Benavente, Zamora
| Benavente | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
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  Benavente | ||
| Coordinates: 42°0′11″N 5°40′27″W / 42.00306°N 5.67417°W | ||
| Country | Spain | |
| Autonomous community | Castile and León | |
| Province | Zamora | |
| Comarca | Benavente y Los Valles | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor | Saturnino Mañanes García | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 45.12 km2 (17.42 sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 800 m (2,600 ft) | |
| Population (2009) | ||
| • Total | 19,119 | |
| • Density | 420/km2 (1,100/sq mi) | |
| Demonym | Benaventanos | |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
| Website | Official website | |
Benavente is a municipality in the north of the province of Zamora, in the autonomous community Castile and León of Spain. It has about 20,000 inhabitants.
Located north of the capital on an important communications hub, it was repopulated by King Ferdinand II of León, who also awarded it law-codes (a fuero) in 1167. It was originally known as Malgrat.
Location
Benavente is located in the North of Province of Zamora, in the North-West of Spain. It is 65kms away from Zamora City and 260kms from Madrid and its coordinates are 42° 0' N 5° 41' W.
| North-West: Manganeses de la Polvorosa | North: Villabrázaro | North-East: San Cristóbal de Entreviñas |
| West: Santa Cristina de la Polvorosa |  |
East: San Cristóbal de Entreviñas |
| South-West:Santa Cristina de la Polvorosa | South: Villanueva de Azoague, Santa Colomba de las Monjas and Arcos de la Polvorosa | South-East: Castrogonzalo |
The adjacent municipalities of Benavente are Villanueva de Azoague, Manganeses de la Polvorosa, Santa Cristina de la Polvorosa, Villabrázaro, San Cristóbal de Entreviñas, Castrogonzalo, Santa Colomba de las Monjas and Arcos de la Polvorosa, all of them belonging to Province of Zamora.
Main sights
- Parador de Turismo Fernando II, which occupies the Caracol Tower, a 16th-century castle with wide segmental miradors and a Mudéjar coffered ceiling in the main section
- church of Santa María de Azogue, in Romanesque style, begun in 1180. It has a Latin cross plan, with a nave and two aisles, separated by cruciform pilasters, with five apses. The nave has Gothic cross vaults added in the 16th century. The interior is home of several Gothic sculptures, such as that of the "Annunciation" (13th century)
- San Juan del Mercado, in Romanesque style (12th-13th centuries). It has three decorated portals with the Adoration of the Magi, the Virgin and Child and scenes of the birth of Jesus.
- hospital of La Piedad, an old pilgrim hostel.
- Hermitage of Soledad (early 16th century)
- Caracol Tower
Climate
It is characterized as a Mediterranean climate with continental characteristics as with the altitude of the municipality and its distance to the sea. However, the amount of the winter frosts is lifted, taking place even in spring, with the consequential damage to some of the local agriculture.
Dukes of Benavente
| Titular | Period | |
|---|---|---|
| Primera creación por Enrique II | ||
| I | Fadrique de Castilla y Ponce de León | 1370–1394 |
| Segunda creación por Enrique IV | ||
| I | Rodrigo Alonso Pimentel | 1473- |
| II | Alonso Pimentel y Pacheco | |
| III | Antonio Alonso Pimentel y Herrera de Velasco | |
| IV | Luis Alonso Pimentel Herrera y Enríquez de Velasco | |
| V | Juan Alonso Pimentel Herrera y Enríquez de Velasco | |
| VI | Antonio Alonso Pimentel y Quiñones | |
| VII | Juan Francisco Pimentel y Ponce de León | |
| VIII | Antonio Alonso Pimentel y Herrera Zúñiga | |
| IX | Francisco Casimiro Pimentel de Quiñones y Benavides | |
| X | Antonio Francisco Pimentel de Zúñiga y Vigil de Quiñones | |
| XI | Francisco Alonso Pimentel Vigil de Quiñones Borja Aragón y Centelles | |
| XII | María Josefa Pimentel, Duchess of Osuna | |
| XIII | Francisco de Borja Téllez-Girón y Alfonso Pimentel | |
| XIV | Pedro de Alcántara Téllez-Girón y Beaufort Spontin | |
| XV | Mariano Téllez-Girón y Beaufort Spontin | |
| XVI | Pedro de Alcántara Téllez-Girón y Fernández de Santillán | |
| XVII | Ángela María Téllez-Girón y Duque de Estrada | actual tituar |
Notable people
- José Carlos Guerra, painter.[1][2]
- Maria Josefa Alfonso Pîmentel Tellez Girón Borja y Centelles, fourteenth Countess and twelfth Duchess of Benavente, a patron of Goya and Boccherini
- Fray Toribio de Benavente o Motolinía (1477–1569), a missionary to Mexico
- Alonso Briceño, one of the thirteen conquistadors led by Francisco Pizarro
- Pita Pizarro (1792–1845), a minister of Isabella II of Spain
- Francisco de Castro Pascual (1871–1949), microbiologist
- José Nuñez Pernía (1805–1879), a Marquis of Nuñez and the first president of the Sociedad Hahnemanniana Matritense
- Pedro Nuñez Granés (1869–1944), engineer
- Celestino Alonso Rodríguez Valdespino (1828–1875), chess player
- Federico Silva Muñoz (1923–1997), politician
- Laura Iglesias Romero, a scientist who does research for the CSIC
- Francisco Jose Yndurain Muñoz (1940–2008), scientist
- Almudena Fernández (born 1977), model
Language
Regional speech is influenced by Leonese language.
Events
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- Fiestas de la Veguilla. The local celebration in honour of the Virgen de la Vega to celebrate the torno al llamado (Monday of Pascuilla).
- Fiestas del toro enmaromado. Celebrated the day before the corpus, where the young men run (Running of the Bulls) in front of a long rope held on the horns of a bull.
See also
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Benavente, Zamora. |
- List of municipalities in Zamora
- San Pedro De Zamudia, Zamora
- Sandin, Zamora
- Almudena Fernandez - Famous model from Benavente.
