I have read nearly all your books. My husband and I made internet friends with a family who have lived in Badajoz for generations. I brought the Sharpe book along when we visited them this year and was ecstatic to see all the sites from the siege. I was sitting with the book near the Moorish fort and was introduced to a flamenco guitarist and family friend who pointed to the book and said ” my house is in that book”. Later we walked to the Gothic cathedral and into the narrow street just to its left. We entered a two story 16th Century house with an interior gallery and tiny rooms. One room had two windows looking down at a patio with a citrus tree. The patio wall was only a few feet from the Cathedral. He insisted his house was Casa Moreno although you had never visited the house. It certainly fit the description in the book. He showed us a Spanish language version of your book and then we spent the evening listening to him play.
I agree with you that the people in Badajoz are very warm and friendly but I find the walled part of the City and the Guadiana River to be beautiful. Also when you ask most people there about the siege of Badajoz, they recall the invasion by Franco when 4,000 people were rounded up and murdered in the local bull fighting ring.
Jennifer Soloway