Zamora - Catedral de Zamora

Zamora straddles the Douro River. The Romans named the settlement "Occelum Durii" ("Eye of the Duero"). For the Visigoths, the place was "Semure".

In the 710s the town was conquered and a Berber garrison was left in there, but some decades later it was seized by Alfonso I of Asturias. A diocese was established in the town in the early 10th century. Ibn al-Qitt unsuccessfully tried to invade the city in 901, Almanzor eventually seized the city in 966. The place returned to Christian control during the reign of Alfonso V of León.

Since the early 11th century the place saw planned repopulating efforts. City walls were also erected in the 11th century. The most notable historical episode in Zamora was the assassination outside the city walls of the King Sancho II of Castile in 1072. Ferdinand I of León had divided his kingdoms between his three sons. To his daughter Urraca, he had bequeathed Zamora. All three sons warred among themselves, till the ultimate winner, Sancho, was left victorious. Zamora, under his sister who was allied with Leonese nobles, resisted. Sancho II of Castile, assisted by El Cid, laid siege to Zamora. King Sancho II was murdered by Bellido Dolfos, a duplicitous noble of Zamora, Bellido Dolfos. After the death of Sancho, Castile reverted to his deposed brother Alfonso VI of León. Zamora is known for its medieval heritage. There are more than a dozen Romanesque churches and chapels.

The Zamora Cathedral was built under Bishop Esteban of the Diocese of Zamora, under the patronage of Alfonso VII and his sister, Sancha Raimúndez. The date of construction (1151–1174) is traditionally attested by an inscription on the northern side of the transept, although recent discoveries have proven that the church had already begun in 1139. The cathedral was consecrated in 1174 and works continued. The cloister and the bell tower date to the first half of the 13th century.

The Cathedral Museum, in the 17th-century cloister, treasures fine Flemish tapestries of the 15th–17th centuries. Depicted here is Hannibal's Italian campaign. The elephants are seen on the left.