Saldaña is the principal town of the fertile plains of the province of Palencia in the autonomous community of Castile and León,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, and may be the town of "Eldana" mentioned by the historian

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

as being conquered by the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...

. The town's connection to the

Roman Era In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

is reflected in the beautiful remains of a villa attributed to the emperor

Theodosius I Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...

. From the 10th to the 11th century, Saldaña was the seat of a family of powerful counts, the

Banu Gómez The Banu Gómez (Beni Gómez) were a powerful but fractious noble family living on the Castilian marches of the Kingdom of León from the 10th to the 12th centuries. They rose to prominence in the 10th century as counts in Saldaña, Palencia, Sald ...

. The medieval counts of Saldaña figure in local history and literature. Anachronistically, they appear in tales related to the exploits of the semi-legendary figure Bernardo del Carpio, while their legendary scions, the ''Infantes de Carrión'', prove rivals of the hero in the '' Cantar de Mio Cid''. It was here in 1149 that

Berenguela of Barcelona Berengaria of Barcelona (1116 – January 15, 1149), called in Spanish Berenguela de Barcelona and also known as Berengaria of Provence, was Queen consort of Castile, León and Galicia. She was the daughter of Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Ba ...

died. Saldaña is also known for its popular open-air market day held each Tuesday in the town's central plaza. Its old stone-surfaced town square, known as the "Plaza Vieja," is believed to date to the 10th century. Work started in September, 2019 to reconstruct the plaza's pavement to make it safer for pedestrians and more easily accessible to persons with disabilities.

References

Municipalities in the Province of Palencia {{Palencia-geo-stub