On 17 April 1555, the first furrows were opened and the first stone was laid by the first founding Bishop, Saint Francisco de Borja, Commissary General of Spain. The deed of foundation dates from 12 November 1555. The site chosen for the building was the north-western part of the city, bordering the old fortress. The plan of the College is shown as a hammer-shaped complex of buildings between the remains, fortress, walls and streets as well known in Plasencia as Avenida Juan Carlos I, Santa Ana. The work lasted until 1556. Masonry materials dominated in the College. The college was grouped around an inner courtyard with a double floor and openings arranged with paired columns in the Serlian style, which gave on to the dormitories, library, refectory, kitchen and cellars.

On the northwest side there was a large courtyard or vegetable garden, bounded by the fence and the Torre Lucía. The builder of the College was Father Bartolomé de Bustamante, while the master stonemasons and carpenters were residents of Plasencia, trained in the construction of the New Cathedral.

In its early years, Don Gutierre Vargas de Carvajal, Bishop of Plasencia, established a true educational centre in Plasencia. Jesuit rectors governed the school, proof of which is the extraordinary library in which books were kept which have been considered over the years to be unique pieces in Spain, due to their great cultural and scientific importance.

In 1767, Charles III expelled the Jesuits from Spain. Most of their colleges became charitable institutions. In the Colegio de Plasencia, a Hospital and Foundling Home of the Bishopric of Plasencia was established. In 1928, the Antigua Casa de la Compañía was used as a health centre until the construction of the new Psychiatric Hospital.

Built on the site of a previous convent, promoted by the Zúñiga family, especially by Leonor de Pimentel, who convinced Henry IV to give her a credit of 50,000 maravedies and Pope Sixtus IV to promulgate a bull to cede the land to her. He had to expropriate the nearby land of the synagogue and Jewish cemetery.

The master stonemason Pedro González was in charge. The facilities of this convent were the headquarters of the first university in Extremadura in were attached to the studies of the convent of San Esteban de Salamanca and in 1628 it was chosen as one of the General Studies of the Dominican Order. It currently houses the Parador de Turismo.

It measures some 800 square metres in a square layout, with two-storey ashlars on each front. The pilasters are mounted on the parapet (parapet, balcony wall), decorated with Gothic motifs (15th century) and papal heraldry, of the Dominican Order and the Zúñiga-Pimentel family. With motifs on the ceiling and Mudejar coffered ceiling, with meandering red flowers and stems. We can see its outbuildings, of which the four-angled staircase or “Escalera del Aire” (Staircase of the Air) stands out.

It has a square base, with an irregular arch on corbels, and the 3rd flight of stairs with a bell-shaped arch, topped with a lantern and a star-shaped ribbed vault, stands out.

There are other simpler but beautifully designed staircases.

In the east wing of the cloister is the Chapter House “del Crucifijo”. It is divided into two spaces: one is square in plan and covered with an eight-pointed star-shaped ribbed vault. The base is octagonal, with 2 octagonal spaces and a 15th century vault, framed with 2 rampant lions. Its door is flared with a semicircular arch and was intended for the burial of the friars.

The north wing is made up of the kitchen, pantry and cellar, and above this were the bedrooms or cells. Each cell was subdivided into an area for study, prayer, contemplation and another for rest.

In the western wing is the Refectory in Renaissance style with a wooden ceiling. A plinth with a frieze of Talavera tiles from the 16th century, with emblems of the founders and the order.

In the west area of the refectory, the stone pulpit with a coat of arms. Above the Refectory, the library, rectangular in shape, with wooden panelling and a border at the top of the wall with an inscription in Latin. It contained a large number of volumes.

It is one of the oldest churches in the city, in Romanesque style, with ornamental elements from the 13th century. Mudejar and Romanesque details can be seen. Both the exterior and the interior of the apse have been saved from transformations, with a large semi-cylindrical apsidal drum with a brick impost and window with corbels, some of which date back to the 15th century.

The tower contains a first body of stone and then another of brick, in which the windows open on each of its four sides. The top of the tower is a hemispherical dome, above which is a weather vane. The tower is close to the old city wall.

The bells were used to call the patron saint festivities of the old guilds of market gardeners, wine harvesters and olive growers, which were held in the Plaza de San Pedro. Mudejar decorative elements remain in the square. Near the square, there is a dry fountain with the name of the parish church.

Inside, it has a single nave, with the typical choir of rural churches, and a pointed triumphal arch at the chancel, with a pointed half-barrelled presbytery section and an apse with an oven vault. On the side there is a Romanesque doorway with semicircular archivolts. The most important image is the crucifix that presides over the main altar, a late Romanesque work from the 14th century. The altarpiece is from the 17th century, next to the baptismal font, on which there is an inscription:

“CHAPEL | CHAPLAINCIES | ORNAMENTS IS OF FRANCISCO DE LA CALLEJA | OF HIS BLACKSMITHS | THIS ENDOWED WITH PATRONAGE YEAR 1605 YEARS SAINT MARTIAL”.

The four main panels represent: The Annunciation; The Birth; Crucifixion and Resurrection. Two central images: Saint Martial and the Assumption of Mary. On the plinths there are two scenes of saints. In the intercolumniations four martyrs: Saint Agnes, Saint Lucy, Saint Catherine and Saint Beatrice. On the left side, on a small niche, is San Gregorio from the 14th century, patron saint of the market gardeners, as it is the closest to their orchards in Jerte. The bell tower is very interesting.

The Coria Gate is one of the seven initial gates in the city wall of Plasencia. It gave access to the district of La Magdalena and the first Jewish quarter of the city, communicating externally with the tanneries and oil presses that were concentrated around the Bridge of San Lázaro.

This gate was defended on the right by a tower and on the left by the so-called quebrada de la Mota, on the land now occupied by the Parador Nacional. The tower was demolished and replaced by a modernist metal construction. The entrance arch was replaced by a wider arch at the end of the 16th century; it is decorated with a human figure that has been identified with the archangel Saint Michael, defender of the entrances to the city, although it could also be a symbol of Justice. This gate was bricked up during the Carlist Wars, as was done with other gates and shutters in the city when the war situation or urban security required it. It was reopened in 1848.

Vía verde

The Vía Verde de Plasencia leaves from the San Lázaro tunnel, which is located a few meters from the Gutiérrez Mellado roundabout in the San Miguel neighborhood, through which you have to exit in the direction of the northern ring road or the Ruta de la Plata highway. As soon as you cross the eyes of the underground tunnel, on the right there is a small but steep slope that leads to the access to the greenway. The San Lázaro tunnel, yes, has opening and closing hours. For now, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., although it will change depending on the hours of sunshine.

The greenway of Plasencia begins in a passageway of almost 200 meters, illuminated and rehabilitated after 18 years closed to lime and song. It is to cross it and enter a paradise for walkers, cyclists and runners.

As it follows the route of the old train, the itinerary is very accessible with gentle slopes that make it ideal for all kinds of people. The technical profile and other information of interest of the Ruta de la Plata Greenway Nature Trail can be consulted on the greenways website.