CIUDAD RODRIGO

city, Salamanca province, in the Castile-Len comunidad autnoma (autonomous community), near the Portuguese border in western Spain. Named for Count Rodrigo Gonzlez, who founded it in 1150, the city, situated on a rise above the Agueda River, was fortified and became a bishopric under Ferdinand II of Len. In the Peninsular War it was besieged and captured by the French (1810) and later retaken by the British and Spanish guerrillas under Wellington (1812). The whole urban area within the medieval walls has been declared a historicartistic monument. Much of the architecture is in the richly ornate Plateresque, or Spanish Renaissance, style. Outstanding landmarks include a Roman bridge spanning the river, the 12th-century cathedral (completed 14th century; restored 1538), and the medieval castle (1382). It is a trade centre for the surrounding agricultural region; tourism is also economically important. Pop. (1981) 14,766.