Spain's forgotten Gothic jewel — the beautiful unknown
Palencia calls itself 'la Bella Desconocida' — the beautiful unknown — and the self-deprecating nickname is accurate. This compact Castilian city has a magnificent Gothic cathedral packed with extraordinary art (El Greco, Pedro Berruguete, the finest choir stalls in Castile), a medieval centre that sees almost no foreign tourists, and a relaxed, un-selfconscious Spanish café culture that has been priced out of the more famous cities. The pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela passes through, lending it an ancient rhythm.
Palencia was one of the most important cities of medieval Castile — it hosted the first university in Spain (1212, predating Salamanca) and was a centre of the Castilian wool trade. The city's decline began with the transfer of the university to Salamanca in 1240 and accelerated after the Comuneros revolt (1520–21), in which Palencia was a stronghold of the rebel communes against Charles I. This early decline paradoxically preserved its medieval character.