mérida and Llerena, and in each of them there were several encomiendas), to which the lands of Coria and Granadilla.[67]​.

Contemporary Age

In the War of Independence (1808-1814), Plasencia became a strategic place for French troops. On June 8 and 13, 1808, riots occurred that led to the murder of several French people, some of whom died by lynching. Shortly after, the Placentines formed a local arms and defense board and sought support on the right bank of the Tagus. Despite the efforts of the junta, on December 28, 1808 the city was taken by French troops, after having burned Malpartida de Plasencia two days before. The French occupied the city twelve times during the conflict, and as they passed through Plasencia they extorted its inhabitants and caused serious damage to the city.[68]​.

At the fall of the Old Regime, the city was established as a constitutional municipality in the region of Extremadura. When in 1822 Extremadura was divided into the current province of Cáceres and province of Badajoz, Plasencia disputed with Cáceres the capital of the former, arguing that to the right of the Tagus River there was more population, in addition to being the episcopal seat. Other criteria weighed more and Cáceres was chosen as the capital of the province.[69]​ Since 1834 it has been the head of the judicial district of Plasencia.[70]​ During the First Spanish Republic, the Canton of Plasencia" was established in the city during the cantonal revolution, to thus claim its capital status over the previously rejected province of Cáceres.[71]​.

The Restoration was an important time for Plasencia, since important reforms took place in the city that affected the economy and society of the municipality. For the first time the city had a drinking water network and public lighting, and the sewage network was also improved. The city's economy, which until then had been based almost exclusively on agriculture and commerce, became industrialized as a result of the creation of the city's railway station, around which an industrial neighborhood was built.[72]​.

In 1917, the Valencian painter Joaquín Sorolla immortalized the city in one of his paintings, The Market, in which he painted the view from one of the banks of the Jerte River, with the episcopal palace "Palacio Episcopal (Plasencia)"), the cathedral, the Trujillo bridge and women dressed in the Montehermoso costume. The work belongs to a series of fourteen large canvases titled Vision of Spain, commissioned by the American magnate Archer Milton Huntington to decorate the library of the Hispanic Society, in New York, an institution that he himself had founded.[73][74]​.

In the Spanish Civil War, Plasencia was not the object of dispute between the two sides, since the military uprising of 1936 immediately triumphed in the city. On July 19, Lieutenant Colonel José Puente, head of the Plasencia Machine Gun Battalion, took control of the city with hardly any resistance. Pines.[76]​.

The second half of the century was a period of extraordinary development for Plasencia. Demographically, while the province of Cáceres lost a quarter of its population between 1950 and 2001, in the same period Plasencia doubled its population, going from 17,507 inhabitants to 36,690. In addition, university schools of Nursing and Business were created, which at the end of the century were united in the current Plasencia campus.[78]​.

Plasencia has a population of (INE "National Institute of Statistics (Spain)") 2025).

According to the INE gazetteer, in the municipal area of ​​Plasencia there are three population entities: the city of Plasencia, and the towns of Pradochano and San Gil "San Gil (Cáceres)"), with the population of the municipality distributed as follows:[32]​.

In the 2017 registry, 1,565 of the 40,360 inhabitants of the municipality were foreigners, which represents 3.88% of the total. Among these there were 252 Moroccans, 148 Romanians, 139 Colombians, 117 Bolivians, 94 French and the rest of other nationalities.[81]​ The distribution of the total Placentine population by sex and age, regardless of nationality, can be seen in the population pyramid on the right.

According to the data published by the INE in the CERA, electoral census of Spaniards residing abroad as of February 1, 2018, Spaniards who habitually reside abroad or have moved their habitual residence abroad over the age of 18 were 839 people with a municipality of origin in Plasencia.

Municipal government

Plasencia has had its own local autonomy since the time of its foundation by King Alfonso VIII of Castile. The existence of a council "Council (history)") with headquarters in the city is known as early as the year 1187, and in 1188 Plasencia went to the courts of Carrión as a constituted council. On March 8, 1189, the delimitation of the Placentine alfoz "Alfoz (urbanism)") by King Alfonso VIII took place. The Corral de los Alcaldes and the council were the two assemblies of the city.[60]​.

The current City Council of Plasencia has its town hall in the municipal palace "Palacio Municipal (Plasencia)") located on Calle del Rey. In the Old Regime, this building was the headquarters of the council and next to it was the prison. The original building was built between 1517 and 1523 because the old council house was small in size. The municipal palace was modified in the century and rebuilt in the century.[84]​.

In the legislature that began after the 2015 elections, the Popular Party governs the municipality with an absolute majority. The mayor of the municipality is Fernando Pizarro and the councils are distributed in this way:[85]​[86]​.

Territorial organization

Plasencia is divided into twenty-five neighborhoods, twenty-three of which form the municipal capital, each having its own neighborhood association: Colonia Virgen de Guadalupe - La Amistad, Río Jerte, Cotillo de San Antón - Barrio del Pilar, Cerro San Miguel - La Unión, La Esperanza urbanization, Sierra Santa Bárbara, Los Mártires, Vera-Elena, Los Alamitos, Miralvalle, Los Majuelos, Valle-Isla, Los Pinos, La Data, Rosal de Ayala, Cuatro Calzadas, Ribera del Valle, Rubén Darío - Gabriel y Galán, San Juan, Ciudad Jardín San Antón, Valcorchero, Los Monjes and Intramuros de Plasencia. The Placentine federation of neighborhood associations is located on Fernando Calvo Street.[88]​.

The other two neighborhoods, San Gil "San Gil (Cáceres)") and Pradochano, which are population centers separate from the municipal capital, have the status of minor local entity.[89][90][91]​.

Representative of the Common

According to the Statute of Autonomy of Extremadura approved in 2011, if Extremadura had an ombudsman in its autonomous area, this would take the name of Personero del Común and would have its headquarters in the city of Plasencia. For this to happen, the Assembly of Extremadura must approve a law that regulates its legal regime and three-fifths of its members must agree to elect a person to occupy the position, as established in article 48 of the Statute:

If the organ is created, the City Council has offered the Dean's house "Casa del Deán (Plasencia)") as its headquarters, a medieval building that houses the courts until the completion of the works on the new courthouse.[93][94]​.

City networks

Unlike the majority of municipalities in the province, Plasencia does not form any community with its neighboring municipalities.[8]​ However, it is integrated into associations with other cities, such as the Council of Large Cities, whose work is to improve and streamline relations between the large municipalities of Extremadura and the regional executive.[95]​ At the international level, it is also part of the Iberian Rayano Urban Triangle, along with Cáceres and the Portuguese cities of Castelo Branco and Portalegre "Portalegre (Portugal)").[96]​.

Plasencia is also part of the Spanish Network of Cities for Climate, whose activity is channeled to the promotion and management of policies aimed at sustainable development and the promotion of policies to combat climate change that enable the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and compliance with the Kyoto protocol.[97]​.

Plasencia is part of the Cooperation Network of Cities on the Silver Route, an association of towns and cities in Spain located on the Silver Route and its area of ​​influence, which aims to jointly defend and promote its tourist, historical, cultural and economic resources. The neighboring municipality of Carcaboso, whose term is separated from Plasencia by the Via de la Plata, is also part of this network.[98]​.

In the monumental field, Plasencia is part of Cathedral Cities"), an association of cities that have a cathedral that was established in the city in 2006.[99] The Iberian Forum of Walled Cities") was also established in Plasencia in 2006, which brings together Spanish and Portuguese towns in order to attract tourism to their walled enclosures and try to obtain European funds for the rehabilitation of their heritage. historical-artistic, with the neighboring municipality of Galisteo, among others, being part of the forum.[100]​.

Finally, there is also the Network of Jewish Quarters of Spain, in which Plasencia has participated as a full member since February 2008, and whose main objectives are the defense of the urban, architectural, historical, artistic and cultural heritage of the Sephardic legacy in Spain, as well as the promotion of the cities that make up the association. Within the province, the municipalities of Cáceres and Hervás also belong to the association.[101][102]​.

Primary and secondary sectors

In the primary sector, the municipality has two colonization towns "National Colonization Institute (Spain)") built in the 19th century, San Gil "San Gil (Cáceres)") and Pradochano. On the other hand, Plasencia is, since 2009, the headquarters of the National R&D Center in Organic Agriculture").[103]

As for the secondary sector, Plasencia has an industrial estate.[104]​ In 2013, according to the Caixa economic yearbook, the municipality had 153 industry companies and 274 construction companies.[22]​.

Within both sectors, the municipality is within the production and processing area of ​​five food products with a designation of origin or protected geographical indication: Meat from Ávila, Lamb from Extremadura), Veal from Extremadura),[105] Ham from Huelva[106] and Paprika from La Vera.[107]​.

Commercial activity

Extensive commercial activity is carried out in Plasencia. According to the 2013 Caixa economic yearbook, the city is the head of one of the four commercial areas into which Extremadura is divided. 126,488 people lived in the commercial area of ​​Plasencia according to the 2012 census, which means that 68% of the potential clientele of Plasencia businesses resided outside the municipality that year.[22]​.

Among businesses, in 2013 Plasencia had 38 deposit entities, 296 restaurant and bar activities, 189 wholesale commercial activities, 864 retail commercial activities and a shopping center.[22]​ Regarding accommodation services, the municipality has various establishments, including rural houses, hostels and hotels.[108]​.

Commerce takes place predominantly, although not exclusively, in the streets within the walls that lead to the Plaza Mayor, mainly on Calle del Rey and Calle del Sol, the latter being the commercial area of ​​Extremadura that has the highest prices per square meter.[109]​ Another notable commercial point, although it is only used for temporary occasions, is the El Berrocal fairground.[110]​.

For most of the century, Plasencia was home to its own savings bank, the Caja de Ahorros de Plasencia. This bank was founded in 1911 by the Catholic social center of the city of Plasencia, promoted by the diocese of Plasencia, and in 1990 it merged with the Caja de Ahorros de Cáceres" to give rise to Caja de Extremadura (current Liberbank).

Catering

The city receives its drinking water from a dam located on the Jerte River. Water is taken from the dam using a water intake tower and transported by gravity to the drinking water treatment station located on the N-110 highway, where it is made drinkable. The treated water is transferred to two tanks, located in the Parque de los Pinos and in the industrial estate, from which it is supplied to the population.[111]​.

Sanitation is carried out through a network of concrete conduits that are used for both urban water and industrial water. Urban wastewater does not require pumping and is transported by simple gravity, except in some points that require discharge chambers. In the municipality there is a wastewater treatment plant next to the N-630 highway, which receives both Placentine wastewater and that from the Jerte valley.[111]​.

In the municipality of Plasencia, various electricity lines of different voltages intersect, from 400 kV lines that directly transport electrical energy from the Almaraz nuclear power plant to lower voltage lines that distribute energy to the populations in the area. The three electrical substations of the municipality are connected to these last lines: Plasencia, Plasencia Industrial and Valcorchero. The first of them is the most important, as it is responsible for distributing the energy from the 150 to 220 kV lines to the substations in the area.[112]​[113]​.

Regarding fuel supply, the city has five service stations, of which three are from the company Repsol, one from Cepsa and another from Carrefour "Carrefour (multinational)").[114]​ For the transportation of natural gas, the primary gas pipeline that connects the compression stations of Almendralejo and Coreses passes through the city.[115]​.

Education

The main university in the city is the University of Extremadura, with more than 1100 students. On the Plasencia campus, dependent on this university, four undergraduate degrees are taught: Nursing, Business Administration and Management, Forestry and Natural Environment Engineering and Podiatry,[116]​ these last two are exclusive to Plasencia, they are not found anywhere else in the region. There is also an associated center of the National University of Distance Education, the entire province depending on this center (the extensions of Cáceres, Coria, Navalmoral de la Mata and Trujillo "Trujillo (Spain)").

