Palencia

Palencia's origins are uncertain, but archaeological evidence confirms pre-Roman settlement on the site, where a Celtiberian people known as the Vaccei — a farming tribe with a strong military structure — founded a town they called Pallantia.

The most visible Roman trace is the Puentecillas bridge, which originally gave access to the island of Sotillo de los Canónigos. The bridge was later rebuilt during the Middle Ages. Under the Visigoths the city rose to real prominence: it became an episcopal seat of the Catholic Church and, for a time, one of the seats of the royal court. Remains of that Visigothic period survive in the crypt of San Antolín — now the cathedral crypt — and at the nearby church of San Juan de Baños in Baños de Cerrato, seven kilometres away, considered the finest surviving example of Visigothic architecture.

After the Muslim occupation the diocese was lost and only restored when King Sancho III charged Bishop Poncio with reorganising it. Legend holds that the king stumbled upon the ruins of a temple dedicated to Saint Antolin while hunting a wild boar and received a revelation to restore it. The new building was consecrated in 1035.

The medieval period brought both turbulence and great significance. Alfonso VIII of Castile granted the city its charter and free council, and between 1208 and 1212 established what is considered Spain's first university — the University of Palencia — which received papal approval from Honorius III in 1221 before disappearing some decades later. Palencia fought at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212. The king's son Enrique I died in the city in an accident; his daughter Blanca de Castilla, later queen of France and mother of Saint Louis, was born here.

In 1388, while the city's men were away, troops of the Duke of Lancaster arrived to sack Palencia. The women of the city defended it successfully, and in recognition they were awarded the golden band of honour — until then reserved for men — and the right to bow before no monarch. The Order of the Dames of the Band was founded in their memory, and the golden band embroidered diagonally across the chest remains a symbol of Palentine female identity, still visible on the local regional dress.

The backbone of the city centre is the Calle Mayor, the main street and hub of commercial, administrative and cultural life, where several of the most interesting civil buildings stand.

The Plaza Mayor was laid out to host public celebrations and markets. Three of its sides have arcaded walkways and it is presided over by the neoclassical town hall. Nearby, the Palacio de la Diputación dates from 1914, designed in neo-Renaissance style by local architect Jerónimo Arroyo, and holds works by Palentine artists. The Casa del Cordón, a Renaissance building whose façade is topped by a Franciscan cord, is the only civil Renaissance monument in the city and houses the Provincial Archaeological Museum.

Three bridges cross the river: the Puentecillas, of Roman origin and now pedestrian only, which has the famous Bolo de la Paciencia stone at one entrance; the Puente Mayor, a stone bridge from the medieval period, later enlarged; and the iron Puente de Hierro from the early twentieth century.

Jerónimo Arroyo's hand appears repeatedly across the city — in the Colegio Villandrando on Calle Mayor, with its ceramic façade by Daniel Zuloaga; in the Casa de Flora Germán, notable for its bay windows and protruding oval dome; and in the building now housing the Consejo de Cuentas de Castilla y León, which has two towers with coloured stained glass. The Mercado de Abastos, built in 1898 to a design by Juan Agapito Revilla, is the city's only iron-and-glass structure.

The Cathedral of San Antolín is the city's principal monument. Gothic in style and a National Monument since 1929, it contains a major altarpiece considered one of the earliest examples of the Renaissance in Spain, a notable tapestry collection, and the Crypt of San Antolín — one of the earliest Romanesque structures in Castile, with a Visigothic section beneath it. The Cristo del Otero, a large image of Christ, is counted among the largest such figures in the world.

The nearest major airport is Madrid-Barajas, with the widest flight choice; Santander, Asturias, Bilbao, Valladolid and León airports all have onward connections. By road from Madrid take the A6 then A62 via Valladolid, around 260 km; the E80 comes from Burgos, the A67 from Santander, and the N601/N610 from León. ALSA runs four buses daily from Madrid Estación Sur (some starting at Airport T4), taking 3 hr 30 min via Valladolid.

Trains run every two hours from Madrid Chamartín, taking 90 minutes via Segovia and Valladolid; one direct service daily from Barcelona takes 7 hours via Zaragoza, Pamplona, Vitoria-Gasteiz and Burgos. The bus station is next to the railway station. The tourist office is on Plaza de Los Jardinillos, 500 m north of the town centre.

Taxis: +34 979 707070. Local bus network Palbus (palbus.es) runs six routes. Local dishes to look for include lechazo (suckling lamb slow-roasted in a wood oven), menestra de verduras (mixed vegetables with Spanish ham), sopa de ajo (garlic soup with bread and paprika), morcilla (blood sausage with rice and spices), and desserts such as rice pudding and leche frita.

Town-centre restaurants include Casa Pepe's, Sibuya Sushi Bar, Ajo de Sopaas, Habana Cafeteria, El Perejil, Terra, La Barra de Villoldo, La Traserilla, La Parrilla de Don Jamón and Los Candiles de Toño.