Alcázar of the Dukes of Feria

What it is

Lorenzo II Suárez de Figueroa, first Count of Feria, began building it in 1437 and finished it in 1443: a Gothic alcázar, both defensive and palatial, with pyramidal Mudéjar-style battlements and nine towers. It is the building that best tells the story of the power of the Feria family, who turned Zafra into the capital of their lordship.

When the Suárez de Figueroa reached the title of dukes, in 1567, they wanted a palace worthy of their new rank. They remodelled and extended the old count's alcázar and joined it to the church of the convent of Santa Marina, which they rebuilt at the same time. Around 1600 the classicist marble patio was added, and between 1605 and 1609 the passageway and the Puerta del Acebuche were built. In the church of Santa Marina is the kneeling sculpture of the Englishwoman Margaret Harrington.

What you see inside

Inside are Gothic paintings and Mudéjar wooden ceilings, such as those of the Sala Dorada and the chapel, along with coffered ceilings, chests, ironwork and banisters from the old palace. Hernán Cortés was a guest of the house. Today the building is the Parador de Zafra, which highlights its inner patio and the views of the town from the terrace; the old chapel is now one of its lounges.

How to visit

From outside you can see it from the Plaza Corazón de María, where the entrance is, and from the Puerta de Palacio and the Pilar del Duque, a 15th-century Gothic drinking trough from which the outer facade is easy to see. Inside, the building works as a hotel. The parador itself advertises a free guided visit on its website, but does not publish days or times: ask at reception, on 924 554 540 or at [email protected], before you go. The other way to see the patio and the lounges is to eat in its restaurant, which serves Extremaduran cooking with Iberian ham, migas and lamb caldereta, or to have a drink in the café. And if you want to sleep inside history, the Parador de Zafra listing describes the rooms.

Allow half an hour for the exterior and the patio. The alcázar is the starting point of the Zafra Única route, which continues by Santa Marina and Calle Sevilla to the Santa Clara Museum, the pantheon of the same family that built the palace.