Plasencia has a large number of educational centers, being the headquarters of the Teachers and Resources Center of the area.[118]​ In the city there are eight public centers for early childhood and primary education: Alfonso VIII, El Pilar, Escuela Hogar Placentina, Inés de Suárez, La Paz, Miralvalle, San Miguel Arcángel and Santiago Ramón y Cajal.[119]​ San Gil and Pradochano have their schools integrated into the CRA Valle del Alagón, with headquarters in Alagón del Río and of which Aldehuela del Jerte is also a part.[120]​.

On the other hand, the city has six public secondary education institutes: Gabriel y Galán, Valle del Jerte, Virgen del Puerto, Parque de Monfragüe, Pérez Comendador and Sierra de Santa Bárbara.[121] These institutes are attended by students from neighboring municipalities that do not have an institute or whose educational center only reaches up to compulsory secondary education, the main places of origin being Aldehuela del Jerte, Barrado, Cabezabellosa, Cabrero "Cabrero (Cáceres)"), Casas del Castañar, Carcaboso, El Torno "El Torno (Cáceres)"), Holguera, Malpartida de Plasencia, Oliva de Plasencia, Riolobos, Valdeobispo and Villar de Plasencia.[122]​.

In the municipality there are also five subsidized centers: La Salle-Guadalupe, Madre Matilde, San Calixto, San José and Santísima Trinidad.[123]​ Finally, the Ponce de León public special education center[124]​ and a permanent education center for adults are also located in the city.[125]​.

The provincial and municipal administrations manage education centers in the city. The Provincial Council of Cáceres, through its cultural institution El Brocense, has in the city the García Matos conservatory,[126]​ the Rodrigo Alemán school of fine arts[127]​ and the dance school of the Santa María cultural complex.[128]​ For its part, the City Council contributes to education with a cooking school located in the Plaza de la Cruz Dorada that admits up to 30 students per course,[129]​ as well as with schools sports.[130]​.

In the field of language teaching, Plasencia has an Official Language School center in the Plaza de Santa Ana, where classes in German, French, English, Italian and Portuguese are taught, and English can be studied remotely.[131]​ On the other hand, in terms of religious studies, the diocese of Plasencia has major and minor seminaries in the city, with Plasencia having had a seminary since the 19th century.[132]​ By Lastly, in Plasencia there is also a popular university.[133]​.

Hygiene

The selective collection of municipal solid waste and street cleaning are carried out by the UTE Limpieza Plasencia, which was created in 2011 and is made up of the companies Agroforex, Valoriza and Ecovias. Its headquarters are in the city's industrial estate.[134]​ Although it is the most important cleaning company, it is not the only one in the city, as there are other specialized companies that are responsible for collecting cardboard at home and maintaining green areas.[111]​.

The collection of municipal solid waste is done every night, with deposit hours being from nine to twelve and collection hours after midnight. The selective collection of paper, cardboard and light packaging is also carried out continuously, but alternating between the different neighborhoods of the city. On Wednesday of each week, large objects such as appliances and furniture are collected from home. All the city's solid urban waste is deposited in a treatment plant located in the municipality of Mirabel "Mirabel (Cáceres)").[111]​.

Health

Plasencia is the headquarters of one of the eight health areas into which the Extremadura Health Service divides Extremadura. This area includes fourteen health zones, each with its own health center, providing health care to a de facto population of more than 125,000 inhabitants. The regency hospital of this health area is the Virgen del Puerto hospital), located in the area of ​​Valcorchero.[135]​.

Plasencia is home to three of the area's health zones (and a fourth under construction): Plasencia I-Luis de Toro, Plasencia II-San Miguel and Plasencia III-La Data. The municipalities of Gargüera and Tejeda de Tiétar depend on the first; of the second, Malpartida de Plasencia, the local entities of Plasencia of San Gil and Pradochano and the six easternmost municipalities of the Alagón plains; and from the third, Cabezabellosa, Jarilla "Jarilla (Cáceres)"), Oliva de Plasencia and Villar de Plasencia. The other eleven health zones in the area correspond to the health centers of Ahigal "Ahigal (Cáceres)"), Aldeanueva del Camino, Cabezuela del Valle, Casas del Castañar, Hervás, Jaraíz de la Vera, Mohedas de Granadilla, Montehermoso, Nuñomoral, Pinofranqueado and Serradilla.[136]​.

In 2010, Plasencia had, in terms of public health, the Virgen del Puerto hospital), a mental health and drug addiction treatment hospital, the three aforementioned health centers, a primary care office for San Gil "San Gil (Cáceres)") and another for Pradochano, a mental health center and two other specialized centers.[137]​.

In private healthcare, in 2010 Plasencia had a general hospital, eight medical consultation centers, twelve consultations for other health professionals, twenty-two dental clinics, two examination centers, a dialysis center, three mobile health care centers, five centers for other non-hospital care providers, thirteen opticians, two orthopedics, a center for the establishment of hearing aids, nineteen multipurpose centers and three diagnostic centers.[137]​.

In the city there are a total of eleven pharmacies, three for the Plasencia II-San Miguel health zone and four for each of the other two zones. Each of the three health zones organizes its on-call shifts in a coordinated manner between the city's pharmacies and those of the municipalities that are part of the zone. In the case of the Plasencia II-San Miguel health zone, the on-call schedule is also coordinated with the Serradilla health zone.[138]​.

In Plasencia, since 2008, the Los Pinos residential center has been located, a residence with a day center, mainly for Alzheimer's patients, with a capacity of 80 places for Alzheimer's patients and 16 for other dependents.[139]​ In the Esperanza neighborhood, the Nazareth Home has been located since 2007, a Cáritas project that has its origin in the city in the convalescent hospital inaugurated in 1691 and which in In 2007 it sheltered 78 elderly people.[140] Other residences for the elderly are the residence of the Little Sisters of the Poor and the San Francisco residence of the Junta de Extremadura.[141]​.

Justice

Plasencia is the capital of its own judicial district, which includes sixty[142] municipalities in the north of the province of Cáceres. The party was created as a contemporary judicial district "Judiciary Party (Spain)") in 1834, after the fall of the Old Regime, with 28 localities, including some already depopulated such as Asperilla "Asperilla (Cáceres)") and Corchuelas). western part of the judicial district of Jarandilla. In Plasencia there is a criminal court, a social court and four first instance and investigation courts.[143]​[12]​[144]​.

Security

Several security forces and bodies operate in the municipality "Security forces and bodies (Spain)"). The city council has its own local police, whose headquarters are based in La Mazuela.[145]​ In addition, Plasencia is the only municipality in the province, apart from the provincial capital, in which there is a local police station of the National Police Corps.[146]​ The police security system of the municipality is completed with the Civil Guard, which has a company in the city dependent on the Cáceres command, in which nine posts in the north of the province are coordinated. province.[147]​.

Regarding non-police security, the city has firefighters and civil protection. In the industrial estate there is a fire station dependent on the Provincial Fire Prevention and Extinction Service of the Provincial Council of Cáceres.[148]​ The local civil protection board of the municipality has a permanent service point on Virgen del Puerto Avenue.[149]​.

Transportation and communications

Given the geographical location of the city, halfway between the two Iberian capitals such as Madrid and Lisbon, and practically in the middle of the most important communication route that structures the Spanish west such as the Via de la Plata, Plasencia has become an important communications hub, and there are several highways and highways that link Plasencia with the rest of Spain; Some having their origin in the city itself, and also being some of those that carry the most traffic in the community, such as the A-66 highway passing through Plasencia, the EX-A1 ​​and the highway between Plasencia and Malpartida de Plasencia.[150]​ The roads that pass through Plasencia or have their origin or end in the city are those that appear in the following table:[151]​.

Plasencia has a train station located on Avenida del Ambroz, which has daily direct connections with cities such as Madrid, Talavera de la Reina, Cáceres, Mérida "Mérida (Spain)"), Badajoz or Huelva, operated by Renfe Operadora with Intercity "Intercity (Renfe)") and Regional Exprés trains.[151]​ Until 1985, the line that linked it with Astorga,[152]​ passing through Salamanca and Zamora.

The high-speed line (AVE) that will link Plasencia with Badajoz in 2020 is in the execution phase and will have a station in the city.[153]​.

The bus station is located on Tornavacas Street, regularly linking Plasencia with other cities in Spain, as well as with nearby towns.[151]​.

Within the province of Cáceres, the Mirat company has several lines that connect Plasencia with the different communities of the northern half of the province and even with Madrid, passing through Alcorcón and Móstoles. ALSA, which provides long-distance services with the main cities of Andalusia, Castilla y León, Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria and the Basque Country.[156]​.

In 2012, the city had a vehicle fleet of 30,223 motor vehicles, of which 21,221 were passenger cars, 4,975 were trucks and vans, and 4,007 corresponded to other types of vehicles.

The city of Plasencia has had an urban bus since the 70s of the last century and currently has three lines. The three lines have points in common. Lines 1 and 2 have a common route with six stops between the clinic and the Trujillo gate. Lines 1 and 3 have six common stops between Avenida de España and Puerta de Talavera and another four between Alamitos and Los Pinos. Finally, lines 2 and 3 have five common stops in the northernmost part of the city and another eight between the railway station and the surroundings of the old town. The only four stops where the three lines join are on España and Calvo Sotelo avenues.[158]​ Since August 19, 2013, the route of the three lines is as follows:[159]​[158]​.

San Gil "San Gil (Cáceres)") and Pradochano are connected to the municipal capital by interurban bus lines of the Mirat company, with a round trip line passing through each of the districts every day from Monday to Friday.[154]​.

Plasencia cuenta con un destacado conjunto monumental. El conjunto histórico de la ciudad está declarado bien de interés cultural "Bien de interés cultural (España)") desde 1958, y en distintos momentos han sido incluidos a título individual en la lista de bienes de interés cultural tres monumentos placentinos: la catedral de Santa María, el palacio Carvajal-Girón[161]​ y el palacio de Mirabel. Además, son candidatos al título de bien de interés cultural la iglesia y convento de Santo Domingo "Convento de Santo Domingo (Plasencia)"), la iglesia de San Nicolás&action=edit&redlink=1 "Iglesia de San Nicolás (Plasencia) (aún no redactado)"), la iglesia del Salvador "Iglesia del Salvador (Plasencia)"), el santuario de la Virgen del Puerto y la plaza de toros.[24]​.

La ciudad de Plasencia presentó en octubre de 2008 una candidatura conjunta con Trujillo "Trujillo (España)"), el parque nacional de Monfragüe y la dehesa extremeña para conseguir la declaración de Patrimonio de la Humanidad que otorga la Unesco. La candidatura fue incluida en octubre de ese mismo año por el Consejo Nacional de Patrimonio Histórico en la lista indicativa de lugares que optan a dicho nombramiento.[162]​ Sin embargo, en julio de 2009 el Consejo de Patrimonio Histórico decidió que la candidata española a dicha consideración sería la sierra de Tramontana.[163]​.

religious monuments

Plasencia is the seat of the diocese of the same name and in the Plasencia urban fabric there are two cathedrals: the old cathedral and the new cathedral. The first was built between the 19th and 2nd centuries, in Romanesque style and with architects such as Juan Francés, highlighting its chapter house. The new one, designed at the end of the century and directed by architects such as Juan de Álava, Francisco de Colonia, Covarrubias, Diego de Siloé and Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón, was originally intended to replace the old cathedral but due to various problems the works were stopped in 1760. Of this new cathedral, the choir by Rodrigo Alemán and the main altarpiece by Gregorio Fernández stand out.[164][165]​.

