Plasencia - Catedral

Today, Plasencia is a city with more than 40,000 inhabitants. The city was founded in 1186 by Alfonso VIII of Castile during the reconquest of the Moorish-occupied territories from the 10th century onwards and was elevated to the status of a bishop's see by Pope Clement III just three years later. However, the conflicts between Christians and the Almohads, who were dominant at the time, continued until 1212, when the city finally came under Christian rule after the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa.

Plasencia Cathedral comprises two buildings: one known as the Old Cathedral, begun in the 13th century in the Romanesque style in transition to the Gothic. The remains of the original church include the naves, the western façade, the Gothic-style cloister and the chapter room crowned with a ribbed dome in the Byzantine tradition. The New Cathedral, begun in the 15th century, is in the Gothic style. It has high vaults supported by groups of columns. The Old Cathedral (Catedral vieja) currently houses the Cathedral Museum, while the New Cathedral (Catedral nueva) is the seat of the diocese of Plasencia