Other places of interest

As you take a calm and relaxing walk down the quiet alleys, squares and courtyards that mark the irregular medieval layout of the city within the defensive walls, you will discover several other interesting buildings and monuments that represent the historical and urban development of this city.

Looking towards the green area along the Alagón River, you will spot what was once the home of the former owners and Marquis of Coria, the 15th-16th-century Palace of the Dukes of Alba (Palacio de los Duques de Alba). While a good part of the cathedral square is occupied by the colossal 17th- century Episcopal Palace (Palacio Episcopal), the former residence of the celebrated prelates of Coria, now refurbished as a tourist hotel.

Palacio episcopal en Coria

On the other hand, the life of contemplation dedicated to prayer has its greatest exponents in the modest 16th-18th-century Church of St. James the Apostle (Iglesia de Santiago Apóstol), together with the confiscated and practically disappeared Convent of St. Francis (Convento de San Francisco) from the 16th-19th centuries, the remains of which are preserved as an important archaeological site.

Further among the episcopal foundations, you will find the former Hospital of St. Nicholas of Bari (Hospital de San Nicolás de Bari), from the 16th-19th centuries, dedicated to assisting the poor and the pilgrims, which is operational today as a retirement home. Another important example is the enormous 17th-19th-century Conciliar Residential College-Seminary (Colegio-Seminario Mayor Conciliar) that welcomed the young seminarians as well as clergymen for over a century. And then there is the 18th-century Ecclesiastical Prison (Cárcel Eclesiástica) where the lack of faith was expiated.

The possessions of Extremadura’s oldest Diocese are quite a contrast to the civilian buildings, such as the 15th-20th-century Old Town Hall (Ayuntamiento Viejo), restored today as the Municipal School of Music, and the old cereal warehouse of the Alhóndiga from the 16th-20th centuries, today converted into a Municipal Public Library dedicated to the writer Rafael Sánchez Ferlosio, who was quite deeply connected to Coria and Extremadura. Other such establishments include the archaic Municipal Butchery (Carnicería Municipal) from the 16th-19th centuries, and the old Royal Prison (Cárcel Real) from the 17th century that houses the permanent collection of the History, Archaeology and Ethnography of the City of Coria.

A tour inside the city walls will take you on a journey into the past to a city of the three cultures through the old Jewish Quarter and the old Moorish Quarter.

Finally, outside the city walls, you can admire the monumental 16th-century Stone Bridge (Puente de Piedra) that lost its waters in the middle of the modern period. While a little higher up, lies a marvel of the 19th-century metal engineering, the Iron Bridge (Puente de Hierro), which was completed in the 20th century and was constructed above the still waters of the Alagón River.

Silueta Ciudad de Coria