Within the diocese, the municipality has thirteen parish churches, of which there are eleven in the city: Christ Risen"), El Salvador "Church of El Salvador (Plasencia)"), Our Lady of Guadalupe&action=edit&redlink=1 "Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Plasencia) (not yet written)"), Our Lady of Pilar&action=edit&redlink=1 "Church of Our Lady del Pilar (Plasencia) (not yet drafted)"), San Esteban "Church of San Esteban (Plasencia)"), San José&action=edit&redlink=1 "Church of San José (Plasencia) (not yet drafted)"), San Miguel Arcángel&action=edit&redlink=1 "Church of San Miguel Arcángel (Plasencia) (not yet drafted)"), San Pedro "Church of San Pedro (Plasencia)"), Santa Elena&action=edit&redlink=1 "Church of Santa Elena (Plasencia) (not yet drafted)"), Santa María de la Esperanza") and San Nicolás el Real&action=edit&redlink=1 "Church of San Nicolás (Plasencia) (not yet drafted)"). To these eleven we must add the church of San Gil&action=edit&redlink=1 "Church of San Gil (Plasencia) (not yet written)"), in the town of the same name "San Gil (Cáceres)") and the church of Nuestra Señora del Puerto&action=edit&redlink=1 "Church of Our Lady of the Port (Plasencia) (not yet written)") in Pradochano.[166]​.

Along with the parish churches there are also churches that are not used as parishes: examples are the church of Santa Ana "Iglesia de Santa Ana (Plasencia)"), which serves as an auditorium, or the church of Santo Domingo "Iglesia de Santo Domingo (Plasencia)"), which houses a collection of Holy Week steps and the church of San Martín "Iglesia de San Martín (Plasencia)").[167]

As for the hermitages, the hermitages of La Salud "Ermita de la Salud (Plasencia)"), Santa Elena&action=edit&redlink=1 "Ermita de Santa Elena (Plasencia) (not yet written)") and San Lázaro "Ermita de San Lázaro (Plasencia)") stand out.[167] In addition, there are remains of the hermitage of Santo Tomé "Ermita de Santo Tomé". (Plasencia)"), located on a primitive mosque.[168]​.

To the churches and hermitages we must add convents such as those of the Clares, the Dominicans, the Dominicans "Convento de Santo Domingo (Plasencia)"), San Vicente de Padres Dominicos, the Capuchinas "Convent of the Capuchinas (Plasencia)"), the Ildefonsas "Convent of San Ildefonso (Plasencia)"), the Carmelites "Convent of the Barefoot Carmelites (Plasencia)") and the Franciscans. The Dominican convent stands out for housing the Parador Nacional de Plasencia.[169]​.

Other religious buildings are the old Casa de la Salud used as the headquarters of the UNED,[170]​ the apse of La Merced[171]​ and the sanctuary of the Virgen del Puerto that houses the carving of the patron saint of Plasencia "Virgen del Puerto (Plasencia)").[172]​.

Wall

The wall of Plasencia has protected the old town since the founding of the city, allowing access to the old town only through its gates: Puerta de Trujillo, Puerta de Coria, Puerta de Berrozanas, Puerta del Sol "Puerta del Sol (Plasencia)"), Puerta de Talavera "Puerta de Talavera (Plasencia)"), Puerta del Clavero") and Postigo del Salvador").[173]

Next to the wall there are notable buildings such as the Torre Lucía), a tower on whose upper part a bonfire was formerly lit at night, being used as a lighthouse for walkers approaching the city.[174]​.

Civil buildings

As a result of having been inhabited in the past by various noble families, the city preserves a significant number of palaces and stately homes. Among the palaces, the most notable are the palace of the Marquis of Mirabel, the municipal palace "Palacio Municipal (Plasencia)"), the Monroy palace or house of the Two Towers "Palacio de los Monroy (Plasencia)"), the Almaraz palace, the Carvajal-Girón palace and the episcopal palace "Palacio Episcopal (Plasencia)"). The main stately homes are the house of the Dean "Casa del Deán (Plasencia)") with its annexed house of Doctor Trujillo "Casa del Doctor Trujillo (Plasencia)"), the house of the Infantas and the house of the Argollas "Casa de las Argollas (Plasencia)").[175]​[176]​.

Other notable buildings are the old teaching centers. During the century, several higher education centers were founded in Plasencia and in 1446, at the request of Bishop Juan de Carvajal, the first university studies in Extremadura were created in Plasencia.

There are also remains of some hospitals in the city that, although in modern times they are dedicated to other uses, once had an outstanding importance in the development of the health activity of the city and its council. There are medieval hospitals such as Sancti Spiritus, Santa María, San Marcos, Arcediano and La Merced, as well as more modern buildings such as the Convalescence and San Roque hospitals "Hospital de San Roque (Plasencia)").[179]​.

Other civil buildings are the Casa de la Alhóndiga used as a youth information center,[180]​ the old prison of the century [181]​ and the old flour factory acquired in 2008 by the City Council.[182]​.

Water monuments

The medieval aqueduct of Plasencia "Acueducto (Plasencia)") was built in the century, replacing another work of the century. It brought water to the city from Cabezabellosa and El Torno "El Torno (Cáceres)"). 55 arches are preserved, most of them in the San Antón neighborhood, which are known as San Antón arches. Other arches remain standing in a picnic area next to the hospital.[183]​.

In the city there are three monumental bridges that cross the Jerte River as it passes through the city. One of them is the New Bridge "Puente Nuevo (Plasencia)"), designed by Rodrigo Alemán and which was built in the century as an entrance to the city from La Vera and the Jerte Valley, having a shield of the Catholic Monarchs and a niche with an image of the Virgen de la Cabeza.[184]​ The oldest bridge is the San Lázaro Bridge "Puente de San Lázaro (Plasencia)"), located next to the hermitage. homonymous "Ermita de San Lázaro (Plasencia)") and built in the century in Gothic style.[185]​ The other historic bridge is the Trujillo bridge, through which the Vía de la Plata passes.[186]​.

As for the fountains, Plasencia preserves several, among which is the fountain of the Cruz de Mayo or San Pedro pipe, which formerly supplied water to the residents of the walled city and which is decorated on the day of the May Cross.[187] Other fountains are the fountain of the Cabildo, located in front of the new cathedral, and the fountain of San Nicolás.[188]​[189]​.

Squares, streets and neighborhoods

One of the most prominent public roads in the city is the Plaza Mayor "Plaza Mayor (Plasencia)"). It is home to the town hall of Plasencia "Palacio Municipal (Plasencia)") and the automaton "Automata (mechanical)"), popularly known as Grandfather Mayorga"). business.[60]​.

Another notable place is the Plaza de la Cruz Dorada, near the Jerte River and framed by the apse of La Merced and the convent of San Francisco. In the center of the square there is a cruise "Crucero (monument)") that gives it its name.[191]​.

Plasencia has its own Jewish quarter. Furthermore, in the area known as El Berrocal there is the only Jewish cemetery in Extremadura, which began to be restored in 2005.[192]​.

archaeological remains

The main archaeological site of the municipality is the Boquique cave, located on the outskirts of the city, in the Valcorchero pasture. It owes its name to having been a place of refuge for the century's military man Mariano Ceferino del Pozo, nicknamed Boquique. In this cave the first remains of what is known as Boquique pottery were found.[193]​.

Archaeological excavations have been carried out in various parts of the city such as Matías Montero street, in which the Plan E works revealed the remains of what could be an old defensive or retaining wall[194]​ or Esparrillas street.[195]​.

Natural heritage

Plasencia has notable parks and gardens. In the center of the city there is an outstanding group of four parks: Coronación, Los Pinos "Los Pinos (Plasencia)"), Los Caídos and San Antón. The first was ordered to be built by Calixto Payáns, Marquis of Constancia and Lord of Barrado, and is located in front of the Plasencia campus, having once been used as a fairground. The Parque de los Pinos was created by prisoners from the Republican side after the Spanish civil war and is an extensive botanical garden inhabited by various species of birds and trees from different parts of the world, in which there is an open-air sculpture museum. The Parque de los Caídos, better known as Parque de la Rana, was built in 1942 with the remains of the demolition of the fortress. The last park of the complex, the San Antón park, unites the other three parks and owes its name to the fact that until the beginning of the century the missing hermitage of San Antón was located there.[76]​.

Another important park is the Island Park "Parque de la Isla (Plasencia)"), located on the island that the Jerte River forms when it opens into two arms in its urban section, and which is the largest park in the municipality, with an area of ​​about 10 hectares. It is known because King Philip V hunted there when he lived in Plasencia, this place being one of the favorite parts of the city for said king and where he spent the most time.[196]​ The Cachón Park is also located next to the Jerte River, which is the newest of the city's parks.[76]​.

As for the protected natural spaces, Valcorchero and Sierra del Gordo stand out, declared a protected landscape in 2005 by the Government of Extremadura after having been requested in 2004 by 40 associations grouped in the Valcorchero: Protect it coordinator and by another 100 people on an individual basis.[197]​.

Local festivals

Several local festivities are celebrated in Plasencia. Two of these festivals have been declared a festival of regional tourist interest: Holy Week in Plasencia and Greater Tuesday. The latter is celebrated annually on the first Tuesday of August each year, with agricultural and handicraft products from various towns in the area being put up for sale and various competitions being held.[25]​[26]​.

Along with the festivals of tourist interest, the patron saint festivals also stand out. The patron saint of the city and its diocese is Saint Fulgencio of Cartagena, whose feast day is celebrated on January 16. The night before is known as Noche de Antruejos because, although it is celebrated well before Carnival, it was a popular custom to dress up on that night. The city council and various associations maintain the festival, inviting the tasting of wines, liquors, sweets and crumbs with background music by drummers.

Other festivities in the city are the fairs on the second weekend of June,[25]​ the San Juan neighborhood festival on June 24[199]​ or the Bouquet of the Virgin of Health "Our Lady of Health (Alcantarilla)") which is celebrated in the hermitage of the same name in September.[200]​.

Events

In addition to the aforementioned "Major Tuesday"), various gastronomic fairs are held in Plasencia such as the North of Extremadura Gastronomic Meetings in April and May and the Tapa Fair in September and October. Some restaurants in the city also organize various gastronomic days on different foods such as cod, game, mushrooms, bonito and Iberian pork.[201]​.

Several painting competitions are organized in the city. Of particular note is the Autumn Salon organized by the Caja de Extremadura every year between 1979 and 2009 and which has continued to be organized biennially ever since.[202]​ An open-air painting contest is also organized in the city.[203]​.

The Caja de Extremadura International Sculpture Prize is also held periodically in Plasencia. This sculpture competition has the peculiarity that the winning works are installed in different parts of the city, since one of the objectives of the competition is to turn Plasencia into an open-air sculpture museum. The first edition was won in 2006 by the sculpture The Training by Manuel Mediavilla from Malaga.[204]​ The second was won by The Traveled Space, by the Madrid sculptor Mar Soler.[205]​.

In the field of photography, the Defensores del Cabbage Photography Contest organized by the Alimoche collective stands out.[206]​ Finally, there is a contest on historical research organized annually by the Pedro de Trejo cultural association.[207]​.

Several music festivals are organized in Plasencia. The Plasencia International Folk Music Festival stands out, which is held the last weekend of August in Torre Lucía. Other music festivals are the Mayorga Ciudad de Plasencia flamenco singing competition,[208]​ the Alternative Festival of the North[209]​ and the Certamen Internacional de Tunas Ciudad de Plasencia.[210]​.

Outside of music, in the municipality there are theater shows such as the Amateur Theater Week of Extremadura[211]​ and cinema such as the Fantastic and Horror Film Week.[212]​ Another notable event is the concentration of Gumiparty computers, which through numerous performances and activities partly tries to bring closer and publicize current Japanese culture.[213]​.

Cultural centers

In Plasencia there are several theaters and auditoriums such as the Alkázar theater from the end of the century, the church of Santa Ana "Iglesia de Santa Ana (Plasencia)") used as an auditorium by the Caja de Extremadura and the auditorium of the Santa María cultural complex.[214]​.

The city also has several museums such as the Cathedral Museum of the Old Cathedral, the Pérez Enciso Ethnographic and Textile Museum located in the old provincial hospital, the Duke of Arión Hunting Museum located in the palace of the Marquis of Mirabel, the Holy Week Steps Museum of the church of Santo Domingo "Iglesia de Santo Domingo (Plasencia)") and the Berrocal Open Air Sculpture Museum. In addition, there are interpretation centers in the Torre Lucía, in the Las Tenerías mill and in the Los Pinos park.[215]​.

