Famous names from Trujillo include Francisco de Orellana, who discovered the Amazon River, and Francisco Pizarro, who ordered the construction of the church and chaplaincy, building the Palace of the Pizarro as reminder of the Extremaduran origin of one of the last advances in American territory of the then-Spanish empire. The Spanish emigrants brought over a wealth of heritage from the Americas, and not only built palaces and stately residences, but also collaborated on the construction of chapels and hospitals, buildings we can still enjoy as we wander through the city’s intricate narrow streets.

The San Jerónimo de Yuste Monastery was built at the beginning of the 15th century, with a Gothic and a Renaissance cloister, portraying the change in the era’s styles. The Royal Room, built by Gaspar de Vega in the mid-16th century according to the Emperor’s instructions, is marked by the simplicity and logical distribution of a religious retreat, located alongside the church altar under which the Emperor asked to be buried. His body remained there until his son, Philip II, had it transferred to the Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial.

Slopes and valleys densely covered by forests and scrub; highlands which lead up to fells and rocky ridges where griffon vultures and Egyptian vultures nest; and flatter areas that open onto extensive meadows and farms with Holm and cork oak trees, providing a clear example of the sustainable farming of the Mediterranean mountains… Deer, wild boar, badgers, genets, bobcats and otters are all found here, in addition to different species of amphibians and reptiles.

Monfragüe and Doñana National Park, the protected natural reserve best known for its bird watching, are unequalled on the entire continent for their wide variety and dense populations of both Rupicola and forest raptors.

Queen Isabella I of Castile was profoundly devoted to the Virgin of Guadalupe and she visited on several occasions during her reign. The monastery houses many valuable works, such as paintings by El Greco and Luca Giordano as well as beautiful manuscripts produced in the monastery’s own scriptorium; however, its most spectacular attraction is the Sacristy, adorned with paintings by Francisco Zurburán, who was commissioned by the monks. The painting of Saint Jerome preserved there is considered to be one the most outstanding works of his career.