The City

In the city of Zafra we can point out the charming town planning itself. It is appropriate to underline the importance of the artistic displays that it offers, together with its strategic situation on the "Silver Route" (Ruta de la Plata), on the main road N-630, in Southern Extremadura and in an intermediate position between Andalusia, Castilla La Mancha and the Portuguese Alentejo. The first reliable news about Zafra come from the medieval times, although it was in the 14th century, when its role became more and more important in the South of Extremadura.

MONUMENTS OF INTEREST
If you decide to wander in the streets of Zafra, you cannot miss the Dukes of Feria Palace, built in 1437, the Santa Clara Convent, founded in 1428, the Santa Catalina Convent, built in the 17th century, and the Santiago Hospital, founded in 1438 as the first aristocratic residence in Zafra.
We must also point out the Plaza Chica (Small Square), located within the old city, where the town council and the market were held from the 14th century, as well as the Plaza Grande (Big Square), built in the middle of the 15th century.
In the closer streets around these squares, visitors can appreciate many mudejar (Arabic style) façades, with the windows divided by a small column, some of them decorated with traditional tile works, fronts with flat arches and interlaced designs. The mudejar style remained in the popular taste as a building feature nowadays, with the use of lime to paint the fronts, the use of bricks and tiles and other building elements. Some examples are the Jerez Gate, the Aljimez House or the Badajoz Gate.
In the Jewry, where the latest vestiges of the Jewish settling in Zafra can still be seen, we can highlight the Cristo del Pozo Chapel and the San Miguel Hospital.

SAN MIGUEL FAIR, A MASS FAIR
Every Autumn, Zafra becomes a great world display window for all kinds of cattle (pigs, sheep, goats, cows and horses) during the International Cattle Fair, traditionally known as San Miguel Fair.
This fair is more than five centuries old. The best fertile males and females, after a strict selection in their farms or the rural estates, are sold at auction in the Fair, in order to improve the cattle livestock.
Over one million people, farmers, businessmen and public in general come to visit every year this International Cattle Fair, not only to know the most selected cattle in the world, but also to enjoy, have fun and visit the different exhibitions, cultural events, games and competitions which take place during the week.
Amongst the most popular activities, we can stand out the traditional Rodeo, where around 1,500 heads of horses, mules and donkeys are sold in nonofficial transactions and the dealers are mainly gipsies.
There is also an exhibition and sale of Selected Cattle. Amongst the main competitions, we can point out the National Horse Competition, the Exhibition-Competition of Pure Spanish Breed Horses, as well as the Morphological Merino Competition, the Charolais Female and the Iberian Pig competitions.

INDUSTRIAL AND BUSINESS CITY
Another important feature of the historical personality of Zafra is its industrial and business character, in the middle of an agricultural and farming environment. Zafra has been rewarded for its continuous marketing activity, with the granting of the "City" status in 1882, the Regional Extremenian Land Fair in 1965, the declaration of the city as "Historical and Artistic Ensemble" and the name of "International Cattle Fair" in 1992.

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