Benavente

Benavente's Torre del Caracol preserves a small part of the former castle of the Counts of Benavente. Built in 1504 for Alfonso Pimentel, the fifth count, the tower combines Gothic and Renaissance features. Its stone walls and defensive window forms recall the fortress, while its decorative balustrade reflects the development of a palatial residence. The surviving structure became part of the town's Parador in 1972.

The interior brings together objects from different periods and locations. A fifteenth-century coffered ceiling came from the former Convent of San Román del Valle. Two large paintings by the Benavente artist José Carlos Guerra, made in the early 1970s, depict scenes associated with Ferdinand II. These layers make the tower both a remnant of aristocratic architecture and a setting for later interpretations of the town's medieval history.