Along with the aforementioned museums and interpretation centers, the municipality also has exhibition halls such as the old convent of San Francisco, the convent of Santa Clara and the Caja Duero, the latter located next to the Talavera gate "Puerta de Talavera (Plasencia)").[214]​.

As for libraries, the municipal library is located on Trujillo Street. In addition, the neighborhoods of La Data and San Miguel have their own libraries, integrated into the Extremadura Library System since 1999.[216]​.

Silver Way

The Via de la Plata, an ancient Roman communication route that is today used as a hiking route, has an important cultural relevance in the city. In the Middle Ages, a section close to Plasencia of this route served as a border between the kingdom of Castile, to which Plasencia belonged, and the kingdom of León, constituting a western limit of the sexme of Plasencia and causing for a time the division into two halves of nearby towns such as Baños de Montemayor and Aldeanueva del Camino.[217]​[218]​ After the fall of the Old Regime, the old Roman road separated the Plasencia municipality from some municipalities. neighbors such as Carcaboso, Aldehuela de Jerte and Galisteo.[219]​.

From the old road, Plasencia has inherited in its municipal area the layout of the modern roads N-630 and A-66,[219]​ while the Jacobean route called Camino de Santiago de la Plata has been diverted on its main route, in the opposite direction, to the neighboring towns of Galisteo and Carcaboso.[18]​ Although the Camino de Santiago does not officially pass through Plasencia on that route, the Camino de Santiago de Levante does: route from Alicante, which has its origin in Alicante and joins that of La Plata in Plasencia after passing through Albacete, Talavera de la Reina and Navalmoral de la Mata.[220]​.

Sport

In football, the city has three teams that in the 2013-2014 season play in the third division: Ciudad de Plasencia and Unión Polideportiva Plasencia") and CD Ciconia Negra in Preferente and its subsidiary in First Regional apart from its women's team that plays in Extremadura's first division group 1. -[221]​ In addition, in the city there is a group of veterans, a 7-a-side football association for those over 35 years of age and the Rosal Football School of Ayala.[222]​.

In basketball, the Ambroz Basketball Club and the Nardeiros Plasencia Basketball Club play in Plasencia. In women's basketball there is Hierros Díaz Plasencia that plays in the LF2 league. In handball, the Plasencia Handball Club and the Mayorga Handball Club play, dedicated to the famous grandfather Mayorga. For hunting and fishing there are the Local Society of Hunters of Plasencia, the Society of Fishermen Virgen del Puerto and the Union of Fishermen of Plasencia. In water sports there are the Gredos Buceo Sports Association, the Plasencia Swimming Club "Swimming (sport)"), the Plasencia 96 Sports Association, the Placentina Canoeing School, the Plasencia Kayak-Polo Club, and the Lago Gabriel y Galán nautical club.[222]​.

In cycling there are the Club Deportivo Peña Cicloturista Placentina Sports Association, the Ex-Aequo Cycling Club and the MTB Integral Bike Club. In motor sports there are the Ruta de la Plata Motor Club Association, the Moto Club Moteros Plebeyos and the Placentino Moto Club. There are mountain associations such as the Valcorchero Sports Club – Mountain Section and the Placentino Mountain Group.[222]​.

Other sports clubs and associations in Plasencia are:[222]​.

Plasencia has the following municipal facilities:[224]​.

• - Municipal sports city, in whose extensive facilities tennis, paddle and racquetball courts and weight rooms are rented and you can practice basketball, handball, soccer, five-a-side soccer, 7-a-side soccer, skating, volleyball, swimming, bicycles, athletics, ping pong and climbing without rent;

• - City of Plasencia Pavilion, with a multipurpose track;.

• - Indoor swimming pool;.

• - Municipal outdoor swimming pool, for the summer.

There are also private facilities in the city, such as those of the Ciudad de Plasencia Sports and Social Club, which has facilities on the N-110.[225]​.

In addition to the general facilities, there are other facilities in the different neighborhoods:[226][227]​.

Media

Hoy "Hoy (newspaper)") and El Periódico Extremadura have correspondents in the city and in their digital editions each have a page about Plasencia.[228]​[229]​ In addition, there are local newspapers on the Internet such as Plasencia Digital and the Vía Plata TV website.[230]​[231]​.

The following radio stations broadcast from the city:[232]​[233]​[234]​.

The city has its own television repeaters. However, Pradochano receives the signal from Hervás and San Gil receives that from Gata "Gata (Cáceres)"). Radio Vegas Altas").[237]​.

The city of Plasencia participates in the city twinning initiative promoted, among other institutions, by the European Union. From this initiative, the aim is to establish ties with other municipalities by holding cultural cycles, exchanges or sporting events.[238] Plasencia is twinned with the following cities:

• - Wikimedia Commons hosts a multimedia category on Plasencia.

• - Wikiviajes hosts travel guides to or about Plasencia.

• - Plasencia on OpenStreetMap.

• - Plasencia on Wikimapia.

• - Plasencia City Council.

The toponym of the city comes from the motto given by its founder, King Alfonso VIII of Castile, on the shield given to it: "Ut placeat Deo et Hominibus", a Latin word that means "To please (please) God and men."[28] However, before the arrival of Alfonso VIII there was an inhabited place in the area whose exact name is unknown, and said place may have been called Ambroz, Ambrosía, Ambracia or Pagus Ambracensis.[29]​[30]​.

As for the demonym, the term most used to refer to the natives of Plasencia is "placentino".[31]​ According to the Dictionary of the Spanish Language, this word derives from the Latin Placentīnus and can be used as a demonym for both the municipality of Extremadura and the Italian city of Piacenza.[2]​ The Royal Spanish Academy also recognizes in its dictionary the words "plasentino" and "plasenciano" as valid demonyms of the town Extremadura.[3][4]​.

Sharing the same name as the city of Jerte there are other towns in the world. In Spain there is the municipality of Plasencia de Jalón in the province of Zaragoza and the district of Plasencia del Monte in the province of Huesca.[32]​ In Spanish, the name Plasencia is usually given to the Italian city of Piacenza "Plasencia (Italy)"), with which the Extremaduran city is twinned.[33]​.

Another very similar name is Placencia "Placencia (Belize)"), a municipality in Belize whose name was given by Spanish explorers[34]​ and which shares a name with the Guipuzcoan municipality of Placencia de las Armas.[35]​ Placencia and Plasencia can be homophones in some Spanish dialects due to the siseo and lisp.

In Canada there is a municipality called Placentia "Placentia (Newfoundland and Labrador)"), in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and its name derives precisely from the city of Jerte.[36]​ In California there is also another Placentia "Placentia (California)").[37]​.

The heraldic shield "Escudo (heráldica)") of Plasencia is one of the oldest shields in the province, since Alfonso VIII of Castile printed on it at the end of the century the motto Ut placeat Deo et hominibus.[38]​ The shield, without a motto, is heraldically defined as follows:

The flag, which contains the shield in its center, is defined as follows:

Several towns in the old town of Plasencia have included Placentine weapons in their shield, for example Navaconcejo.

Contenido

La ciudad se sitúa a 80 kilómetros de la capital provincial. El relieve del municipio es variado, ya que cuenta con las últimas elevaciones de la sierra de Gredos que contrastan con el Valle del Jerte y las primeras dehesas típicamente extremeñas. La sierra del Gordo, al norte, está integrada en los Montes de Traslasierra, siendo su punto más elevado el pico Gordo (998 metros). Al noreste está la sierra de San Bernabé, un ramal de la sierra de Tormantos, que esta zona llega hasta los 790 metros. Al suroeste está la sierra de Berenguel, donde destaca el pico Merengue (655 metros). El río Jerte, en su curso bajo, es el curso fluvial más destacado, poco antes de desembocar en el Alagón. Sus aguas se represan en el embalse de Plasencia. La altitud oscila entre los 998 metros (pico Gordo) y los 260 metros a orillas del Jerte. El casco urbano se alza a 352 metros sobre el nivel del mar.[40]​.

El término municipal de Plasencia limita con los siguientes municipios:[9]​.

Hydrography

Practically the entire municipal area is located in the hydrographic basins of the Jerte and Alagón rivers, the first being a tributary of the second, which in turn is a tributary of the Tagus. The mouth of the Jerte River in the Alagón is located downstream of Plasencia, in the municipality of Galisteo. 4 km upstream from the city is the Plasencia reservoir, built in 1985, with a capacity of 59 hm³, which regulates the flow "Flow (fluid)") that passes through the city, avoiding the floods of yesteryear. The purpose of the reservoir is to supply drinking water to the population. There are no important aquifers in the municipality.[41]​.

Climate

According to the Papadakis climate classification system, most of the municipal area of ​​Plasencia is included within the continentalized Mediterranean climate. In the mountains that border Plasencia the climate corresponds to the classifications of temperate Mediterranean and cool Mediterranean. Summers are very warm during sunny hours and cool at night, and winters are cold. In the coldest months of the year the temperature drops below 0 °C and in the hottest months it rarely exceeds 40 °C. It therefore registers less hot temperatures than the rest of the cities in the region.[42][43]​.

According to the criteria of the Köppen-Geiger classification, Plasencia has a subtropical city climate of dry and hot summers Csa (Mediterranean climate).[44]​.

The climate in this area, despite the relative proximity to the microclimate of the Jerte Valley, and the nearby Sierra de Gredos, is similar to what we find in the Extremadura pasture, given the similarity of altitude above sea level of the population, unlike the municipalities of the Valleys further north. On the other hand, given the longitudinal orography of the Sierra de Gredos, they cause greater rainfall than in the rest of the central plateau, although in absolute data, the amount of this is more similar to that recorded in the southern plateau than in mountainous regions such as the Ambroz Valley or the Jerte Valley, with great differences being observed in the same episode between the city and the municipalities just 20 kilometers north of it. Rainfall falls within a range that ranges between 800 and 1000 mm per year, being scarce during the summer season, but slightly higher than that recorded in the capitals of Extremadura.[42]​[43]​.

Nature

The original vegetation present in the region has been modified by human intervention. The more forest type flora was replaced by agriculture and pastures "Pasture (livestock)"). The current vegetation cover is made up mainly of holm oak and cape meadows, as well as grasslands, riverside vegetation, irrigation and urban flora of parks and gardens.[41]​.

The olive grove is mainly located on the slope of the Santa Bárbara mountain range, arranged in terraces, but currently the area is highly urbanized. The holm oak forests are found in pastures, while the cork oak forests are found in the northern part of the municipality. The arcornocals occupy approximately 1200 ha and also form pastures like the holm oak forests. In the Valcorchero pasture there are mixed areas of holm oaks and cork oaks. The pastures are used for livestock exploitation and in many cases correspond to abandoned farmland. The bushes in the area are mainly brooms with grasses that are also used for seasonal livestock exploitation.[41]​.

The riverside vegetation is mainly made up of small poplar plantations. The irrigated lands are mainly concentrated on the banks of the Jerte downstream from the city, although there are also some family gardens near the urban center.[41]​.

In the pastures of the municipality, the pastures are used for grazing, mainly goats, sheep and cows. In the summer months, transhumance takes place to cooler areas of Castilla y León. Along with domestic mammals there are wild mammals such as various species of voles and field mice, the hedgehog and the rabbit.[41]​.

The group with the greatest diversity is that of birds. In the area you can sometimes see large birds of prey such as booted eagles or peregrine falcons, which live in the Monfragüe national park and in the foothills of the Gredos mountain range and fly to Plasencia in search of food. The most common bird species are birds such as the chaffinch, blue tit, great tit, whitetail, wood thrush, woodcreeper, common treecreeper, common shrike, black starling, great tit, goldfinch, common linnet, and pardal, as well as several species of cuckoo and, in winter, the wood pigeon. Partridges and quails are also found in the municipality.[41]​.

