Discover Peñausende: Culture, Trails and Wine

Peñausende has a long history: human settlements here date back to prehistoric times, and the area saw the emergence of the first communities of any significant size during the Roman era. The remains of the castle of the Order of Santiago have also been preserved in Peñausende.

Culture

The Church of San Martín de Tours is built of granite blocks, with a square-ended chancel and a single-nave layout divided into four sections by three large semicircular transverse arches. It stands in the highest part of Peñausende's town centre, on the northern edge, directly at the foot of the site where the castle once stood.

At the rear of the church's south wall, the original ashlar masonry has been preserved up to the level of the eaves. There are eight shaped corbels, as well as another complete corbel with a central roll moulding flanked by quarter-round mouldings.

At the summit of El Castillo there is a large hollow, now almost completely covered by vegetation, which is interpreted as Pozairón. Several surrounding granite stones with small depressions are interpreted by some authors as a possible rock sanctuary.

Trails and Landscape

The Calzada de Peñausende (ZA-305) is a section of the Vía de la Plata. It connects Peñausende with the provincial capital, Zamora, and in the opposite direction with Ledesma in the neighbouring province of Salamanca.

In Peñausende, you can walk along paths and trails bordered on both sides by the rustic walls of the field plots typical of the Sayago region. Centuries-old holm oaks are part of the landscape along these walking routes.

The spatial relationships differ clearly: the Calzada provides the connection to Zamora and Ledesma, while the paths between the field plots lead into a landscape characterised by walls and holm oaks. When planning your day, you can consider these two perspectives separately and place the historic sites in context independently of them.

Other Places

In the same broader area, you can also find Castrillo de la Guareña, Galende, Peleagonzalo, Ferreras de Arriba, Villar Del Buey, Fermoselle, Fonfría and Vecilla De La Polvorosa.

Food and Drink

Peñausende belongs to the currently applicable geographical area of the Tierra del Vino de Zamora designation of origin.

Traditional tapas in Peñausende include mollejas, cachuelas, morunos, pulpo and crestas.

Peñausende has a notable historic winemaking tradition.

When choosing a holiday apartment in Peñausende, travel dates, apartment size and cancellation conditions may each be given different priority. You can compare these details according to your planned length of stay, the space you want and how you personally deal with changes before deciding on accommodation.

The culinary information ranges from the applicable designation of origin and specific traditional tapas to the historic winemaking tradition. This allows you to explore Peñausende from geographical, historical and gastronomic perspectives.

For the broader travel overview: Zamora.