Valladolid

Valladolid is a historic city and municipality situated in northern-central Spain, on the Pisuerga River and within three wine-making regions: Ribera, Rueda and Cigales. It is the capital of the province of Valladolid which itself is in the region of Castilla Leon.

Ruins of a Roman settlement have been found nearby and the area was occupied by Celtic tribes at the time it was conquered by the Romans.

The city boasts a few architectural manifestations of its former glory. Some include the unfinished cathedral, the church of Santa Maria la Antigua, the Plaza Mayor (the Main Square), the National Sculpture Museum next to the church of Saint Paul, which includes Spain's greatest collections of polychrome wood sculptures, and the facade of the Faculty of Law of the University of Valladolid. The Science Museum is next to Pisuerga river. The only surviving house of Miguel de Cervantes is also located in Valladolid. Although unfinished, the Cathedral of Valladolid was designed by Juan de Herrera who was also the architect of El Escorial royal palace outside Madrid.

The heart of the old city is the 16th-century Plaza Mayor, with the statue of Count Ansurez standing over it. On one side stands the City Hall, a building from the beginning of the century crowned by the clock tower. In the nearby streets is the Palace of Los Pimentel - today the seat of the Provincial Council. The Royal Palace, the 16th-century Palace of the Marquises of Valverde, built in the Classical style. The Museum of Valladolid also occupies this complex, exhibiting a collection of furniture, sculptures, paintings and ceramic pieces.