Frontier municipality of the province of Badajoz, white streets and put grates on houses. Due to his border place it has belonged to Portugal and Spain alternatively, until after the call War of the Oranges, in 1801, Manuel de Godoy definitively incorporated it to the Spanish kingdom. Since then, although Spanish, it keeps with affection and great respect, his Portuguese past, being the best ambassador of Portugal in Spain. Its property to both kingdoms, has granted him a so characteristic mixture that it has contributed to that has very personal an own artistic style, and that mixture is also reflected in its gastronomy, architecture, customs, celebrations, etc.

Olivenza was Muslim until the 13th century, which then was occupied by the templar horsemen. The artistic style characteristic of Olivenza is the Manuelino, and like maximum exponent of this, we have the Church of the Magdalena and the Palace of Counts de Cadaval.

The Church of Santa Maria Magdalena although is mainly manuelino, also agglutinates styles like the Arab, Renaissance, Romanesque and gothic. Its basic characteristics are its Tower of three sections, separated reason why they seem ropes. Its cover also is remarkable by its white marble decoration. In the centre there is a rosette, with nautical reasons and in superior a bell tower. It has decorative battlements and flying buttresses with pinnacles and gargoyles. The interior of the church maintains by eight columns torsas, which also simulate great ropes. The central ship is covered by starred vault and the lateral ships by convex vaults. Their walls are panels by tiles with images of the Bible. It is possibly the most emblematic and visited monument of Olivenza.

The Palace of Dukes de Cadaval also is of manuelino style. It is used like City council already from century XVII. In one of his front doors, it appears the Portuguese Real shield although he is hidden under an inscription. The showiest door is the power station, takes step to the old chapel, today Hall Plenary sessions.

Olivenza conserves part of its walled, of the Vambau model, consisting of earth walls had with stone, of second half of century XVII. The battles that happened to him, mainly those of the War of Independence, have been it damaging progressively.

Olivenza counted in its day with a great number of constructions of defensive character that nowadays have been rehabilitated for social uses. Example: Powder magazine of Barbarian Sta., the Quarter of Intendancy, known like the Bakery the king, the Quarter of the Well, the Quarter of San Carlos, the Quarter of Cavalry. And like already disappear, they were the Fort of Sta. Ana, the Fort of S. Juan and the one of S. Antonio.

Also disappeared it is the famous Ajuda Bridge that united with the kingdom from Portugal to Spain until its destruction in 1648.

Between the convents, the Convent of San Francisco today is a private oil mill. The Convent of San Juan de God is of beginnings of 17th century. Clarisse was convent of nuns, until it was destroyed partially by Spanish troops, soon was Portuguese military hospital and soon quarter.

By express desire of Queen Leonor, I believe in Olivenza the brotherhood of the Mercy, with the intention of gathering in its sine to poor men and patients. With seat in the hermitage of the Saint Spirit. Later a Hospital was constructed annexed. The facade of the door has Toscana’s columns, with the shield of allusive Portugal and reasons to the sea. Inside the church it is worth the trouble to admire his greater altarpiece, the crucified Christ, the choir and the tiling of his walls that allude to works of the Mercy.

The Castle of Olivenza is constructed on a nucleus of templar origin. King Portuguese Don Dinís commanded to reconstruct the walls of the Castle, adding to him 14 towers and one flanking, four fortified doors and a floodable pit.

Of the four doors, three are conserved: - the door of Alconchel, - the door of the Spirit Santo and - the door of the Angels. Later, already in century XV, the tower of the Tribute is constructed, the watchtower that served to watch level of Olivenza and the Spanish border.

To also emphasize between monuments of Olivenza it is the Church of Santa Maria of the Castle. A finalized church of classicist style in 1627, in which it emphasizes the cover to a rosette and the tower that came to ruin with four flowers of the oliventina typical crafts. In the interior, it emphasizes his greater chapel with altarpiece of baroque style, as well as its historical tile panels. In one of its ships, this church contains one of the most beautiful altarpieces of Extremadura, is a genealogical tree of the Virgin.

Olivenza counts on several House-Palaces that deserve to be mentioned. One of them, the House-Palace of the Marzal-Cary family, is the clearest sample of the called style pombalino, in Olivenza, where it emphasizes the ornamentals elegance of his structure and elements, as they are the marble of the bays; the forge of its balconies and the spheres armillary, symbols of the dominance of the seas of Portugal.

Other houses to emphasize are the House of modernist style, of the Brown c Grandson, their facade is decorated with reasons for all type: flowers, vegetables, heads, vases, etc; also the house of the building is pretty the Spanish, of regionalist style, on curved facade.

Taking a walk by the streets of Olivenza we were with small altars or chapels that also are track of the Portuguese past that had Olivenza. They are the denominated Passages of Easter, equivalent to the route Crucis and they were used in the procession of the Sunday of passion. Nowadays five are conserved.

Olivenza, is really, a city worthy to visit goes away or not from passage Portugal.