Among the amphibians and reptiles present in the area, several species of toads, the bastard snake, the ocellated lizard, several species of lizards and the gecko stand out. In the Jerte River and on its banks there are several species of fish such as barbel, chub, calandino, tench and colmilleja.[41]​.

The municipality is part of the Hesperico massif, in the southern part of the Central Iberian zone. Stratigraphically, Precambrian sediments consisting of graywacke and slate "Slate (rock)") predominate, as well as granite from the Béjar-Plasencia area.[41]​.

Tertiary and Quaternary sediments are also found, mainly linked to the river system. The Tertiary deposits are found in the Coria basin and in that associated with the Messejana-Plasencia fault-dam. Quaternary sediments are more noticeable in the various alluvial platforms related to the Jerte River. The most common materials are quartz pebbles, schists and granites in a sandy-clay matrix. The granitic rocks of the Béjar-Plasencia area occupy the northern part of the municipality.[41] There are no signs of mineral exploitation in the municipality. There were quarries for the extraction of different materials, including some for industrial ceramics in the tertiary deposits, but all of these exploitations are abandoned.[41]​.

Ancient Ages and Middle Ages

Although the current city of Plasencia was not founded until 1186, there is evidence that the territory was already inhabited in Prehistory, as remains of ceramics have been found in the Boquique cave.[47] In addition, Pascual Madoz's dictionary indicates that a disappeared place called Ambroz or Ambracia could have been located in the current Plasencia, although it is possible that said location was in Aldeanueva del Camino while in Plasencia there was a payment called Pagus Ambracensis.[29]​ In any case, the existence of constructions of Arab origin prior to the founding of the city is known. Among these constructions, there was a century tower located next to the Trujillo bridge called Torre del Ambroz, next to which a small Arab farmhouse was built.[30]​.

In a document issued in Burgos in 1181 under the reign of Alfonso VIII of Castile, it was established - in contradiction with the Treaty of Medina and with the border of La Plata between the kingdoms of León and Castile - that a good part of the territory of the north of the current province of Cáceres and the northwest of the province of Toledo belonged to the alfoz of the council of Ávila.[48] This situation changed in 1186, with the separation councilor of the city of Plasencia, founded that same year by Alfonso VIII; The monarch established the delimitation of the territories of the new council in 1189.[49][50]​ The motto of the newly founded city was Ut placeat Deo et Hominibus, which in Latin means "to please God and men." In 1189, Pope Clement III created the diocese of Plasencia with its headquarters in the city.[11]​ The beginnings of the city were hard, due to being in a border area and its proximity to territories dominated by Muslims.[51]​ In 1196 it was taken by the Almohads,[51][52]​ as a consequence of the Castilian defeat in the Battle of Alarcos. (1195),[16]​ but Alfonso VIII and the kingdom of Castile would recover it that same year, on August 15.[51]​ After this reconquest, the decision would be made to build the city walls.[51]​.

At the end of the century the king granted the "Fuero de Plasencia"), which gave great importance to the coexistence between Christians, Muslims and Jews. This led to the formation of an important Jewish community, which was the largest in Extremadura and had considerable economic power.[53]​.

One of the first written references to a bullfight is found in the Cantigas de Santa María by Alfonso

The city then had the right to vote in the Cortes of Castile, proof of which was the sending of two procurators to the courts held in Madrid in 1391. The century was a key period in the history of the city, during which the feudalizing behaviors of the Middle Ages gave rise to the end of the royal statute and the consequent establishment of a jurisdiction of lordship. In 1442, King Juan II of Castile gave the city to the Estúñigas or Zúñigas family, granting Pedro de Zúñiga "Pedro de Zúñiga (d. 1453)") the title of count of Plasencia. Upon becoming a lord, Plasencia lost the right to vote in the Cortes.[55]​ In 1446, at the request of its bishop, Cardinal Juan de Carvajal "Juan de Carvajal (Cardinal)"), Humanities studies were created in the city, which were the first general studies of university rank that existed in what is now Extremadura.[56]​.

In the second half of the century, Plasencia had some participation in the conflict over the succession of Henry IV of Castile. King Henry IV was deposed in the city on April 27, 1465 as sovereign of Castile. Later, the Count of Plasencia took an active part in the Farce of Ávila, snatching the sword, a symbol of justice, from the wooden statue that represented the Castilian king and proclaiming the infante Alfonso as such. Argollas (Plasencia)") of Plasencia, where kings of Castile and Portugal were proclaimed.[59]​.

In June 1488, the duke died and was succeeded by his grandson Álvaro de Zúñiga y Pérez de Guzmán. The Placentine nobility took advantage of the opportunity to take up arms against the Zúñiga and thus recover the power they previously held over the city and over the income from the lands that depended on it.[60]​ The rebels were supported by the Catholic Monarchs, who revoked the donation made by John II, arguing that it had been excessive and against their will.[55]​ The revolt triumphed and the royal statute was restored, with the ratification of the October 20, 1488 at the doors of the cathedral, with the presence of Fernando the Catholic, who swore to always defend the privileges and freedom of Plasencia.[60]​[61]​.

Modern Age

During this time Plasencia was the place recommended by the court doctors to Ferdinand the Catholic as the healthiest place in all his kingdoms and where he should establish his residence. The monarch moved to live in Plasencia in 1515. He died in Madrigalejo in January 1516 while traveling from Plasencia to Guadalupe "Guadalupe (Cáceres)") to attend the chapter of the orders of Calatrava and Alcántara in the monastery of Guadalupe.[62]​.

Between 1520 and 1522, during the War of the Communities of Castile, Plasencia participated on the communal side, managing to establish a community in Plasencia but this was diminished by the proximity of nearby royalist centers, such as Ciudad Rodrigo or Cáceres.[63]​.

Between 1528 and 1531 the composer Cristóbal de Morales lived in Plasencia, who held the position of chapelmaster there.[64]​.

Plasencia also had some importance during the conquest of America. In 1539, an expedition financed by Bishop Gutierre de Vargas Carvajal went to the Strait of Magellan. One of the expedition ships, led by Alonso de Camargo, managed to cross the strait.[65]​.

In 1573, the Placentine bishop Pedro Ponce de León "Pedro Ponce de León (bishop)") donated part of his library to the monastery of El Escorial, among whose works was the Códice Emilianense from the monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla. In 1665, another bishop, Diego de Arce y Reinoso, had a library of 3,880 works in 10,000 volumes at the time of his death.[66]

When the first 18 provinces of Castile emerged in 1502, they were established based on the cities that had a vote in the Cortes. No city in modern-day Extremadura had such a vote, so most of the region belonged to the province of Salamanca. Due to this, in 1653 Plasencia decided to buy the vote in Cortes that it had previously had, a purchase that it made jointly with Alcántara, Badajoz, Cáceres, Mérida "Mérida (Spain)") and Trujillo "Trujillo (Spain)"). This was the moment of creation of the old province of Extremadura, which was composed of the party of Trujillo&action=edit&redlink=1 "Province of Trujillo (Crown of Castile) (not yet drafted)") and the territory of León of the Order of Santiago (divided into two parties, Mérida and Llerena, and in each of them there were several encomiendas), to which the lands of Coria and Granadilla.[67]​.

Contemporary Age

In the War of Independence (1808-1814), Plasencia became a strategic place for French troops. On June 8 and 13, 1808, riots occurred that led to the murder of several French people, some of whom died by lynching. Shortly after, the Placentines formed a local arms and defense board and sought support on the right bank of the Tagus. Despite the efforts of the junta, on December 28, 1808 the city was taken by French troops, after having burned Malpartida de Plasencia two days before. The French occupied the city twelve times during the conflict, and as they passed through Plasencia they extorted its inhabitants and caused serious damage to the city.[68]​.

At the fall of the Old Regime, the city was established as a constitutional municipality in the region of Extremadura. When in 1822 Extremadura was divided into the current province of Cáceres and province of Badajoz, Plasencia disputed with Cáceres the capital of the former, arguing that to the right of the Tagus River there was more population, in addition to being the episcopal seat. Other criteria weighed more and Cáceres was chosen as the capital of the province.[69]​ Since 1834 it has been the head of the judicial district of Plasencia.[70]​ During the First Spanish Republic, the Canton of Plasencia" was established in the city during the cantonal revolution, to thus claim its capital status over the previously rejected province of Cáceres.[71]​.

The Restoration was an important time for Plasencia, since important reforms took place in the city that affected the economy and society of the municipality. For the first time the city had a drinking water network and public lighting, and the sewage network was also improved. The city's economy, which until then had been based almost exclusively on agriculture and commerce, became industrialized as a result of the creation of the city's railway station, around which an industrial neighborhood was built.[72]​.

In 1917, the Valencian painter Joaquín Sorolla immortalized the city in one of his paintings, The Market, in which he painted the view from one of the banks of the Jerte River, with the episcopal palace "Palacio Episcopal (Plasencia)"), the cathedral, the Trujillo bridge and women dressed in the Montehermoso costume. The work belongs to a series of fourteen large canvases titled Vision of Spain, commissioned by the American magnate Archer Milton Huntington to decorate the library of the Hispanic Society, in New York, an institution that he himself had founded.[73][74]​.

In the Spanish Civil War, Plasencia was not the object of dispute between the two sides, since the military uprising of 1936 immediately triumphed in the city. On July 19, Lieutenant Colonel José Puente, head of the Plasencia Machine Gun Battalion, took control of the city with hardly any resistance. Pines.[76]​.

The second half of the century was a period of extraordinary development for Plasencia. Demographically, while the province of Cáceres lost a quarter of its population between 1950 and 2001, in the same period Plasencia doubled its population, going from 17,507 inhabitants to 36,690. In addition, university schools of Nursing and Business were created, which at the end of the century were united in the current Plasencia campus.[78]​.

Plasencia has a population of (INE "National Institute of Statistics (Spain)") 2025).

According to the INE gazetteer, in the municipal area of ​​Plasencia there are three population entities: the city of Plasencia, and the towns of Pradochano and San Gil "San Gil (Cáceres)"), with the population of the municipality distributed as follows:[32]​.

In the 2017 registry, 1,565 of the 40,360 inhabitants of the municipality were foreigners, which represents 3.88% of the total. Among these there were 252 Moroccans, 148 Romanians, 139 Colombians, 117 Bolivians, 94 French and the rest of other nationalities.[81]​ The distribution of the total Placentine population by sex and age, regardless of nationality, can be seen in the population pyramid on the right.

According to the data published by the INE in the CERA, electoral census of Spaniards residing abroad as of February 1, 2018, Spaniards who habitually reside abroad or have moved their habitual residence abroad over the age of 18 were 839 people with a municipality of origin in Plasencia.

Municipal government

Plasencia has had its own local autonomy since the time of its foundation by King Alfonso VIII of Castile. The existence of a council "Council (history)") with headquarters in the city is known as early as the year 1187, and in 1188 Plasencia went to the courts of Carrión as a constituted council. On March 8, 1189, the delimitation of the Placentine alfoz "Alfoz (urbanism)") by King Alfonso VIII took place. The Corral de los Alcaldes and the council were the two assemblies of the city.[60]​.

The current City Council of Plasencia has its town hall in the municipal palace "Palacio Municipal (Plasencia)") located on Calle del Rey. In the Old Regime, this building was the headquarters of the council and next to it was the prison. The original building was built between 1517 and 1523 because the old council house was small in size. The municipal palace was modified in the century and rebuilt in the century.[84]​.

In the legislature that began after the 2015 elections, the Popular Party governs the municipality with an absolute majority. The mayor of the municipality is Fernando Pizarro and the councils are distributed in this way:[85]​[86]​.

