Rubén Cerezo Cuesta
Plasencia is a city placed in the province of Cáceres, in the region of Extremadura,. At the beginning, Plasencia was populated by the Arab people, and that’s why this place could seem exotic for many people. Then, in the 12th century, when King Alfonso VII arrived to this marvelous land, he called it “AmbrosÃa”, which was gods’ drink in Greek tradition. Some people think that the origin of its first name lies in the name of the Ambroz River, quite near to this region, but the logical reasoning would be that the name of the city came from the river that crosses Plasencia, Jerte River, so I think that such a positive name comes from Greek language. But after the arrival of that king, its name will change, so it will be called “Plasencia”, which means “City of pleasure”. Due to the nice landscape in the surroundings of the city, Alfonso VII gave it that name, instead of taking another factor to choose its name, like its military function, seeing that Plasencia was an important fort in the war against Arab people.
Alfonso VII did really think that it was a city of pleasure, and the prove is that in the shield of the town, he ordered the next scripture to be engraved in the shield of the city “Ut placeat Deo et hominibus”, in Latin language (which was the official language in Spain during that time), and its meaning is that the city exists to be pleasing to humans and god.
Plasencia is a city placed in the province of Cáceres, in the region of Extremadura,. At the beginning, Plasencia was populated by the Arab people, and that’s why this place could seem exotic for many people. Then, in the 12th century, when King Alfonso VII arrived to this marvelous land, he called it “AmbrosÃa”, which was gods’ drink in Greek tradition. Some people think that the origin of its first name lies in the name of the Ambroz River, quite near to this region, but the logical reasoning would be that the name of the city came from the river that crosses Plasencia, Jerte River, so I think that such a positive name comes from Greek language. But after the arrival of that king, its name will change, so it will be called “Plasencia”, which means “City of pleasure”. Due to the nice landscape in the surroundings of the city, Alfonso VII gave it that name, instead of taking another factor to choose its name, like its military function, seeing that Plasencia was an important fort in the war against Arab people.
Alfonso VII did really think that it was a city of pleasure, and the prove is that in the shield of the town, he ordered the next scripture to be engraved in the shield of the city “Ut placeat Deo et hominibus”, in Latin language (which was the official language in Spain during that time), and its meaning is that the city exists to be pleasing to humans and god.
There is also a "city of Pleasure" here in Newfoundland, named Placentia: http://www.placentia.ca/
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