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Our route could start in the northern part of the city of the River Pisuerga, on the Plaza de
San Pablo,
which contains two of the citys flagship buildings: the Casa del Sol
and the Colegiata de San Gregorio, a collegiate church now housing the
Museo Nacional de Escultura (NationalSculptureMuseum). One of the first buildings that take the eye on this square is the Convento de San Pablo,
from which the square itself takes its name. On one side stands the
Renaissance Palacio de los Pimentel, birthplace of Philip II and now
head office of the Provincial Council. Opposite the church stands the
former Palacio Real, now headquarters of the Capitanía General(Captaincy General). Moving on to the Plaza de Fabio Nelli we find the
Museo de Valladolid, formerly the Museo Arqueológico Provincial (ProvincialArchaeologicalMuseum)
and, hard by, the Palacio de los marqueses de Valverde. On the other
side of the street stands the late sixteenth-century Iglesia de San
Miguel and, close by, in the Calle Santo Domingo de Guzmán, the
Convento de Santa Catalina. Towards the Plaza Mayor stands the Monasterio de San Benito el Real, a monastery founded in the late fourteenth century.
The
citys social life revolves around the Plaza Mayor, site of the City
Hall and Teatro Zorrilla. On the west of the square stands the Iglesia
de la Pasión, with a Baroque main front. Walking down the Calle Pasión
we come to a small square containing the Convento de San Joaquín y Santa Ana.
Another striking building in a nearby street is the Teatro Lope de
Vega, a theatre opened back in 1861. At the end of this street we come
to the Plaza de Zorrilla, opposite which there is a spacious gardened
area called Campo Grande.
At the other side of the park is the Paseo Filipinos, the street
containing the Convento de los Agustinos Filipinos. On one side stands
the Baroque Iglesia de San Juan de Letrán. This street runs into the
Plaza de Colón, with an imposing monument dedicated to the explorer
Christopher Columbus (Colón in Spanish). The nearby Calle Rastro
contains the Casa de Cervantes and the Academia de Bellas Artes.
Returning to the Plaza de Zorrilla along the pedestrian-only Calle de
Santiago we pass by the Convento de las Comendadoras de Santa Cruz and, further on, the sixteenth-century Gothic Iglesia de
Santiago.
Continuing
towards the cathedral we come across various building of architectural
interest including the citys cathedral, work on which began in 1582
without ever being brought to completion. The Baroque main front of the
university building stands out close to the cathedral. Turning off down
Calle Librería we come to the Colegio de Santa Cruz;
continuing along the Calle Cardenal Mendoza and Calle Colón we come to
the Casa-Museo de Cristóbal Colón, a museum dedicated to the famous
explorer. Also worth a visit is the Teatro Calderón, opened in 1864.
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