Logbook · 4 places

What to see and do in Macotera

What to see and do in Macotera (Tierra de Peñaranda, Salamanca): 4 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 1 Monuments · 1 Curiosities · 1 Historical milestones

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Spain › Castile and León › Salamanca › Tierra de Peñaranda › Macotera

What to see and do in Macotera

Macotera
Village
Macotera is a municipality in the province of Salamanca, in the comarca and judicial district of Peñaranda de Bracamonte, with a little over a thousand inhabitants; it belongs to the Campo Charro by its history, customs and geography. Its origin is uncertain: among the hypotheses about its name are a Vettonian clan called Macorum and Celtic words related to the coteras, the slopes of the land; its documented history begins in the 13th century, linked for centuries to the lordship of Alba de Tormes, and it obtained the title of villa in 1861, granted by Isabella II. Its church of Nuestra Señora del Castillo, from the 15th and 16th centuries, houses a gilded Mudéjar artesonado ceiling with muqarnas known as «the sky of Macotera». The village lived off its wool-washing houses and still makes the boto campero.
The church of Nuestra Señora del Castillo of Macotera
Monument
Declared a historic-artistic monument on 24 July 1982, it was begun around 1475 with the patronage of the second Duke of Alba, Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo, and was finished in 1508; its inauguration was marked by sung masses, sermons, festivities and bullfights. It is in the Hispano-Flemish style, although its tower is earlier, probably from the 13th century, and the sacristy was added in the 18th century. Notable features include the Mudéjar coffered ceiling of the central nave and the timber structure of the choir, which mixes the Mudéjar and Renaissance styles; it has more than 500 seats in its pews. It now stands on the plaza Mayor, although until a few decades ago it stood to the north of the town. Its dedication to Nuestra Señora del Castillo, already recorded in 1535, is thought to recall the tower that formed part of the old border between Castile and León.
The procession of the disciplinas
Curiosity
From 1574, on Maundy Thursday the confraternity of the Vera Cruz went through the village barefoot and hooded, striking their backs with straps and cilices, accompanied by a group that danced the Dance of Death; the procession was banned in the eighteenth century.
The passage of Charles V on the way to Yuste
Historical milestone
On 8 November 1556 the emperor Carlos V and his retinue crossed the Calzada Vieja of the municipal district, the road of La Huelga, heading for Alaraz, where he spent the night before continuing his journey towards the monastery of Yuste.