Villas fit for conquistadors in Trujillo, Spain

Six beautiful old buildings in Trujillo, Extremadura, have been restored as grand holiday villas




"Santa María purísima," I murmur into the revolving hatch, somewhat self-consciously.

A surprisingly young-sounding voice intones, "Sin pecado concebida." I tell the mysterious hatch I want pastas de almendras – almond macaroons – and put a note on the turntable. It disappears and when the hatch revolves again there are my biscuits and some change. "Gracias," I call, but there's no reply. This is cake buying at Convento de Santa Clara in the Spanish town of Trujillo, where an enclosed order of Franciscan nuns make and sell a variety of pastries to customers they never set eyes on.

To be honest, the macaroons are not great, especially at €8 for a 250g packet, but I don't care. The slightly spooky experience sums up Trujillo for me – a place that time passed by for decades, where old buildings and older ways of life survive, and I hope my €8 might help that continue.

They survive because Extremadura, 250km south-west of Madrid, has long been Spain's poorest region: there was no money to be made from knocking down old palaces to build shops or offices. But it was not always this way. Nine of the great conquistadors, including Franciscos Pizarro and de Orellana (the first European to travel the length of the Amazon) came from this area – and when these adventurers came back from South America, they built opulent homes here to show off their wealth.

Though Trujillo languished for several centuries, a few visitors have more recently started to appreciate what it has to offer: architecture from Roman to Renaissance, wonderful traditional foods, and great walking and birdwatching in the countryside, especially Monfragüe national park, 40km away.

These visitors tended to stay at a handful of hotels in town, including a parador, and until recently there was not much in the way of self-catering accommodation. This has now changed: British-run Trujillo Villas has restored six properties in the town for use as holiday lets.

The word "restored" is actually a huge understatement, for some of these houses were roofless shells when the company took them over. But with the help of local artisans, and a great eye for antique shop finds from here to Madrid to Paris, they have created the sort of holiday accommodation that, whether it is a grand house or a cute studio for two, makes you drop your bags and wander around slack-jawed making inarticulate "aaah!" and "wowww!" noises.

Most of the properties are at the top of the granite hill on which the town is built – the sparkly bedrock protrudes through streets and buildings in several places – so the views over plains towards distant mountains are stupendous. You can see at least 200km in all directions. On this hilltop are to be found Villa Moritos, which sleeps eight and has, as well as an opulent drawing room, a variety of inviting sitting areas around unexpected corners, both indoors and in the gardens, where there's a pretty pool.

Up the road is Villa Martires, sleeping four in elegant country mansion style, which can be rented with the adjacent Garden Cottage. Another massive understatement, this "cottage" sleeps six more in spacious splendour, but its USP is a big Moroccan-style loggia in an adjacent building with deep cushioned seating areas plus dining table and chairs, all overlooking the pool.

So far, so splendid, but I am relieved when shown to my quarters, the simpler Artist's Studio round the corner. Somehow light and airy yet cosy, it's an open-plan space with mezzanine bedroom and en suite shower up a glass staircase, a sofabed should you want to bring the kids, well-equipped kitchen and second shower room.

Art books, canvases and half-finished paintings, and a variety of portable easels add to the studio feel, but as I haven't an artistic bone in my body, I settle for gazing at the view from the split-level terrace, and watching birds of prey glide by on huge wings.

Down in town are the slightly more basic but still very comfortable Townhouse, sleeping nine, and, perfectly situated right on Plaza Mayor, Villa Piedras Albas, one of the most important buildings in Trujillo. This palacio, built in 1530, feels like a royal residence, sleeping 14 in seven bedrooms, with formal drawing and dining rooms, three other sitting rooms, extensive courtyards, gardens and an 8m x 5m pool. And in case that's not palatial enough, its pièce de résistance is a large arched loggia at the front overlooking the main square. Any group renting it would feel like royalty during Trujillo's several festivals (May's national cheese festival, September's independence celebrations and the big Easter shindigs) as they enjoy a monarch's-eye view of hundreds of thousands of revellers enjoying fiesta time.

You can eat like a king in Trujillo, too. At La Cadena (+34 927 321 463) on Plaza Mayor I feast on wafer-thin slices of gorgeously sweet jamón ibérico de bellota. (The ham gets its flavour from the acorns, bellotas, that the little pata negra pigs feed on, and their natural stamping – and rootling – ground is the dehesa or wild oak forest that has formed a large part of the Extremadura landscape since ancient times.) This comes with creamy eggs scrambled with asparagus, then lamb chops served with roasted peppers that sing of Spanish sunshine rather than climate-controlled glasshouse. Across the square at La Corral del Rey (+34 927 323 071, corraldelreytrujillo.com) on a different evening, medallions of top-class beef fillet need virtually no accompaniment.

But it's probably even more rewarding to eat as the region's peasants have done for centuries – and that means migas, fried breadcrumbs. I'm lucky enough to be introduced to the man who made migas for Rick Stein when he was filming here last year. Victor grows all his own vegetables on his allotment under the castle walls, and he has a large pan heating over a wood fire when we arrive. To the oil in it he adds chunks of very fat bacon. When they come out, having added their savoury sweetness to the oil, in goes roughly cut chorizo (made by Victor's brother, who killed a pig recently). Sliced peppers and the cloves from four or five heads of garlic (yikes!) take their turn in the oil next, and then it is ready for the day-old bread – not really crumbs, more large flakes. The pork and sausage go back in and the whole lot is turned in the oil to make an intensely savoury, moreish mass.

It tastes great to this pampered and well-fed tourist; to generations of hungry shepherds on cold hillsides it must have been ambrosial. (Victor does not serve his migas commercially, but the dish is on the menu of many restaurants in the area: try Meson La Troya – +34 927 321 364 – also on the main square.)

As well as worrying about my arteries under the onslaught of all that pig fat, I am slightly concerned about the ethics of a British firm buying up a town's notable buildings for tourist use. But I soon realise that there's room for everyone. Trujillo's Unesco-protected centre is extensive – it takes us a couple of hours to look round it all – and many ancient buildings lie empty. Even the house built by Hernando Pizarro in 1552 languishes unused, apart from a small section of the basement which is police offices. And though Extremadura is now on the tourist map, it is not immune to Spain's economic misery: there are Se vende (for sale) signs in every street; the owners of a family-run shoe shop look glumly on as shoppers rummage through its closing-down sale.

The villas should bring much-needed income into Trujillo, as visitors eat in its restaurants, shop for local produce in its market and splurge on hams, wines and award-winning cheeses. Go. Do your bit for a region with so much to offer. Oh, and if any of the nuns' biccies turn out to be nicer than their almond macaroons, do let me know.

Way to go

Accommodation was provided by Trujillo Villas Espana (trujillovillasespana.com). The Artist's Studio, which sleeps two to four, costs from £495 for a week. Villa Moritos, which sleeps eight, costs from £1,950 for a week. Trujillo stages its International Music Festival (fimtrujillo.com) from 26-29 July, and tickets cost from €20-€25. Artists include the string ensemble Soloists of London and the soprano Pilar Jurado. The Villa Moritos is available for rent from 21-28 July, for £2,951. EasyJet (easyjet.com) flies from Luton to Madrid from £50 return