Territorial organization

Plasencia is divided into twenty-five neighborhoods, twenty-three of which form the municipal capital, each having its own neighborhood association: Colonia Virgen de Guadalupe - La Amistad, Río Jerte, Cotillo de San Antón - Barrio del Pilar, Cerro San Miguel - La Unión, La Esperanza urbanization, Sierra Santa Bárbara, Los Mártires, Vera-Elena, Los Alamitos, Miralvalle, Los Majuelos, Valle-Isla, Los Pinos, La Data, Rosal de Ayala, Cuatro Calzadas, Ribera del Valle, Rubén Darío - Gabriel y Galán, San Juan, Ciudad Jardín San Antón, Valcorchero, Los Monjes and Intramuros de Plasencia. The Placentine federation of neighborhood associations is located on Fernando Calvo Street.[88]​.

The other two neighborhoods, San Gil "San Gil (Cáceres)") and Pradochano, which are population centers separate from the municipal capital, have the status of minor local entity.[89][90][91]​.

Representative of the Common

According to the Statute of Autonomy of Extremadura approved in 2011, if Extremadura had an ombudsman in its autonomous area, this would take the name of Personero del Común and would have its headquarters in the city of Plasencia. For this to happen, the Assembly of Extremadura must approve a law that regulates its legal regime and three-fifths of its members must agree to elect a person to occupy the position, as established in article 48 of the Statute:

If the organ is created, the City Council has offered the Dean's house "Casa del Deán (Plasencia)") as its headquarters, a medieval building that houses the courts until the completion of the works on the new courthouse.[93][94]​.

City networks

Unlike the majority of municipalities in the province, Plasencia does not form any community with its neighboring municipalities.[8]​ However, it is integrated into associations with other cities, such as the Council of Large Cities, whose work is to improve and streamline relations between the large municipalities of Extremadura and the regional executive.[95]​ At the international level, it is also part of the Iberian Rayano Urban Triangle, along with Cáceres and the Portuguese cities of Castelo Branco and Portalegre "Portalegre (Portugal)").[96]​.

Plasencia is also part of the Spanish Network of Cities for Climate, whose activity is channeled to the promotion and management of policies aimed at sustainable development and the promotion of policies to combat climate change that enable the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and compliance with the Kyoto protocol.[97]​.

Plasencia is part of the Cooperation Network of Cities on the Silver Route, an association of towns and cities in Spain located on the Silver Route and its area of ​​influence, which aims to jointly defend and promote its tourist, historical, cultural and economic resources. The neighboring municipality of Carcaboso, whose term is separated from Plasencia by the Via de la Plata, is also part of this network.[98]​.

In the monumental field, Plasencia is part of Cathedral Cities"), an association of cities that have a cathedral that was established in the city in 2006.[99] The Iberian Forum of Walled Cities") was also established in Plasencia in 2006, which brings together Spanish and Portuguese towns in order to attract tourism to their walled enclosures and try to obtain European funds for the rehabilitation of their heritage. historical-artistic, with the neighboring municipality of Galisteo, among others, being part of the forum.[100]​.

Finally, there is also the Network of Jewish Quarters of Spain, in which Plasencia has participated as a full member since February 2008, and whose main objectives are the defense of the urban, architectural, historical, artistic and cultural heritage of the Sephardic legacy in Spain, as well as the promotion of the cities that make up the association. Within the province, the municipalities of Cáceres and Hervás also belong to the association.[101][102]​.

Primary and secondary sectors

In the primary sector, the municipality has two colonization towns "National Colonization Institute (Spain)") built in the 19th century, San Gil "San Gil (Cáceres)") and Pradochano. On the other hand, Plasencia is, since 2009, the headquarters of the National R&D Center in Organic Agriculture").[103]

As for the secondary sector, Plasencia has an industrial estate.[104]​ In 2013, according to the Caixa economic yearbook, the municipality had 153 industry companies and 274 construction companies.[22]​.

Within both sectors, the municipality is within the production and processing area of ​​five food products with a designation of origin or protected geographical indication: Meat from Ávila, Lamb from Extremadura), Veal from Extremadura),[105] Ham from Huelva[106] and Paprika from La Vera.[107]​.

Commercial activity

Extensive commercial activity is carried out in Plasencia. According to the 2013 Caixa economic yearbook, the city is the head of one of the four commercial areas into which Extremadura is divided. 126,488 people lived in the commercial area of ​​Plasencia according to the 2012 census, which means that 68% of the potential clientele of Plasencia businesses resided outside the municipality that year.[22]​.

Among businesses, in 2013 Plasencia had 38 deposit entities, 296 restaurant and bar activities, 189 wholesale commercial activities, 864 retail commercial activities and a shopping center.[22]​ Regarding accommodation services, the municipality has various establishments, including rural houses, hostels and hotels.[108]​.

Commerce takes place predominantly, although not exclusively, in the streets within the walls that lead to the Plaza Mayor, mainly on Calle del Rey and Calle del Sol, the latter being the commercial area of ​​Extremadura that has the highest prices per square meter.[109]​ Another notable commercial point, although it is only used for temporary occasions, is the El Berrocal fairground.[110]​.

For most of the century, Plasencia was home to its own savings bank, the Caja de Ahorros de Plasencia. This bank was founded in 1911 by the Catholic social center of the city of Plasencia, promoted by the diocese of Plasencia, and in 1990 it merged with the Caja de Ahorros de Cáceres" to give rise to Caja de Extremadura (current Liberbank).

Catering

The city receives its drinking water from a dam located on the Jerte River. Water is taken from the dam using a water intake tower and transported by gravity to the drinking water treatment station located on the N-110 highway, where it is made drinkable. The treated water is transferred to two tanks, located in the Parque de los Pinos and in the industrial estate, from which it is supplied to the population.[111]​.

Sanitation is carried out through a network of concrete conduits that are used for both urban water and industrial water. Urban wastewater does not require pumping and is transported by simple gravity, except in some points that require discharge chambers. In the municipality there is a wastewater treatment plant next to the N-630 highway, which receives both Placentine wastewater and that from the Jerte valley.[111]​.

In the municipality of Plasencia, various electricity lines of different voltages intersect, from 400 kV lines that directly transport electrical energy from the Almaraz nuclear power plant to lower voltage lines that distribute energy to the populations in the area. The three electrical substations of the municipality are connected to these last lines: Plasencia, Plasencia Industrial and Valcorchero. The first of them is the most important, as it is responsible for distributing the energy from the 150 to 220 kV lines to the substations in the area.[112]​[113]​.

Regarding fuel supply, the city has five service stations, of which three are from the company Repsol, one from Cepsa and another from Carrefour "Carrefour (multinational)").[114]​ For the transportation of natural gas, the primary gas pipeline that connects the compression stations of Almendralejo and Coreses passes through the city.[115]​.

Education

The main university in the city is the University of Extremadura, with more than 1100 students. On the Plasencia campus, dependent on this university, four undergraduate degrees are taught: Nursing, Business Administration and Management, Forestry and Natural Environment Engineering and Podiatry,[116]​ these last two are exclusive to Plasencia, they are not found anywhere else in the region. There is also an associated center of the National University of Distance Education, the entire province depending on this center (the extensions of Cáceres, Coria, Navalmoral de la Mata and Trujillo "Trujillo (Spain)").

Plasencia has a large number of educational centers, being the headquarters of the Teachers and Resources Center of the area.[118]​ In the city there are eight public centers for early childhood and primary education: Alfonso VIII, El Pilar, Escuela Hogar Placentina, Inés de Suárez, La Paz, Miralvalle, San Miguel Arcángel and Santiago Ramón y Cajal.[119]​ San Gil and Pradochano have their schools integrated into the CRA Valle del Alagón, with headquarters in Alagón del Río and of which Aldehuela del Jerte is also a part.[120]​.

On the other hand, the city has six public secondary education institutes: Gabriel y Galán, Valle del Jerte, Virgen del Puerto, Parque de Monfragüe, Pérez Comendador and Sierra de Santa Bárbara.[121] These institutes are attended by students from neighboring municipalities that do not have an institute or whose educational center only reaches up to compulsory secondary education, the main places of origin being Aldehuela del Jerte, Barrado, Cabezabellosa, Cabrero "Cabrero (Cáceres)"), Casas del Castañar, Carcaboso, El Torno "El Torno (Cáceres)"), Holguera, Malpartida de Plasencia, Oliva de Plasencia, Riolobos, Valdeobispo and Villar de Plasencia.[122]​.

In the municipality there are also five subsidized centers: La Salle-Guadalupe, Madre Matilde, San Calixto, San José and Santísima Trinidad.[123]​ Finally, the Ponce de León public special education center[124]​ and a permanent education center for adults are also located in the city.[125]​.

The provincial and municipal administrations manage education centers in the city. The Provincial Council of Cáceres, through its cultural institution El Brocense, has in the city the García Matos conservatory,[126]​ the Rodrigo Alemán school of fine arts[127]​ and the dance school of the Santa María cultural complex.[128]​ For its part, the City Council contributes to education with a cooking school located in the Plaza de la Cruz Dorada that admits up to 30 students per course,[129]​ as well as with schools sports.[130]​.

In the field of language teaching, Plasencia has an Official Language School center in the Plaza de Santa Ana, where classes in German, French, English, Italian and Portuguese are taught, and English can be studied remotely.[131]​ On the other hand, in terms of religious studies, the diocese of Plasencia has major and minor seminaries in the city, with Plasencia having had a seminary since the 19th century.[132]​ By Lastly, in Plasencia there is also a popular university.[133]​.

Hygiene

The selective collection of municipal solid waste and street cleaning are carried out by the UTE Limpieza Plasencia, which was created in 2011 and is made up of the companies Agroforex, Valoriza and Ecovias. Its headquarters are in the city's industrial estate.[134]​ Although it is the most important cleaning company, it is not the only one in the city, as there are other specialized companies that are responsible for collecting cardboard at home and maintaining green areas.[111]​.

The collection of municipal solid waste is done every night, with deposit hours being from nine to twelve and collection hours after midnight. The selective collection of paper, cardboard and light packaging is also carried out continuously, but alternating between the different neighborhoods of the city. On Wednesday of each week, large objects such as appliances and furniture are collected from home. All the city's solid urban waste is deposited in a treatment plant located in the municipality of Mirabel "Mirabel (Cáceres)").[111]​.

Health

Plasencia is the headquarters of one of the eight health areas into which the Extremadura Health Service divides Extremadura. This area includes fourteen health zones, each with its own health center, providing health care to a de facto population of more than 125,000 inhabitants. The regency hospital of this health area is the Virgen del Puerto hospital), located in the area of ​​Valcorchero.[135]​.

Plasencia is home to three of the area's health zones (and a fourth under construction): Plasencia I-Luis de Toro, Plasencia II-San Miguel and Plasencia III-La Data. The municipalities of Gargüera and Tejeda de Tiétar depend on the first; of the second, Malpartida de Plasencia, the local entities of Plasencia of San Gil and Pradochano and the six easternmost municipalities of the Alagón plains; and from the third, Cabezabellosa, Jarilla "Jarilla (Cáceres)"), Oliva de Plasencia and Villar de Plasencia. The other eleven health zones in the area correspond to the health centers of Ahigal "Ahigal (Cáceres)"), Aldeanueva del Camino, Cabezuela del Valle, Casas del Castañar, Hervás, Jaraíz de la Vera, Mohedas de Granadilla, Montehermoso, Nuñomoral, Pinofranqueado and Serradilla.[136]​.

In 2010, Plasencia had, in terms of public health, the Virgen del Puerto hospital), a mental health and drug addiction treatment hospital, the three aforementioned health centers, a primary care office for San Gil "San Gil (Cáceres)") and another for Pradochano, a mental health center and two other specialized centers.[137]​.

In private healthcare, in 2010 Plasencia had a general hospital, eight medical consultation centers, twelve consultations for other health professionals, twenty-two dental clinics, two examination centers, a dialysis center, three mobile health care centers, five centers for other non-hospital care providers, thirteen opticians, two orthopedics, a center for the establishment of hearing aids, nineteen multipurpose centers and three diagnostic centers.[137]​.

In the city there are a total of eleven pharmacies, three for the Plasencia II-San Miguel health zone and four for each of the other two zones. Each of the three health zones organizes its on-call shifts in a coordinated manner between the city's pharmacies and those of the municipalities that are part of the zone. In the case of the Plasencia II-San Miguel health zone, the on-call schedule is also coordinated with the Serradilla health zone.[138]​.

