Zamora

Zamora is a city in Castile-Leon, Spain, the capital of the province of Zamora, in the Northwest, near the frontier with Portugal and crossed by the Duero river. It's name came from the visigode "Semura" or from the arab "Azemur" and "Semurah". The foundation of the ville, however, was done by Rome, with the name of Occelum Durii (the Duero river Eye), in the days when the local hero Viriathus fighted the Roman invasion. During the Medieval Age, Zamora was taken by the arabs and by the christians succesively (from the arab invasions at the starting days of the VIII century to the last years of the XI), and it was fortified. The most important historic episode took place when the city had an extraordinary relevance after the death of King Fernando I: his son Sancho, trying to reunify the Kingdom against his brothers, was assasinated during the city siege. During the XII century, the city was extraordinarily important for their strategic position in the wars between christians and arabs to conquer the Peninsula Iberica. As a result, the city preserves many churches and buildings from that time. In the next centuries, the city loosed it's political and economic relevance, and lost population migrated, specially, to South America (and founded many other cities called Zamora). It has now 65.000 inhabitants and very beautiful medieval buildings, churches and places to visit.

See also the Spanish football Zamora Trophy.