﻿LBOK. 



LBOK. 



ttM Sicmi 6» Orsdo* and Si«m d« Oata, the former of which oceupiei 

 ill* ■ooth-eaatem aoglai The preat central pkini of the prorinoa 

 eooiict for the moat part of the fteah-water Umeatona of C^tilla la 

 Tfoja, which furniihea the building material for ValladoUd and other 

 towni. 



JKvtrt. — The prorince belong* entirely to the baain of the Duero, 

 with the exception of the unall portjon at the north-weatem angle, 

 which u out off by the Sierra de Cilleroa : thi* portion belongs to the 

 faaain of the Hibo, and ia watered by tha Sil and ita tribntariea. 



The Duero crnaiiea the central part of the province in a direction 

 from eaat to weat, and here it reoeivea many of ita largeat afBaenta. 

 On the right or northern bank it reoeivea in the prorince of Vallado- 

 lid the Puuerga with ita tributariea the Carrion and the Eaquiva ; in 

 the province of Zamora it receirea the Rio Seoo with ita afBuent the 

 Sequillo, and the Eala, which has many tributariea, the largeat of 

 which are the Tera, the Orvigo, the Bemeaga, and the Cea. AU these 

 rivers have a aonthem course from the Asturian Mountains and the 

 rideea connected with them. When the Duero reachea the boundair 

 of Portugal it takes a southern direction, and then receivea on ita len 

 or eastern bank the Tonnes, the Agueda, and other smaller rivers, all 

 of which rise in the Sierra de Oredos and Sierra de Oata, and have ■ 

 north-western course. [DovRO.] 



Ctimatt and Productiotu. — The climate is mild in the spring and 

 hot in the sommer, but the cold in winter is severe. The Vierzo and 

 the other mountainous parts of the province are well wooded with 

 dieatnut, walnut, and other trees. The extensive plains in the central 

 part of the province produce abundance of com, though the agricul- 

 ture is very imperfect These wide plains are without trees, and 

 almost without houses, dreary and wearisome to the traveller, dusty 

 in summer and muddy in winter.. The villages .are built with mud 

 mixed with straw ; most of the houses are without windows, and 

 where there are windowa they are seldom glazed. A large door 

 answers all purpoaea. Wine and flax also form part of the produce, 

 and fruit and v^fetablea are grown in abundance. Laige herds of 

 cattle and flocks of sheep are reared, and the asses and mules of this 

 province are celebrated throughout Spain for their size and usefulness 

 as beasts of burden. There are few manufactures : coarse woollen 

 and linen cloths are made, and much flax ia spun by the distaff, and 

 bleached, and forms an article of export. 



