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Wise Pilgrim APPCaparra is one of the most important archaeological sites on the Via de la Plata, and its centrepiece -- a four-sided Roman arch standing alone in the dehesa -- is unlike anything else you'll see on any Camino.
The city was founded as Capera by the Vetones, a pre-Roman Celtic people, before being absorbed into the province of Lusitania. Its location at a crossroads on the Via de la Plata made it strategically vital: few Roman urban centres existed in this part of Hispania, and Caparra grew to include an amphitheatre, a reservoir, and the private houses (domus) of a prosperous merchant class. The Roman road ran directly through the centre of town, and it's that intersection the famous arch commemorates.
The Arco de Caparra is a tetrapylon -- a four-sided, four-gated arch -- and it's the only surviving example of this type on the Iberian Peninsula. Built at the end of the 1st century AD, it originally stood around 13 m tall, marking the crossing point of the city's two main roads. You can walk through it from any direction, which is the whole point of a quadrifrons design. The arch has lost its upper decoration but the four massive pillars and their arches remain, and standing beneath it with the dehesa stretching away in every direction, you get a visceral sense of how important this place once was.
The site is now an open-air museum. A visitor centre and bathrooms are at the public entrance. The ruins of the forum, thermal baths, and residential blocks are partially excavated and labelled. Give yourself at least 30 minutes; an hour is better.
After periods of heavy rain, inquire about the route ahead. Several river crossings between here and Aldeanueva del Camino are made difficult by high water. In extreme cases, a detour can be made from Oliva de Plasencia to Villar de Plasencia on the other side of the N-630.
Caparra was likely a Veton settlement before the Romans arrived. Under Rome it became a stipendiary city in the province of Lusitania, eventually gaining municipal status. The arch dates to the late 1st century AD, a period of prosperity when the city was an important stop on the route between Emerita Augusta (Merida) and Asturica Augusta (Astorga). During the 3rd-century crisis that shook the empire, the city built defensive walls, and many of the original grand houses were subdivided into smaller residential blocks -- a sign of declining fortunes. By late antiquity, Caparra was largely abandoned, and the dehesa slowly reclaimed it. The arch survived simply because there was nobody left to tear it down for building materials.
8.4 km from Caparra you will find markings indicating a detour to your right. They point the way to Jarilla (2 km) where there is accommodation.
