Castle of Puebla de Sanabria (Zamora)

Eastern view of the castle from the bank of the Tera River

The Castle of the Counts of Benavente was built in the mid-15th century (1455-1499) on the site of a High Medieval fortress by Rodrigo Alonso Pimentel, the 4th Count of Benavente. It occupies a privileged position on the promontory where the city's old town is located. Built on a quadrangular plan, it is guarded by semi-cylindrical towers that are unevenly distributed, a drawbridge, and all dominated by the large, freestanding homage tower, popularly known as the Macho. It actively participated in the wars with Portugal, and by 1710 it was in a considerable state of disrepair, so it was decided to build a new fort to protect the border with Portugal. In 1887 it became the property of the City Council, which has since used it for various purposes.