Totpru. — The city of Leon, now a decayed town, with a population 

 of only 5750, was formerly the capital of the kingdom of Leon and 

 of the ancient province. It is now the capital of the modem pro- 

 vince of Leon. It is situated in 42° 30' N. lat, 5° 35' W. long., 

 about 180 miles N.W. from Madrid. It stands in the angle formed 

 by the junction of the Torio with the Bemeaga, in a pleasant district 

 abounding in fruit-treea. It is the see of a bishop not subject to any 

 primate, and the residence of the provincial authorities. The walla 

 are much decayed, but are beat preserved on the north side, where 

 they are flanked by nimierous semi-circular towers not higher than 

 the walls themselves. A wall runs also through the centre. The 

 city still looks well at a distance, and the approach over the bridge 

 passes along a pleasant alameda ; bnt the interior ia gloomy, dull, and 

 ruinous. The cathedral is the boast of Leon. It is an early specimen 

 of pointed gothio architecture, built of a beautiful cream-coloured 

 stone, and is an exceedingly light and elegant structure. The west 

 entrance has an open plaza in front, with a fountain. It has a tower 

 on each side, three doorways of pointed arches, and a noble rose- 

 window iurmonnted by a pinnacle. The south front haa also a plaza, 

 and three pointed doorwaya. The north entrance has been modernised 

 with balustrades. The east end is semicircular, with flying buttresses 

 and pinnacles. All the fronts are enriched with elaborate sculptiu^ 

 The interior is light and simple, but is now without pictures. In its 

 pristine state it must have been one of the most beautiful cathedrals 

 then existing in the world. Opposite the cathedral is the bishop's 

 pahwe. The church of San Isidoro was begun in 1063; the bunal 

 place of the kings of Leon is at the west end of the church ; it is 

 low and dark, and contains many tombs of wood and stone. Outside 

 the town, near the bridge over the Bemesga, u the convent of San 

 Marcoa de Leon, which formeriy belonged to the order of Santiago. 

 It is of the renaissance style, and is of very great extent, though one 

 wing was never commenced. There are still some of the palaces of 

 the old noblea of Leon, the Qusmana, the Condes, the Ponces ; and 

 there ia a Casa de Ayuutamiento, or town-hall, built in 1585. The 

 Casa de Espositos (hospital for orphans) is a very large building 

 outside the town, north of the rose-perfumed alameda. 



A^orga, in the province of Leon, 32 miles W. by S. from the city 

 of I.eon, is all that remains of the Atlwrica Augutia of the Romans, 

 which in the time of Pliny ('Hist Nat," iii 8) waa "urhe magnifica," 

 a magnifioeot city, capital of the Astures. Even now it presenU 

 •vidancM of high antiquity, in its walls and in two Roman tombs 

 naar the Puerto de Hierro (Iron-Oate). The walls are aimilar to those 

 of Leon, but are in a more perfect state, flanked by many semi- 

 eiroular towen, none of which rise higher than the walla. It is the 

 ■ee of a bishop, and contains a population of about 8000. The cathe- 

 dra], built in 1471, haa been disfigured by repairs and alterations. 

 It has two towers, one of gray-stone, the other of rml-stone. The 

 rvtablo, a carved altarpleoe representing subjects from the life of the 

 Saviour, waa executed in 1599 by Oaspar Beoerra, and is perhaps the 



most remarkable work of the kind in the Peninsula, but has been 

 injured by re-painting. Astnrga baa long been the chief town of tha 

 Maragateria, or oounby of the Maragatoa, a peculiar race of peopls^ 

 who are almost all oarriera (arrieros), celebrated for their fine beasts 

 of burden (asses and mules), and distinguiahed for the extent and 

 honesty of their transaotiona The Maragateria comprises a distriot 

 of about 200 square milea, with SO villages. For an account of thia 

 singular people, see Ford's ' Handbook,' vol u. p. 693. 



Senavtnle, in the province of Zamora, 88 milea S. from Leon, con- 

 tains a population of 2600. It is situated in the angle formed by the 

 junction of the Orvigo with the Eala, but not doae to either river. It 

 is surrounded by mud-walls, and has a fine old ruin of a castle, but 

 the town is now a poor place. The church of Santa Maria has a 

 remarkable tower, and round Saxon arches. 



Oiudad Rodrigo, a fortified town in the provinoe of Salamimca, 60 

 miles S.W. from the city of Salamanca, and 16 miles E. from tha 

 frontier of Portugal, is situated on a alight eminence, on the right or 

 eastern bank of tiie Agueda. A bridge of seven arehes crosses the 

 river. The town contains a population of 4700, and is rather a poor 

 place. It is the see uf a bishop, and haa a cathedral, begun in 1190, 

 and enlarged in 1538 ; it was much injured during the sieges of the 

 fortress. The fortifications consist of a wall, djtch, and citadeL 

 Though not in itself very strong, it was considered, during the Penin- 

 sular War, aa a military position of the highest importamoe. It waa 

 takenbyMassenafromtiieSpaniardsJulylOtb, 1810, and retaken firom 

 the French by Wellington, January 19th, 1812. 



