Logbook · 8 places

What to see and do in Peñaranda de Bracamonte

What to see and do in Peñaranda de Bracamonte (Tierra de Peñaranda, Salamanca): 8 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 3 Monuments · 1 Activities · 1 Historical milestones · 2 Food and drink

How far each place is from the centre of Peñaranda de Bracamonte

Towns near Peñaranda de Bracamonte

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

What to see and do in Peñaranda de Bracamonte

Peñaranda de Bracamonte
Village
Peñaranda de Bracamonte is the head town and services centre of north-eastern Salamanca province, capital of the comarca of the Tierra de Peñaranda, at 899 metres above sea level and 40 kilometres from the provincial capital, near the border with Ávila. It is, after Salamanca, Béjar, Ciudad Rodrigo and Santa Marta de Tormes, the fifth most important town in the province, with a dry continental climate and strong seasonal contrast. Its economy devotes barely 4% of the active population to agriculture, against 45% to industry and 42% to services. Its historic centre links three arcaded squares; on the Plaza de Agustín Martínez Soler stand the church of San Miguel and the Cuatro Caños fountain, from 1654. With 6,162 inhabitants (INE 2025), it has recovered part of its demographic dynamism.
The historic ensemble of the three squares
Monument
Declared a historic-artistic ensemble in 1973, the old quarter strings together three arcaded squares: that of Martínez Soler, with the fountain of the Cuatro Caños from 1654; that of the Constitución, with the town hall of 1647; and that of España.
The church of San Miguel Arcángel
Monument
Of cathedral-like dimensions, it originates in the fifteenth century, with doorways from the sixteenth and a tower from the eighteenth. The fire of 1971 destroyed its interior and the Baroque high altarpiece; only the chapel of San Antonio was saved, where the Cristo de la Cama is venerated.
The convent of the Discalced Carmelites
Monument
Declared a site of cultural interest on 30 January 1997, it was built in the 17th century - its plans, the work of Brother Juan de San José, were approved in 1667 - the most splendid building in the town. It received in its cloister the burial of Gaspar de Bracamonte y Guzmán, viceroy of Naples and the last count to live in the locality, who used his position to gather Italian masterpieces there: among them, a Prayer in the Garden of Olives by Andrea Vaccaro and an Assumption and Coronation of the Virgin attributed to the workshop of Guido Reni, as well as pieces by Luca Giordano, Jacopo Bassano and Lazzaro Baldi, the best collection of Italian painting in the area.
The Thursday Market
Activity
Juan I granted the town a weekly market in 1375 and the settlement lived off it for centuries, to the point that it was said that without the market the village would be depopulated; it is still held every Thursday in the centre of the town.
The explosion at the station
Historical milestone
On 9 July 1939 the munitions store installed at the town's railway station exploded. The catastrophe caused more than a hundred deaths and some fifteen hundred injured, and destroyed close to a thousand buildings in the town.
The tostón of Peñaranda
Food and drink
Suckling pig roasted in the oven, with nothing added but salt and lard, is the dish that has made the town famous and the reason many travellers stop here; in the family sphere the cochifrito also survives, cut into pieces and marinated before being browned.
The sweets of Peñaranda
Food and drink
In cereal country, flour sustains a confectionery that follows the calendar: flores and huesillos at Carnival, bartolillos in Lent, buñuelos de viento and huesillos de santo at All Saints and aniseed ring biscuits at any time of year.