In Plasencia, since 2008, the Los Pinos residential center has been located, a residence with a day center, mainly for Alzheimer's patients, with a capacity of 80 places for Alzheimer's patients and 16 for other dependents.[139]​ In the Esperanza neighborhood, the Nazareth Home has been located since 2007, a Cáritas project that has its origin in the city in the convalescent hospital inaugurated in 1691 and which in In 2007 it sheltered 78 elderly people.[140] Other residences for the elderly are the residence of the Little Sisters of the Poor and the San Francisco residence of the Junta de Extremadura.[141]​.

Justice

Plasencia is the capital of its own judicial district, which includes sixty[142] municipalities in the north of the province of Cáceres. The party was created as a contemporary judicial district "Judiciary Party (Spain)") in 1834, after the fall of the Old Regime, with 28 localities, including some already depopulated such as Asperilla "Asperilla (Cáceres)") and Corchuelas). western part of the judicial district of Jarandilla. In Plasencia there is a criminal court, a social court and four first instance and investigation courts.[143]​[12]​[144]​.

Security

Several security forces and bodies operate in the municipality "Security forces and bodies (Spain)"). The city council has its own local police, whose headquarters are based in La Mazuela.[145]​ In addition, Plasencia is the only municipality in the province, apart from the provincial capital, in which there is a local police station of the National Police Corps.[146]​ The police security system of the municipality is completed with the Civil Guard, which has a company in the city dependent on the Cáceres command, in which nine posts in the north of the province are coordinated. province.[147]​.

Regarding non-police security, the city has firefighters and civil protection. In the industrial estate there is a fire station dependent on the Provincial Fire Prevention and Extinction Service of the Provincial Council of Cáceres.[148]​ The local civil protection board of the municipality has a permanent service point on Virgen del Puerto Avenue.[149]​.

Transportation and communications

Given the geographical location of the city, halfway between the two Iberian capitals such as Madrid and Lisbon, and practically in the middle of the most important communication route that structures the Spanish west such as the Via de la Plata, Plasencia has become an important communications hub, and there are several highways and highways that link Plasencia with the rest of Spain; Some having their origin in the city itself, and also being some of those that carry the most traffic in the community, such as the A-66 highway passing through Plasencia, the EX-A1 ​​and the highway between Plasencia and Malpartida de Plasencia.[150]​ The roads that pass through Plasencia or have their origin or end in the city are those that appear in the following table:[151]​.

Plasencia has a train station located on Avenida del Ambroz, which has daily direct connections with cities such as Madrid, Talavera de la Reina, Cáceres, Mérida "Mérida (Spain)"), Badajoz or Huelva, operated by Renfe Operadora with Intercity "Intercity (Renfe)") and Regional Exprés trains.[151]​ Until 1985, the line that linked it with Astorga,[152]​ passing through Salamanca and Zamora.

The high-speed line (AVE) that will link Plasencia with Badajoz in 2020 is in the execution phase and will have a station in the city.[153]​.

The bus station is located on Tornavacas Street, regularly linking Plasencia with other cities in Spain, as well as with nearby towns.[151]​.

Within the province of Cáceres, the Mirat company has several lines that connect Plasencia with the different communities of the northern half of the province and even with Madrid, passing through Alcorcón and Móstoles. ALSA, which provides long-distance services with the main cities of Andalusia, Castilla y León, Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria and the Basque Country.[156]​.

In 2012, the city had a vehicle fleet of 30,223 motor vehicles, of which 21,221 were passenger cars, 4,975 were trucks and vans, and 4,007 corresponded to other types of vehicles.

The city of Plasencia has had an urban bus since the 70s of the last century and currently has three lines. The three lines have points in common. Lines 1 and 2 have a common route with six stops between the clinic and the Trujillo gate. Lines 1 and 3 have six common stops between Avenida de España and Puerta de Talavera and another four between Alamitos and Los Pinos. Finally, lines 2 and 3 have five common stops in the northernmost part of the city and another eight between the railway station and the surroundings of the old town. The only four stops where the three lines join are on España and Calvo Sotelo avenues.[158]​ Since August 19, 2013, the route of the three lines is as follows:[159]​[158]​.

San Gil "San Gil (Cáceres)") and Pradochano are connected to the municipal capital by interurban bus lines of the Mirat company, with a round trip line passing through each of the districts every day from Monday to Friday.[154]​.

Plasencia cuenta con un destacado conjunto monumental. El conjunto histórico de la ciudad está declarado bien de interés cultural "Bien de interés cultural (España)") desde 1958, y en distintos momentos han sido incluidos a título individual en la lista de bienes de interés cultural tres monumentos placentinos: la catedral de Santa María, el palacio Carvajal-Girón[161]​ y el palacio de Mirabel. Además, son candidatos al título de bien de interés cultural la iglesia y convento de Santo Domingo "Convento de Santo Domingo (Plasencia)"), la iglesia de San Nicolás&action=edit&redlink=1 "Iglesia de San Nicolás (Plasencia) (aún no redactado)"), la iglesia del Salvador "Iglesia del Salvador (Plasencia)"), el santuario de la Virgen del Puerto y la plaza de toros.[24]​.

La ciudad de Plasencia presentó en octubre de 2008 una candidatura conjunta con Trujillo "Trujillo (España)"), el parque nacional de Monfragüe y la dehesa extremeña para conseguir la declaración de Patrimonio de la Humanidad que otorga la Unesco. La candidatura fue incluida en octubre de ese mismo año por el Consejo Nacional de Patrimonio Histórico en la lista indicativa de lugares que optan a dicho nombramiento.[162]​ Sin embargo, en julio de 2009 el Consejo de Patrimonio Histórico decidió que la candidata española a dicha consideración sería la sierra de Tramontana.[163]​.

religious monuments

Plasencia is the seat of the diocese of the same name and in the Plasencia urban fabric there are two cathedrals: the old cathedral and the new cathedral. The first was built between the 19th and 2nd centuries, in Romanesque style and with architects such as Juan Francés, highlighting its chapter house. The new one, designed at the end of the century and directed by architects such as Juan de Álava, Francisco de Colonia, Covarrubias, Diego de Siloé and Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón, was originally intended to replace the old cathedral but due to various problems the works were stopped in 1760. Of this new cathedral, the choir by Rodrigo Alemán and the main altarpiece by Gregorio Fernández stand out.[164][165]​.

Within the diocese, the municipality has thirteen parish churches, of which there are eleven in the city: Christ Risen"), El Salvador "Church of El Salvador (Plasencia)"), Our Lady of Guadalupe&action=edit&redlink=1 "Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Plasencia) (not yet written)"), Our Lady of Pilar&action=edit&redlink=1 "Church of Our Lady del Pilar (Plasencia) (not yet drafted)"), San Esteban "Church of San Esteban (Plasencia)"), San José&action=edit&redlink=1 "Church of San José (Plasencia) (not yet drafted)"), San Miguel Arcángel&action=edit&redlink=1 "Church of San Miguel Arcángel (Plasencia) (not yet drafted)"), San Pedro "Church of San Pedro (Plasencia)"), Santa Elena&action=edit&redlink=1 "Church of Santa Elena (Plasencia) (not yet drafted)"), Santa María de la Esperanza") and San Nicolás el Real&action=edit&redlink=1 "Church of San Nicolás (Plasencia) (not yet drafted)"). To these eleven we must add the church of San Gil&action=edit&redlink=1 "Church of San Gil (Plasencia) (not yet written)"), in the town of the same name "San Gil (Cáceres)") and the church of Nuestra Señora del Puerto&action=edit&redlink=1 "Church of Our Lady of the Port (Plasencia) (not yet written)") in Pradochano.[166]​.

Along with the parish churches there are also churches that are not used as parishes: examples are the church of Santa Ana "Iglesia de Santa Ana (Plasencia)"), which serves as an auditorium, or the church of Santo Domingo "Iglesia de Santo Domingo (Plasencia)"), which houses a collection of Holy Week steps and the church of San Martín "Iglesia de San Martín (Plasencia)").[167]

As for the hermitages, the hermitages of La Salud "Ermita de la Salud (Plasencia)"), Santa Elena&action=edit&redlink=1 "Ermita de Santa Elena (Plasencia) (not yet written)") and San Lázaro "Ermita de San Lázaro (Plasencia)") stand out.[167] In addition, there are remains of the hermitage of Santo Tomé "Ermita de Santo Tomé". (Plasencia)"), located on a primitive mosque.[168]​.

To the churches and hermitages we must add convents such as those of the Clares, the Dominicans, the Dominicans "Convento de Santo Domingo (Plasencia)"), San Vicente de Padres Dominicos, the Capuchinas "Convent of the Capuchinas (Plasencia)"), the Ildefonsas "Convent of San Ildefonso (Plasencia)"), the Carmelites "Convent of the Barefoot Carmelites (Plasencia)") and the Franciscans. The Dominican convent stands out for housing the Parador Nacional de Plasencia.[169]​.

Other religious buildings are the old Casa de la Salud used as the headquarters of the UNED,[170]​ the apse of La Merced[171]​ and the sanctuary of the Virgen del Puerto that houses the carving of the patron saint of Plasencia "Virgen del Puerto (Plasencia)").[172]​.

Wall

The wall of Plasencia has protected the old town since the founding of the city, allowing access to the old town only through its gates: Puerta de Trujillo, Puerta de Coria, Puerta de Berrozanas, Puerta del Sol "Puerta del Sol (Plasencia)"), Puerta de Talavera "Puerta de Talavera (Plasencia)"), Puerta del Clavero") and Postigo del Salvador").[173]

Next to the wall there are notable buildings such as the Torre Lucía), a tower on whose upper part a bonfire was formerly lit at night, being used as a lighthouse for walkers approaching the city.[174]​.

Civil buildings

As a result of having been inhabited in the past by various noble families, the city preserves a significant number of palaces and stately homes. Among the palaces, the most notable are the palace of the Marquis of Mirabel, the municipal palace "Palacio Municipal (Plasencia)"), the Monroy palace or house of the Two Towers "Palacio de los Monroy (Plasencia)"), the Almaraz palace, the Carvajal-Girón palace and the episcopal palace "Palacio Episcopal (Plasencia)"). The main stately homes are the house of the Dean "Casa del Deán (Plasencia)") with its annexed house of Doctor Trujillo "Casa del Doctor Trujillo (Plasencia)"), the house of the Infantas and the house of the Argollas "Casa de las Argollas (Plasencia)").[175]​[176]​.

Other notable buildings are the old teaching centers. During the century, several higher education centers were founded in Plasencia and in 1446, at the request of Bishop Juan de Carvajal, the first university studies in Extremadura were created in Plasencia.

There are also remains of some hospitals in the city that, although in modern times they are dedicated to other uses, once had an outstanding importance in the development of the health activity of the city and its council. There are medieval hospitals such as Sancti Spiritus, Santa María, San Marcos, Arcediano and La Merced, as well as more modern buildings such as the Convalescence and San Roque hospitals "Hospital de San Roque (Plasencia)").[179]​.

Other civil buildings are the Casa de la Alhóndiga used as a youth information center,[180]​ the old prison of the century [181]​ and the old flour factory acquired in 2008 by the City Council.[182]​.

Water monuments

The medieval aqueduct of Plasencia "Acueducto (Plasencia)") was built in the century, replacing another work of the century. It brought water to the city from Cabezabellosa and El Torno "El Torno (Cáceres)"). 55 arches are preserved, most of them in the San Antón neighborhood, which are known as San Antón arches. Other arches remain standing in a picnic area next to the hospital.[183]​.

