Palencia, capital ofPalenciaprovincia (province), inCastile-Leóncomunidad autónoma (autonomous community), north-centralSpain. It lies on the Campos Plain southwest ofBurgos. Called the Pallantia by the ancient Greek geographersStrabo andPtolemy, it was the chief town of the Vaccaei, an Iberian tribe. Its history during the Gothic and Moorish periods is obscure, but it was the seat of the Castilian kings and their Cortes (courts of a parliamentary or advisory nature) in the 12th and 13th centuries. In 1520 Palencia participated in the ultimately unsuccessful revolt of the Castilian cities (comuneros) against theHoly Roman emperorCharles V (king of Spain as Charles I in 1516–56). Theuniversity founded there in 1208 byAlfonso VIII was removed in 1239 toSalamanca. The Gothic cathedral—begun in 1321, completed in the early 16th century, and dedicated to San Antolín—occupies the site of a church erected (1026–35) bySancho III Garcés of Navarre and Castile over the cave of San Antolín. The cathedral containsEl Greco’sSt. Sebastian and other valuable paintings, old Flemishtapestry, and magnificent carved woodwork and stonework. Portions of the hospital of San Lázaro are said to date from the time ofthe Cid, the Spanish soldier-hero celebrated in Spain’s epic poemEl Cantar de Mío Cid (“The Song of My Cid”), who married Jimena in Palencia in 1074.

Palencia is an important communications centre. Its economy is based on the manufacture of iron, rugs, alcohol, leather, soap, porcelain, linen, cotton, wool, machinery, and matches. Palencia’s industries have merged with those of the nearby city ofValladolid. Automaking has become one of the leading industries in the area. Pop. (2006 est.) 82,242.