PALENCIA, capital of the above province, is situated in a plain on the left bank of the Carrion, 2 leagues above its confluence with the Pisuerga. The environs of the town on the W. are delightful, presenting to the view gardens, trees on the banks of the Carrion, and numerous fountains. The climate is somewhat cold, but salubrious: most equal in autumn. The city is protected on the W. by the river, and on the other sides by a wall, dating from the re-conquest, of 36 feet in general height, and 9 in thickness, solidly built with stone, with some additional constructions in the recent war, and affording entrance by seven gates. The city is divided into two parts, the ciudad and the pueblo: in the latter, occupied chiefly by the working classes, the streets are straight and commodious, the houses of a single storey; in the former the streets are narrow, the houses of two storeys, with courts and sometimes gardens. The principal buildings are,—the cathedral, of Gothic style, begun in the fourteenth century, and finished in the seventeenth; the episcopal palace, an unfinished building, with fine gardens; the palace of Don Sancho, King of Navarre, in the centre of the city; and the hospital, an immense building of stone. There are, besides, four churches and ten convents, not remarkable for their architecture. The school of secondary instruction has 11 professors; the seminario conciliar, in the ex-convent of the Jesuits, has 8. There are, besides, nine schools of primary instruction. The chief industry of the
town consists in the fabrication of woollens, for which it is celebrated. Its mantas, serge, and baize supply Spain, Portugal, and America, and their manufacture occupies a third part of the population, besides that employed in the bleaching and dyeing works connected with it. Next to this in importance is the manufacture of flour. There are also manufactures of chocolate, brandy, &c., and of common earthenware. Palencia, under the name of Pallantia, was a wealthy and considerable city in the time of the Romans, and makes a considerable figure in Spanish history. Pop. 10,490.