Extremadura

I

Introduction

Extremadura (also Estremadura), autonomous region, west-central Spain, comprising the provinces of Badajoz and Cáceres (respectively the largest and second-largest of Spain’s 50 provinces). Extremadura is bordered on the north by Castilla-León, on the east by Castilla-La Mancha, on the south by Andalusia, and on the west by Portugal.

II

Physical Geography

The fifth largest of Spain’s regions, Extremadura has an area of 41,634 sq km (16,075 sq mi). Two of the most important rivers of the Iberian Peninsula, the Tagus and the Guadiana, flow from east to west through the region. The Sierra de Guadalupe mountain range lies between these rivers, rising to a height of 1,443 m (4,734 ft). In the extreme south the Sierra Morena range extends across the boundary from Andalusia. Extremadura has extensive wetlands, mainly comprising reservoirs that have been created along the two main river systems. Dams along the course of the Tagus have created the Valdecañas, Torrejón, Alcántara, and Cedillo reservoirs. The Cijara, Puerto Peña, Orellana, La Serena, and Alange reservoirs have been constructed along the Guadiana.

III

Population

Extremadura has a population of 1,089,990 (2007). Mérida (population, 2007, 54,894) is the capital. Other important centres of population include Badajoz (capital of Badajoz province, 2007, 145,257); Cáceres (capital of Cáceres province, 2007, 90,802); Almendralejo (2007, 31,072); Don Benito (2007, 34,540); Plasencia (2007, 39,982); Villanueva de la Serena (2007, 25,318); and Jerez de los Caballeros (2007, 9,828).

For the region as a whole, the average population density is 26 people per sq km (67 per sq mi). The population of Badajoz is evenly distributed in large, widely spaced towns. In contrast, the population of the province of Cáceres is concentrated mostly in small villages in the valleys. The population of Extremadura has been sparse since the Moorish occupation of Spain and Portugal between the 8th and 13th centuries. A regional language known as Extremaduran, or Estremeño, is spoken by around 200,000 people in Extremadura.

Places of interest in Extremadura include three designated World Heritage Sites—the Old Town of Cáceres and the Royal Monastery of Santa Maria de Guadalupe in Cáceres, and the archaeological site of Emerita Augusta at Mérida. The National Museum of Roman Art of Mérida features sculpture, pottery, glasswork, and other artefacts that have been unearthed at the site of a Roman camp that stood on the site of the modern city in the 1st century bc. Two important art museums—the Regional Museum of Fine Arts and the Extremaduran Museum of Spanish-American Contemporary Art—are located in Badajoz. The remains of a Moorish citadel overlook the city Fuente de Cantos, near the border with Andalusia, was the birthplace of Spanish painter Francisco de Zurbarán. A museum in the town is dedicated to his life and works. The town of Olivenza, near the Portuguese border, is famous for its Manueline architecture.

IV

Economy

Extremadura is chiefly an agricultural region, which produces pigs, sheep, grapes, olives, and wheat. A vast grassy plain, dotted with holm- and cork-oak forests, extends across the north of Extremadura, in the Cáceres region. The arid soils are unsuitable for many crops but provide suitable pastureland for sheep. In the region’s northern valleys, around 200 sq km (77 sq mi) of land is devoted to tobacco farming. To the south the soil is more fertile and the chief agricultural products are grapes, olives, and cereal crops. The main centres of commercial and industrial activity are Badajoz, Cáceres, Medellín, and Plasencia. Light industry in the region includes food-processing, furniture-making, and the production of cork and construction materials.