San Felices de los Gallegos

Long before the Romans arrived, the territory around San Felices de los Gallegos was Vettone country, and the remains of their hillforts can still be found at spots known as Castelmau and Castillo de Xuan. Roman conquest followed the defeat of Viriato around 123 BC, drawing the area into the province of Lusitania. Under Visigothic rule it passed to the bishopric of Mérida, and it was in this period — somewhere between 688 and 690 — that the settlement is thought to have been founded by people connected to Felix, Bishop of Oporto. The name reflects both that origin and theirs: San Felices from the Latin Sancti Felicis, and de los Gallegos because the colonists came from Gallaecia, then the name for all lands north of the Duero.

The town's strategic position made it a persistent object of contention. King Dionisio I of Portugal ordered the castle built in 1296 after his forces occupied the town, and the following year the Treaty of Alcañices formally assigned the area to Portugal. Disputes over possession continued for decades. In 1326 San Felices was returned to Leonese territory as part of the marriage settlement between Alfonso XI of Castile and María of Portugal, the wedding taking place at Alfayates in September 1328. The town changed hands again after the death of Pedro I in 1369, when Fernando I of Portugal crossed the border and seized it. A subsequent agreement made Sancho de Castilla, Count of Alburquerque, its first lord of that line. His widow Beatriz and their daughter Leonor — who became the second lady of the town — brought a period of stability and privilege. The final episode of open conflict came during the Castilian succession war, when Portuguese troops backing Juana la Beltraneja took the town once more. After the Isabeline victory, San Felices was granted to Gracián de Sessé, but the townspeople resisted and it reverted to royal jurisdiction.

The castle is the town's main monument. Its keep was restored in the late 1990s and now houses an interpretation centre on the town's history. Much of the battlemented wall survives, along with several gate arches, medieval bridges, fountains, a hospital building, and coats-of-arms on house facades.

The Ermita del Divino Cordero draws devotion from across the Abadengo region and from across the Portuguese border. In the town centre, the Augustinian convent has its own church with a freestanding bell tower. There is also a Vettone boar sculpture known as the Burro de San Antón, and a stonemasons' museum and park honouring the town's cantero tradition.

From Salamanca, take the road towards Vitigudino and on to Lumbrales, then head towards Ciudad Rodrigo; San Felices is about 20 km from Lumbrales. From Ciudad Rodrigo, follow the regional road via Lumbrales. The town's medieval street layout is narrow but distances are short, so it is best to leave the car by the Ermita del Divino Cordero at the town entrance and continue on foot.

The nuns at the Convento de la Pasión make traditional handmade sweets. Bars in town include Bar Luz de Luna, Bar Romo (run by Rafa and Julia), Bar Malmierca, and Bar Tabarez.