Alcántara

Human traces in and around Alcántara go back to the Palaeolithic, though the oldest substantial remains are Neolithic and Chalcolithic — over eighty dolmens have been identified within the municipal area, along with a standing stone known as the menhir del Cabezo. Rock engravings from the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age have been found at several sites, including Esparragosillo and the banks of the River Erjas.

Roman occupation left deep marks. The zone's most significant Roman document, the Bronce de Alcántara (also called the Tabula Alcantarensis), was discovered in 1983 near the Castillejo de la Orden. It records the surrender of a local people, the seanocos, to Rome, and is now held in the Museo de Cáceres.

The medieval story turns on a single date: 1213, when Alfonso IX of León took definitive control of the town and handed its defence to the Order of Calatrava. That order soon passed it to the Order of San Julián del Pereiro, which relocated here in 1218 and became the Order of Alcántara. The town's strategic importance grew with the order's presence, bringing prestige but also persistent conflict. Later, under the Catholic Monarchs, the order was absorbed into the Crown. The 16th century brought an architectural flowering, with major Extremaduran architects including Pedro de Ibarra working here, and at least 78 of the town's inhabitants joined the American conquests.

The Roman bridge over the Tagus is the centrepiece. Built in 104 AD under Emperor Trajan, it runs 194 metres long, 8 metres wide and reaches 61 metres at its highest point across six arches. A triumphal arch stands at its centre, and a small Roman temple sits on the left bank. The bridge was destroyed by French forces during the Peninsular War and later rebuilt; today it is lit at night. A few hundred metres upstream, the José María de Oriol–Alcántara II reservoir is the largest in Spain by length and second by capacity.

The church of Santa María de Almocóvar, in the western old town, was begun in 1254 on the site of a mosque. Its three Romanesque doorways are among the finest in Extremadura. Inside, a single nave with vaulted ceilings houses significant works: a tomb by Lucas Mitata, five paintings by Luis de Morales, a recumbent Christ attributed to Martínez Montañés, and the baptismal font where San Pedro de Alcántara was christened.

The Conventual de San Benito was the last headquarters of the Military Order of Alcántara. Building began in the early 16th century but was never fully completed. It combines a Gothic cloister with a Renaissance exterior gallery known as the Galería de Carlos V. Abandoned after the Mendizábal disamortisation in 1835, it fell into ruin, was declared a National Monument in 1914, and now houses the Fundación San Benito de Alcántara.

Other religious buildings include the Church of San Pedro de Alcántara, built on the site of the saint's birthplace, and several smaller chapels — among them the Capilla de la Soledad in the former Jewish quarter, believed to have served as a synagogue until 1492.