Ledetma, in the provinoe of SaJamanca, 22 milea N.W. ftma the 

 city of Salamanca, stands on the left or south-west bank of the 

 Tonnes, over which there is a fine bridge built on Roman foundationa. 

 The walla of the town are of singular construction, and are thought 

 to be older than the times of the Romans. The town is very andent^ 

 and many inscriptions have been found in and around it Population, 

 2000. The warm hatha of Ledeama are about 7 milea to tita 

 south-east 



Medina del Campo, in the province of Valladolid, 30 miles SS.W. 

 from the city of Valladolid, is the chief town of the Campo, or level 

 district, which produces com in abundance. This town was formerly 

 one of the principal cities of Spain, and the residence of the court, 

 but is now an inoonBiderable place with a population of 2800. The 

 great square is remarkable, surrounded by a maasive piazza, over 

 which rise dark-looking buildings of great antiquity. Ruins are 

 scattered round the town on every side, attesting the former great* 

 ness of thia city of the plain. 



Medina de Rio Seco, in the province of Valladolid, and 27 milea 

 N.W. frvm the city of Valladolid, stands on the right or north-wast 

 bank of the Sequilla, the largest affluent of the Rio Seco. It is a very 

 ancient town, with narrow ill-paved stress. The population is 4700. 



Palencia, capital of the provinoe of Palencia, 80 miles N.N.E. from 

 the city of Valladolid, is an ancient city, which had a university 

 founded in the lOth century, but transferred to Salamanca iu 1289. 

 It stands on the east bank of the Carrion, over trhich there is a good 

 stone bridge. It is inclosed by old walls, which are surrounded with 

 alamedas. The town stands in the midst of vride treeless plains, but 

 is well situated for commerce, and is famous for ita trade iu wool. It 

 contains a cathedral of light and elegant arohitecture, built after the 

 model of that of Leon, 1321-1504, and containing aome beautiful 

 paintings by Murillo. The hospital of Sau Lazaro was once the 

 palaoe of Rodrigo Diaz, the Cid Campeador, who was here married 

 to Ximena. 



Ponferrada, in the Vierzo of the province of Leon, 65 milea W. from 

 the city of Leon, stands in the angle formed by the junction of the Baeza 

 with the Sil. The bridge here was built for the passage of the 

 pilgrims to Santiago in Galicia, and the town afterwards belonged to 

 the Knights Templara. Population, 2500. 



Sahagun, in the province of Leon, 87 miles S.E. from the city of 

 Leon, stands on the east bank of the Cea. There are renuins of walls 

 and a castla The celebrated Benedictine abbey of San Facundo was 

 founded in 905, and refounded by Alonzo VI. The gothio ehureh 

 was finished in 1188. Alonzo and his five wives were buried here. 

 The marble sepulchre with a statue of the kin; is superlj. There are 

 other tombs. The abbey was plundered by the French in 1810. Tha 

 population of this town is about '2500. 



SalamafKa is the capital of the province of Salamanca. [SaIa- 



KANCiL.] 



Ton, in the province of Zamora, 20 miles R from the town of 

 Zamora, and 40 milea N. by E. tn>m SaUmanca, is situated on the 

 north bank of the Duero. It was formeriy a city of importance, and 

 capital of the province of Toro. It ia inclosed by old walls, has a 

 fine bridge over the Duero, and contains a ruined palace of the Infante 

 Don Oaroia, a palace of the dukea of Berwick, a town-ball, and a plaza- 

 de-toros (bull-arena). The streets are tolerably wide, but dirty, and 

 the iron-barred windows (rejas) give it a prison-like looL Population, 

 6900. 



Valladolid is the capital of the province of Valladolid. [VaLLa- 

 SOLU).] 



ViUafranca del Vierto, in tha province of Leon, and 72 milea W. 

 from the city of Leon, is a Swias-like town, built in a mountain-gorge. 

 It is surrounded by vine-plantations. At the entrance is a large 