In the city there are three monumental bridges that cross the Jerte River as it passes through the city. One of them is the New Bridge "Puente Nuevo (Plasencia)"), designed by Rodrigo Alemán and which was built in the century as an entrance to the city from La Vera and the Jerte Valley, having a shield of the Catholic Monarchs and a niche with an image of the Virgen de la Cabeza.[184]​ The oldest bridge is the San Lázaro Bridge "Puente de San Lázaro (Plasencia)"), located next to the hermitage. homonymous "Ermita de San Lázaro (Plasencia)") and built in the century in Gothic style.[185]​ The other historic bridge is the Trujillo bridge, through which the Vía de la Plata passes.[186]​.

As for the fountains, Plasencia preserves several, among which is the fountain of the Cruz de Mayo or San Pedro pipe, which formerly supplied water to the residents of the walled city and which is decorated on the day of the May Cross.[187] Other fountains are the fountain of the Cabildo, located in front of the new cathedral, and the fountain of San Nicolás.[188]​[189]​.

Squares, streets and neighborhoods

One of the most prominent public roads in the city is the Plaza Mayor "Plaza Mayor (Plasencia)"). It is home to the town hall of Plasencia "Palacio Municipal (Plasencia)") and the automaton "Automata (mechanical)"), popularly known as Grandfather Mayorga"). business.[60]​.

Another notable place is the Plaza de la Cruz Dorada, near the Jerte River and framed by the apse of La Merced and the convent of San Francisco. In the center of the square there is a cruise "Crucero (monument)") that gives it its name.[191]​.

Plasencia has its own Jewish quarter. Furthermore, in the area known as El Berrocal there is the only Jewish cemetery in Extremadura, which began to be restored in 2005.[192]​.

archaeological remains

The main archaeological site of the municipality is the Boquique cave, located on the outskirts of the city, in the Valcorchero pasture. It owes its name to having been a place of refuge for the century's military man Mariano Ceferino del Pozo, nicknamed Boquique. In this cave the first remains of what is known as Boquique pottery were found.[193]​.

Archaeological excavations have been carried out in various parts of the city such as Matías Montero street, in which the Plan E works revealed the remains of what could be an old defensive or retaining wall[194]​ or Esparrillas street.[195]​.

Natural heritage

Plasencia has notable parks and gardens. In the center of the city there is an outstanding group of four parks: Coronación, Los Pinos "Los Pinos (Plasencia)"), Los Caídos and San Antón. The first was ordered to be built by Calixto Payáns, Marquis of Constancia and Lord of Barrado, and is located in front of the Plasencia campus, having once been used as a fairground. The Parque de los Pinos was created by prisoners from the Republican side after the Spanish civil war and is an extensive botanical garden inhabited by various species of birds and trees from different parts of the world, in which there is an open-air sculpture museum. The Parque de los Caídos, better known as Parque de la Rana, was built in 1942 with the remains of the demolition of the fortress. The last park of the complex, the San Antón park, unites the other three parks and owes its name to the fact that until the beginning of the century the missing hermitage of San Antón was located there.[76]​.

Another important park is the Island Park "Parque de la Isla (Plasencia)"), located on the island that the Jerte River forms when it opens into two arms in its urban section, and which is the largest park in the municipality, with an area of ​​about 10 hectares. It is known because King Philip V hunted there when he lived in Plasencia, this place being one of the favorite parts of the city for said king and where he spent the most time.[196]​ The Cachón Park is also located next to the Jerte River, which is the newest of the city's parks.[76]​.

As for the protected natural spaces, Valcorchero and Sierra del Gordo stand out, declared a protected landscape in 2005 by the Government of Extremadura after having been requested in 2004 by 40 associations grouped in the Valcorchero: Protect it coordinator and by another 100 people on an individual basis.[197]​.

Local festivals

Several local festivities are celebrated in Plasencia. Two of these festivals have been declared a festival of regional tourist interest: Holy Week in Plasencia and Greater Tuesday. The latter is celebrated annually on the first Tuesday of August each year, with agricultural and handicraft products from various towns in the area being put up for sale and various competitions being held.[25]​[26]​.

Along with the festivals of tourist interest, the patron saint festivals also stand out. The patron saint of the city and its diocese is Saint Fulgencio of Cartagena, whose feast day is celebrated on January 16. The night before is known as Noche de Antruejos because, although it is celebrated well before Carnival, it was a popular custom to dress up on that night. The city council and various associations maintain the festival, inviting the tasting of wines, liquors, sweets and crumbs with background music by drummers.

Other festivities in the city are the fairs on the second weekend of June,[25]​ the San Juan neighborhood festival on June 24[199]​ or the Bouquet of the Virgin of Health "Our Lady of Health (Alcantarilla)") which is celebrated in the hermitage of the same name in September.[200]​.

Events

In addition to the aforementioned "Major Tuesday"), various gastronomic fairs are held in Plasencia such as the North of Extremadura Gastronomic Meetings in April and May and the Tapa Fair in September and October. Some restaurants in the city also organize various gastronomic days on different foods such as cod, game, mushrooms, bonito and Iberian pork.[201]​.

Several painting competitions are organized in the city. Of particular note is the Autumn Salon organized by the Caja de Extremadura every year between 1979 and 2009 and which has continued to be organized biennially ever since.[202]​ An open-air painting contest is also organized in the city.[203]​.

The Caja de Extremadura International Sculpture Prize is also held periodically in Plasencia. This sculpture competition has the peculiarity that the winning works are installed in different parts of the city, since one of the objectives of the competition is to turn Plasencia into an open-air sculpture museum. The first edition was won in 2006 by the sculpture The Training by Manuel Mediavilla from Malaga.[204]​ The second was won by The Traveled Space, by the Madrid sculptor Mar Soler.[205]​.

In the field of photography, the Defensores del Cabbage Photography Contest organized by the Alimoche collective stands out.[206]​ Finally, there is a contest on historical research organized annually by the Pedro de Trejo cultural association.[207]​.

Several music festivals are organized in Plasencia. The Plasencia International Folk Music Festival stands out, which is held the last weekend of August in Torre Lucía. Other music festivals are the Mayorga Ciudad de Plasencia flamenco singing competition,[208]​ the Alternative Festival of the North[209]​ and the Certamen Internacional de Tunas Ciudad de Plasencia.[210]​.

Outside of music, in the municipality there are theater shows such as the Amateur Theater Week of Extremadura[211]​ and cinema such as the Fantastic and Horror Film Week.[212]​ Another notable event is the concentration of Gumiparty computers, which through numerous performances and activities partly tries to bring closer and publicize current Japanese culture.[213]​.

Cultural centers

In Plasencia there are several theaters and auditoriums such as the Alkázar theater from the end of the century, the church of Santa Ana "Iglesia de Santa Ana (Plasencia)") used as an auditorium by the Caja de Extremadura and the auditorium of the Santa María cultural complex.[214]​.

The city also has several museums such as the Cathedral Museum of the Old Cathedral, the Pérez Enciso Ethnographic and Textile Museum located in the old provincial hospital, the Duke of Arión Hunting Museum located in the palace of the Marquis of Mirabel, the Holy Week Steps Museum of the church of Santo Domingo "Iglesia de Santo Domingo (Plasencia)") and the Berrocal Open Air Sculpture Museum. In addition, there are interpretation centers in the Torre Lucía, in the Las Tenerías mill and in the Los Pinos park.[215]​.

Along with the aforementioned museums and interpretation centers, the municipality also has exhibition halls such as the old convent of San Francisco, the convent of Santa Clara and the Caja Duero, the latter located next to the Talavera gate "Puerta de Talavera (Plasencia)").[214]​.

As for libraries, the municipal library is located on Trujillo Street. In addition, the neighborhoods of La Data and San Miguel have their own libraries, integrated into the Extremadura Library System since 1999.[216]​.

Silver Way

The Via de la Plata, an ancient Roman communication route that is today used as a hiking route, has an important cultural relevance in the city. In the Middle Ages, a section close to Plasencia of this route served as a border between the kingdom of Castile, to which Plasencia belonged, and the kingdom of León, constituting a western limit of the sexme of Plasencia and causing for a time the division into two halves of nearby towns such as Baños de Montemayor and Aldeanueva del Camino.[217]​[218]​ After the fall of the Old Regime, the old Roman road separated the Plasencia municipality from some municipalities. neighbors such as Carcaboso, Aldehuela de Jerte and Galisteo.[219]​.

From the old road, Plasencia has inherited in its municipal area the layout of the modern roads N-630 and A-66,[219]​ while the Jacobean route called Camino de Santiago de la Plata has been diverted on its main route, in the opposite direction, to the neighboring towns of Galisteo and Carcaboso.[18]​ Although the Camino de Santiago does not officially pass through Plasencia on that route, the Camino de Santiago de Levante does: route from Alicante, which has its origin in Alicante and joins that of La Plata in Plasencia after passing through Albacete, Talavera de la Reina and Navalmoral de la Mata.[220]​.

Sport

In football, the city has three teams that in the 2013-2014 season play in the third division: Ciudad de Plasencia and Unión Polideportiva Plasencia") and CD Ciconia Negra in Preferente and its subsidiary in First Regional apart from its women's team that plays in Extremadura's first division group 1. -[221]​ In addition, in the city there is a group of veterans, a 7-a-side football association for those over 35 years of age and the Rosal Football School of Ayala.[222]​.

In basketball, the Ambroz Basketball Club and the Nardeiros Plasencia Basketball Club play in Plasencia. In women's basketball there is Hierros Díaz Plasencia that plays in the LF2 league. In handball, the Plasencia Handball Club and the Mayorga Handball Club play, dedicated to the famous grandfather Mayorga. For hunting and fishing there are the Local Society of Hunters of Plasencia, the Society of Fishermen Virgen del Puerto and the Union of Fishermen of Plasencia. In water sports there are the Gredos Buceo Sports Association, the Plasencia Swimming Club "Swimming (sport)"), the Plasencia 96 Sports Association, the Placentina Canoeing School, the Plasencia Kayak-Polo Club, and the Lago Gabriel y Galán nautical club.[222]​.

In cycling there are the Club Deportivo Peña Cicloturista Placentina Sports Association, the Ex-Aequo Cycling Club and the MTB Integral Bike Club. In motor sports there are the Ruta de la Plata Motor Club Association, the Moto Club Moteros Plebeyos and the Placentino Moto Club. There are mountain associations such as the Valcorchero Sports Club – Mountain Section and the Placentino Mountain Group.[222]​.

Other sports clubs and associations in Plasencia are:[222]​.

Plasencia has the following municipal facilities:[224]​.

• - Municipal sports city, in whose extensive facilities tennis, paddle and racquetball courts and weight rooms are rented and you can practice basketball, handball, soccer, five-a-side soccer, 7-a-side soccer, skating, volleyball, swimming, bicycles, athletics, ping pong and climbing without rent;

• - City of Plasencia Pavilion, with a multipurpose track;.

• - Indoor swimming pool;.

• - Municipal outdoor swimming pool, for the summer.

There are also private facilities in the city, such as those of the Ciudad de Plasencia Sports and Social Club, which has facilities on the N-110.[225]​.

In addition to the general facilities, there are other facilities in the different neighborhoods:[226][227]​.

Media

Hoy "Hoy (newspaper)") and El Periódico Extremadura have correspondents in the city and in their digital editions each have a page about Plasencia.[228]​[229]​ In addition, there are local newspapers on the Internet such as Plasencia Digital and the Vía Plata TV website.[230]​[231]​.

The following radio stations broadcast from the city:[232]​[233]​[234]​.

The city has its own television repeaters. However, Pradochano receives the signal from Hervás and San Gil receives that from Gata "Gata (Cáceres)"). Radio Vegas Altas").[237]​.

The city of Plasencia participates in the city twinning initiative promoted, among other institutions, by the European Union. From this initiative, the aim is to establish ties with other municipalities by holding cultural cycles, exchanges or sporting events.[238] Plasencia is twinned with the following cities:

• - Wikimedia Commons hosts a multimedia category on Plasencia.

• - Wikiviajes hosts travel guides to or about Plasencia.

• - Plasencia on OpenStreetMap.

• - Plasencia on Wikimapia.

• - Plasencia City Council.