PALENCIA

capital of Palencia provincia, in the Castile-Len comunidad autnoma (autonomous community), north-central Spain. It lies on the Campos Plain southwest of Burgos. Called the Pallantia by the ancient Greek geographers Strabo and Ptolemy, it was the chief town of the Vaccaei, an Iberian tribe. Its history during the Gothic and Moorish periods is obscure, but it was the seat of the Castilian kings and their Cortes (courts of a parliamentary or advisory nature) in the 12th and 13th centuries. In 1520 Palencia participated in the ultimately unsuccessful revolt of the Castilian cities (comuneros) against the Holy Roman emperor Charles V. The university founded there in 1208 by Alfonso VIII was removed in 1239 to Salamanca. The Gothic cathedral, begun in 1321, completed in the early 16th century, and dedicated to San Antoln, occupies the site of a church erected (102635) by Sancho III Garcs of Navarre and Castile over the cave of San Antoln. The cathedral contains El Greco's St. Sebastian and other valuable paintings, old Flemish tapestry, and magnificent carved woodwork and stonework. Portions of the hospital of San Lzaro are said to date from the time of the Cid, the Spanish soldier-hero celebrated in Spain's epic poem El cantar de mo Cid, who married Jimena in Palencia in 1074. Palencia is an important communications centre. Its economy is based on the manufacture of iron, rugs, alcohol, leather, soap, porcelain, linen, cotton, wool, machinery, and matches. Pop. (1994 est.) 79,561. inland provincia, in the Castile-Len comunidad autnoma (autonomous community), northern Spain. It is bounded by the autonomous community (and province) of Cantabria (north) and by the provinces of Burgos (east), Valladolid (south), and Valladolid and Len (west). It was formed in 1833. The north is traversed by the Cantabrian Mountains, rising to 8,268 feet (2,520 m) at Curavacas peak. The remainder of Palencia, the fertile Campos Plain, belongs to the great Castilian tableland. The principal rivers are the Pisuerga and Carrin. Minerals have been found in the mountains, but only coal and small quantities of copper are worked. The Castilla Canal (built 17531832), on which the provincial capital, Palencia, is located, connects the province with Valladolid and is used for irrigation as well as transport. Wheat and other cereals, vegetables, sugar beets, hemp, and flax are grown; sheep raising is extensive; and there are manufactures of linen and woolen stuffs, porcelain, leather, paper, and rugs. Apart from Palencia city, the chief centres are Venta de Baos, Cervera de Pisuerga, Carrin de los Condes, and Paredes de Nava. Area 3,109 square miles (8,052 square km). Pop. (1994 est.) 181,656.