On September 6, 1940, the BOE published an unusual decree for its time. In the midst of the postwar period, in a Spain that rebuilds what it can, the State decides to protect a town of a thousand souls in the mountains of Salamanca. The official reason: the wishes of “excellent artists, both national and foreign,” who see in La Alberca a “faithful guardian of the beauty of their hamlet, which has suggested so many masterpieces.” That day, La Alberca becomes the first municipality in Spain declared a National Historical-Artistic Monument. A precedent that today involves more than 500 urban centers throughout the peninsula.
Eighty-five years later, National Geographic named La Alberca as the most beautiful town in Spain to eat Iberian ham. And the phrase is loaded with gunpowder: what about the five jotas of Jabugo or Aracena, both in the province of Huelva? What happens with the Lolo from Barcelona? What do we do with the denominations of Monesterio or Zabra, on the Extremaduran side? From Guijuelo to Los Pedroches, Spain has plenty of master ham makers. But La Alberca is special. Because more than competing for production, it does so for experience.
The pond town. The name comes from the Arabic Al-Bereka: “the pond.” The town lives at about 1,000 meters above sea level, in the Las Batuecas-Sierra de Francia Natural Park, 75 kilometers southwest of the capital of Salamanca. La Alberca has 1,034 inhabitants according to the INE 2025, less than any average secondary school. Although there are now more accommodation places than registered residents.
It was not the ham but the architecture that justified the 1940 decree. On a ground floor of granite rock, with the air of a fortress, the adobe and wood walls rise to one or two heights. It is beautiful, because they form a framework that is reminiscent of Mudejar art. There are intact medieval streets, balconies full of flowers and the Plaza Mayor has no war wounds. The best example is found in the church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, from the 18th century, designed by Manuel de Lara Churriguera. Does the last name sound familiar to you? He was the nephew of the architects responsible for the New Cathedral and the Plaza Mayor of Salamanca capital. The family tree does not lose strength in the branches.
The pig that goes on its way. Here, the people bless a pig every June 13 (festival of San Antonio de Padua) and release it through the streets. The animal wears a bell around its neck and the neighbors feed it during those seven months. On January 17, San Antón’s Day, there is a raffle at the doors of the church. The benefits go to the brotherhood. There is even a granite sculpture in his honor in the square. The origin of this tradition is attributed to the converts of the 16th century, who used the pig as a public demonstration of Christian faith to avoid inquisitorial suspicion. Curious alibi.
There is also the tradition of the turroneras, a true institution in the province, with its own statue in the market of Salamanca capital, unofficial announcement of the beginning of Christmas – something more tangible than Abel Caballero’s Vigo lights, if you ask me.
First class ham. Although La Alberca does not cure hams on an industrial scale, its showcase is the most representative of Salamancan Iberian ham. The main ham has the Guijuelo Designation of Origin, the oldest and the one with the highest production volume of the four Iberian DOPs in Spain. Guijuelo, at 1,050 meters above sea level and with average temperatures of 12º C until well into spring, has an exceptional microclimate. It is literal: it allows a much longer natural conservation than in the hot southern lands, being able to salt the ham without artificial cold until the month of March. The natural cold does what an industrial snack has to do in other warehouses.
By the way, the DOP has a supra-autonomous nature: it covers the pastures of Andalusia, Extremadura, Castilla y León and Castilla-La Mancha for the breeding of Iberian pigs, but the production process is limited to 78 municipalities in Salamanca. La Alberca is among them, in the heart of the Sierra de Francia, which gives its name to one of the regions of the DOP.
We are talking about more than 200 industries (spread between Guijuelo, Ledrada, Sotoserrano, Miranda del Castañar, Béjar, Candelario, Frádes de la Sierra or Tamames) and exact requirements: pure Iberian breed cattle or a cross of 75% of Iberian blood with Duroc-Jersey. And the pieces must weigh at least 4.5 kg in the case of ham and 3.5 kg in the case of the shoulder, with an elongated and stylized shape, preserving the original black hoof. And it is estimated that La Alberca hams are exported to fourteen countries in the European Union, with France as the main destination, in addition to the United Kingdom, Korea, Japan and Mexico. The best customer for Salamanca ham is the neighboring country, as we know. Without us there is no Bayonne jambon.
Beautiful inside and out. Like the pig, the beauty of La Alberca is mixed. It belongs to the network of the Most Beautiful Towns in Spain. The Valley of Las Batuecas, accessible from La Alberca, concentrates a Carmelite monastery, cave paintings of the Canchal de las Cabras Pintadas and almost total silence. The route to Pico Hastiala, the highest, exceeds 1,700 meters. From the top and on clear days you can see the Picos de Europa.
In a few weeks they will celebrate La Loa, the popular sacramental car of medieval origin that mixes popular satire and religion. And in November the Calbochada recovers: roasted chestnuts in the square and a lot of mountain folklore, where the surname also comes from. It is normal that National Geographic has been full of praise. And although this usually brings the usual problem, more beds than inhabitants, it is worth getting to know it and tasting its food, not necessarily carnivorous.
Images | Flickr (Joaquín Pons Sanpedro) / Embutidos Fermín
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