Logbook · 7 places

What to see and do in Benavente

What to see and do in Benavente (Benavente y Los Valles, Zamora): 7 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 2 Monuments · 1 Nature · 1 Activities · 2 Historical milestones

How far each place is from the centre of Benavente

The Snail Tower 900 m

Towns near Benavente

Spain › Castile and León › Zamora › Benavente y Los Valles › Benavente

What to see and do in Benavente

Benavente
Village
Benavente is a city in the province of Zamora with 17,309 inhabitants, the head of its comarca, situated on a rise at the confluence of two great valleys, those of the rivers Esla and Órbigo, the latter formed by the union of the rivers Luna and Omaña in the neighbouring province of León. It concentrates a little over half the population of its comarca, of around 33,000 inhabitants, and lies 65 km from Zamora, 75 from León and 113 from Valladolid. It preserves the Torre del Caracol, a remnant of the counts' castle now turned into a Parador, the Romanesque church of Santa María del Azogue, and it holds the running of the roped bull before Corpus Christi.
The Snail Tower
Monument
The only surviving part of the castle-palace of la Mota, which the Pimentel family held in Benavente and which, at its height, was one of the most sumptuous alcázars in Spain, with gardens covering much of the valley of the river Órbigo, of which fountains and sculptures are still preserved in private hands. The complex was left in ruins by French troops in 1809, during the Peninsular War, except for this tower, a work of the early 16th century commissioned by the 4th and 5th Counts of Benavente, of the House of Pimentel, which blends Gothic and Renaissance styles and preserves family coats of arms on its façade. Declared a Monumento Nacional (a former heritage-protection designation, now folded into the Bien de Interés Cultural status), it is today state property and forms part of the Parador de Benavente; on its main floor it holds a Mudéjar coffered ceiling from the vanished convent of San Román del Valle.
Santa María del Azogue y San Juan del Mercado
Monument
The two great medieval churches of the town concentrate its ecclesiastical heritage and recall the two markets around which the city grew, raised to that rank by Alfonso XIII in 1929.
The charter of Ferdinand II to Benavente
Historical milestone
Fernando II granted Benavente its first fuero in 1164 and in 1181 enlarged its territory with the annexation of the valleys; in 1230 the Concord of Benavente sealed the definitive union of Castile and León.
The Carrera de Benavente
Historical milestone
During the Napoleonic occupation, the French general Lefebvre was captured in 1808 in the episode known as the Carrera de Benavente, within the Peninsular War; the counts' castle was destroyed in those same war years. The name, coined by French historiography, designates the headlong retreat of John Moore's British army towards La Coruña in late 1808, during which his troops committed acts of pillage against the population of the valleys before being reined in by their officers. The pursuit ended weeks later in the clash at Elviña, near La Coruña, where Moore himself died in January 1809.
El Toro Enmaromado
Activity
El Toro Enmaromado is the signature festival of Benavente (Zamora), the province's second-largest town with 17,309 inhabitants. The main day is held on the Wednesday before Corpus Christi: a bull is released into the streets, tied by the horns with a rope (maroma) about 100 metres long, which the young men grasp and use to guide the animal along a fixed route, stopping at three predetermined rings, until leading it to the slaughterhouse where it is killed. The festivities last a week and include other bullfighting events, such as encierros (bull runs), becerradas (young-bull fights), toros del alba (dawn bull runs) and corridas, as well as cultural and musical events. Declared of regional tourist interest in 1991 and a traditional bullfighting festival in 2000.
The confluence of the Esla, Tera and Órbigo
Nature
The city stands at 741 metres where the valleys of the Esla, the Tera and the Órbigo meet the edge of Tierra de Campos; that crossing of waters and roads explains its historic role as comarca capital.