Social Programme
Below you will find an outline of the social programme of the 31st SELIM Conference.
All activities limited to pre-registered, paid participants (delegates and attendees).
Thursday 19th September
13:00 Visit to the Palace of Santa Cruz & Historical Library
Palacio de Santa Cruz
The Palace of Santa Cruz, completed in 1491, was built by Cardinal Mendoza. It would host the Colegio Mayor he had founded a few years back, in support of talented students who had no economic means to afford studying at university.
This building is famed for being the earliest Renaissance building in Spain, an elegant mixture of an Italian square-planned palace and the sobriety of a a Castilian mediaeval limestone fortress.
The Library
Over the centuries, the College's library has accrued a collection of more than 500 manuscripts, nearly 250 incunabula and rare books, and over 25000 sixteenth- to eighteenth-century imprints. The bibliographic jewel of the collection is the Visigothic tenth-century Beato de Valcavado.
A guided tour to learn their history and visit the ongoing special-collections exhibition, Yngalaterra, Escoçia, Yrlanda, on the history of Spain in connection with the British Isles to 1648.
14:00 Welcome Lunch Reception
Garden of the Palace of Santa Cruz
Continue the afternoon, in conversation with conference participants and organisers, in the garden, where a welcome reception lunch will be served until 15:00.
Time to taste the regional food varieties in food appetizers plus main course, served with a sample of Valladolid DO Ribera de Duero and Rueda wines.
Entrance through the Palace's central courtyard.
19:00 Guided City Tour 'Historic Valladolid'
Historic Valladolid
A one-hour walking tour through historic Valladolid visiting the city's landmark sites and monuments. It departs from opposite the Palace of Santa Cruz, the earliest Renaissance building in Spain, and ends opposite its exact contemporary (and stylistic contrast), the Colegio de San Gregorio, a beautiful example of late Flemish-Gothic architecture, with rich plateresque decoration.
On-the-way stops are the old University building, Juan de Herrera's Cathedral, and the Gothic church of Santa María la Antigua. From there, the group walks down to the Church of Angustias, facing Calderón Theatre, past the remains of the city's medieval wall, before reaching up to the Plaza de San Pablo.
This square brings the Church of San Pablo together with the so-called 'Royal Places': Royal Palace, where the Treaty of London was ratified in 1605, the Palace of Pimentel, where Philip II of Spain was born, and the Palace of Villena, today home of part of the collections of the Museo Nacional de Escultura in the Colegio de San Gregorio and the Casa del Sol.
20:30 Tapas Evening
As there are many good places to eat in the city centre, we hope you will combine the city tour with dinner, and make a night of it. Refer to the Eating section on this website for recommended bars and restaurants.
We have, anyway, pre-booked three places, in case you'd like to be guided to a bar where a table will be reserved for you, once the tour is ended. Some participants are preparing a fun event around it!
Wait for news. You'll be invited to sign up for one of the featured bars below.
Beer & Beowulf
Paraíso 8
Friendly spot for lunch, brunch, and dinner with ample vegan, vegeterian, glutten-free options. Comfort and cultural ambience.
12-15€
Tabard's Tapas
Calixto Fernández de la Torre 4
Dining is available both inside the rustic restaurant and outside at barrels on a pedestrian street. Best dish: 'broken' eggs with a touch of paprika.
15-18€
Catherine's Court Dinner
Plaza de Wattenberg
International home-made food. Pleasant terrace and a view to the Colegio San Gregorio, on the former site of Catherine of Lancaster's mudéjar palace.
20-25€
Friday 20th September
20:30 Wine tasting
Restaurante Patio Terrace. Jorge Guillén 6
Telling red wine from white or rosé as you see it in the bottle or glass is no big deal, but would you distinguish them in a blind test? Pour, hold, sniff, look, note, swirl, sniff again, taste, repeat. A quick guide to the essentials of wine tasting and enjoyment. An opportunity, also, to get to know a little bit about Valladolid internationally-famed wines, courtesy of Bodegas Museum.
21:00 Conference Dinner
Restaurante Patio. Jorge Guillén 6
The restaurant Patio takes its name from the neighbouring Museum of Spanish Contemporary Art 'Patio Herreriano', located in the old Monastery of San Benito, and on the site of the old Alcazarejo by the mediaeval city walls. It caters for visitors and general public alike.
The museum plaza and the restaurant's terrace is a quiet pool in the city centre to shade away for the hustle of the Plaza Mayor area nearby. The food and ambience are worth the visit.
[website]
Saturday 21st September
09:30 Coach trip to Tordesillas
Tordesillas
Tordesillas is a small town on the banks of the Duero River. At first glance one would not say it was here in 1494 that Spain and Portugal divided the 'New World' of the Americas in two. Its location at a crossroads probably made the Catholic monarchs choose it for the negotiations of the historic Treaty of Tordesillas, whose 525 anniversary is celebrated this year.
As we drive past, take a view of Simancas, another historic town in the province. Once Philip III of Spain's summer residence, its castle holds the Memory of the World-listed Archivo General de Simancas.
13:30 Casas del Tratado & Drop-in Visit to the museum
Casas del Tratado
All Saturday conference sessions and closing ceremony will take place at the Casas del Tratado.
Museum
Drop-in and visit the permanent exhibition on the 1494 Treaty and the Americas before leaving us for Valladolid.
14:30 Lunch
16:30 Guided Tour of the Royal Monastery of Santa Clara
If you'd like to stay with us until evening, you'll be in for a treat. After lunch, we'll take you on a one-hour guided tour of the Royal Monastery of Santa Clara.
Royal Monastery of Santa Clara
This Royal Monastery is one of Spain's nineteen Patrimonio Nacional sites, formerly Crown-owned and home to a wealth of historical and artistic treasures; like El Escorial or La Granja, it is an essential part of Spain's cultural heritage. Visit the remains of the mudéjar palace built by Peter I of Castile under the influence of Nasrid art, the Saint Claire convent which his daughter, the infanta Beatrice, annexed to it in 1363, the Arab baths, main courtyard and Gothic church (with an impressive, large wooden coffered ceiling). They remain beautifully preserved. You'll also learn how Queen Joanna I of Castile, 'the Mad' (Tordesillans permitting), was imprisoned here for life by her son the Emperor Charles V. Enough spoilers!
18:00 Walk & relax in Urueña Book Town
Urueña
The first 'Book Town' in Spain, Urueña has been placed in the list of the 'Prettiest Spanish Villages.' Only 200 inhabitants for 12 bookshops and book arts workshops, 5 museums, and La Anunciada hermitage, a rarity of Catalan and Lombard Romanesque in Castile.
Get the chance to stroll through the cobbled streets of this walled mediaeval town, go book hunting, or relax sitting by the stone wall before sunset. A small haven of peace, books and history.
