Cáceres - San Francisco Javier

Cáceres goes back to the Roman fortress Castra Caecilia, which was built in 79 BC. A Celtiberian settlement that dates back to around 35 BC. In the 6th century, large parts of the city were destroyed by the invading Visigoths and only later rebuilt by the Moors. The Arabs rebuilt the city, including a wall, palaces, and various towers.
Cáceres was reconquered by the Christians in 1229. During this period the city had an important Jewish quarter. In the 15th century when the total population was 2,000, nearly 140 Jewish families lived in Cáceres. The Jewish population was expelled by Queen Isabella and Ferdinand of Aragon in 1492.

Cáceres flourished during the Discovery of the Americas, as influential Spanish families and nobles built homes and small palaces there, and many members of families from Extremadura participated in the voyages where they made their fortunes.

Today Cáceres is a city with a population of about 100.000.

The Church of San Francisco Javier is an 18th-century Baroque-style Jesuit church. It was built next to the attached monastery with the fortune of a Jesuit from the Figueroa family. Work began in 1698 and was completed in 1755. The large building to the right is the Iglesia de San Mateo

Here it is seen from the tower of the Concatedral de Santa María