Remains of Casa Santa María

The village of Madrigalejo in the province of Cáceres contains the house of Santa María, where King Ferdinand V of Castile, the Catholic, died in 1516, on his way to Guadalupe.

This emblematic building is located in the so-called high neighbourhoods of Madrigalejo, and on its façade a plaque is displayed which reads: "This is where the high and powerful king Don Fernando El V, of glorious memory, died. Here in this chamber in Madrigalejo, in the house of Nuestra Señora de Santa María de Guadalupe, on Wednesday the day of Saint Ildephonsus, between three and four in the morning, when it was the twenty-third day of the month of January of 1516".

The building is an example of a typical farmhouse from the period and occupied just over a hectare. One highlight is the high-quality wooden coffering, which has resisted the passage of time without deteriorating. The house is also remarkable as the place where the monarch drew up his last will and testament, the document that would fix the pillars of Spain henceforth, and make Charles V of Germany king. Much later on, this house was also a residence of Philip II. Unfortunately only a small part of the house remains, as it was almost entirely destroyed in the 19th century. It was declared a national historical monument in 1980.