From left to right and from top to bottom: Puente del Congosto Castle, Miranda del Castañar, Campo Charro meadow, keep of the castle of Enrique II of Ciudad Rodrigo, the arrivals of the Duero in Aldeadávila de la Ribera, the cathedrals of Salamanca, Montemayor del Río, the Candelario church and the Pozo de los Humos
TheVettones occupied the areas of the current Spanish provinces of Salamanca and Ávila, as well as parts of Cáceres, Toledo and Zamora. They were a pre-Roman people of Celtic culture. Their numerous archaeological sites exist throughout the province, and several locality names have Vettone origin, some of which are quite important. This is the case of Salamanca (Salmantica),Ledesma (Bletisama) andCiudad Rodrigo (Augustobriga). Vettone villages were often established on the banks of rivers or on mountains. Examples include Salamanca and Ledesma, built along theTormes,[4][5][6] Bermellar, El Castillo (Saldeana) Moncalvo (Hinojosa de Duero), Picon de la Mora (Picones) andCastro de Yecla la Vieja (Yecla de Yeltes) next toHuebra, Ciudad Rodrigo, Irueña (Fuenteguinaldo) and Lerilla (Zamarra) on the banks of theAgueda andCastro de Las Merchanas (Lumbrales), in a loop of theCamaces. The area between La Armuña and Salamanca marked the border between Vettones andVaccaei, the other pre-Roman people of the province. They were situated in the northeast area of the province.
Salamanca Province is situated in western Spain, in the western part of Castile and León. It has an average altitude of 823 meters, but there are large variations throughout the province, with 2,428 metres (7,966 ft) being the highest point at the peak of theCeja Canchal in theSierra de Béjar range,[7] and 116 metres (381 ft) being the lowest point in the valley of the Salto de Saucelle. Also of note is theSierra de Francia mountain range. The Salamanca hydrographic network is mainly formed by the Duero basin. The most important rivers are theDuero,Tormes,Águeda,Huebra, andYeltes rivers.[8]
The region is well-irrigated with a number of dams and reservoirs, and with more than 3,400 million cubic meters, it is the province with the third highest water storage capacity in Spain, second only to theProvince of Badajoz and theProvince of Cáceres. Of particular note is theAlmendra Dam, five kilometres from the village ofAlmendra. Constructed between 1964 and 1970, the dam forms part of thehydroelectric system known asthe Duero Drops, along with the Castro,Ricobayo, Saucelle and Villalcampo. It is one of the largest reservoirs in Spain with an area of 86.5 square kilometres (33.4 sq mi) and 2.5 billion cubic metres of water.[9][10] The dam itself is more than half a kilometre wide and, at a height of 202 metres (663 ft), it is one ofSpain's tallest structures.
There areRoman Catholic cathedrals at Salamanca andCiudad Rodrigo. TheOld Cathedral of Salamanca was founded by BishopJerome of Périgord, in the 12th century and completed in Romanesque/Gothic style in the 14th century. It is dedicated to Santa Maria de la Sede (Saint Mary of the See). TheNew Cathedral of Salamanca was constructed between the 16th and 18th centuries in the Late Gothic andBaroque styles. Building began in 1513 and the cathedral wasconsecrated in 1733. It was commissioned byFerdinand V of Castile of Spain. It was declared a national monument by royal decree in 1887.[11]
