Southern Spain Travel
Soria and Sigiienza Spain
Soria, the smallest provincial capital of Spain, spreading along a poplar-shaded bend of the Rio Duero, is Old Castile at its most poetic. A pedestrianised street links the main square with the Alameda de Cervantes city park, where a small chapel, the Ennita de la Soledad, contains a treasured 16th-century wooden statue of Christ. Across the street, the Museo Numantino (Museum of Numancia) specializes in relics found in the Roman ruins just north of town. Numancia was a Celtiberian city.
Soria's collection of churches, all in toast-coloured stone, is bountiful and beautiful. All date from the 12th century. Among the most important are: Santo Domingo, with an expansive Romanesque facad
e; San Juan de Rabanera, with Byzantine touches and an early hint of Gothic; and the Catedral de San Pedro, with a Plateresque portal and a Romanesque cloister.
All but hidden on the left bank of the river, San Juan de Duero used to be a monastery of the Knights Templar. The remains of the original Romanesque-Oriental cloister reveal finely carved capitals, and the church now serves as the medieval section of the Museo Numantino.
A sleepy town northeast of Madrid, Sigiienza is home to a classic fortress, an outsized (for this small town at least) cathedral and the lovely Plaza Mayor, one of the most beautiful main squares in Spain. Founded by Visigoths and occupied by Moors, Sigiienza's fort was reconquered by Christian forces early in the 12th century. It became the headquarters of the bishops of Sigiienza, and housed around 1,000 soldiers and more than 300 horses during the 15th century. Today, it is a parador.
At first sight, the crenellated cathedral also resembles a fortress. However, it contains a wealth of sculptural features, of which the most celebrated is the sepulchre of "EI Doncel" ("The Page"). Commissioned by Queen Isabella, it honours a young servant killed fighting in Granada in 1486. Opposite, the Museo Diocesano de Arte packs its 14 halls with everything from prehistoric axes to an ethereal rendering of the Virgin by Zurbaran.
Teruel Information Spain
Teruel, the capital of Lower Aragon, is a prime showcase for Mudejar-style architecture. When Alfonso II of Aragon captured the town from the Moors in 1171, most Muslims chose to stay until their enforced expulsion at the end of the 15th century. This was time enough for the creation of lasting works of Mudejar art.
The city's cathedral has some intriguing Mudejar elements, especially the finely decorated 13th-century brick towe
r and the lantern in the dome. There are also two other local towers which are considered to be classics of this style: the Torre San Martin and Torre del Salvador.
Spanish tourists are likely to make a bee-line for the Gothic Iglesia de San Pedro (St. Peter's Church), but not for its 13thcentury Mudejar tower. Adjoining the church is a chapel containing the mausoleum of the Lovers of Teruel, a star-crossed 13th-century couple whose tale of love lost and early death has inspired generations of Spanish writers.
Away from the main highways in the hill country of eastern Castilla La Mancha, pretty Cuenca is a favourite on many tourist itineraries. The old town occupies a dramatic site perched on a precipice above the rivers Huecar and Jucar. It is here that Cuenca's famous medieval Casas Colgadas (Hanging Houses) literally hang out over the void.
Visitors are also drawn to Cuenca's Museo de Arte Abstracto Espafiol, a collection of outstanding contemporary Spanish paintings and sculptures installed in the old town. And there is the Museo de Cuenca, a provincial archaeological museum occupying a 14th-century mansion near the cathedral. Construction of the cathedral began right after the Reconquest, from a Gothic plan with some Norman features attributed to itinerant medieval architects. Among the treasures here is a 14th-century Byzantine diptych embellished with precious stones, said to be the only one of its kind in Spain.
Although it's a significant dot on the map, Ciudad Real is, in truth, a distinctly underwhelming "Royal City." Sightseeing focuses on the remains of the 14th-century town wall, specifically the Puerta de Toledo, a Mudejar gate. There are also three Gothic churches, including the cathedral, noted for its choir stalls. The church of San Pedro features fine Mudejar and Gothic portals.
If you're planning to spend a few days following the footsteps of Don Quixote, the town of Almagro (25 km/16 miles east of Ciudad Real) is a preferable overnight stop and Teruel and Toledo are easily accessible by hire car from the airport.
La Mancha Information
The vast, parched plain of La Mancha, with its endless horizons and shimmering mirages, was the perfect setting for the adventures of author Miguel Cervantes' myopic, idealistic knight, Don Quixote, and his squire, Sancho Panza.
Cervantes was born on the very edge of La Mancha, at Alcala de Henares, in 1547. The son of an itinerant doctor, his education was minimal. Later, travels took him to Italy and then to Algeria, as a prisoner of the Turks after the Battle of Lepanto (1571).
Back in Spain, it is said he wrote the first draft of Don Quixote in the prison of Argamasilla de Alba (northwest of Almagro). It was published in 1605 to great acclaim, and has been translated into more languages than any other book except the Bible. A sequel appeared in 1615, but a year later Cervantes was dead. The names of several of La Mancha's villages and towns appear in the text of Don Quixote, none more important than EI Toboso (in Toledo province), the home of Dulcinea, the woman of Quixote's dreams. Dulcinea's house is open to the public.
Soria, the smallest provincial capital of Spain, spreading along a poplar-shaded bend of the Rio Duero, is Old Castile at its most poetic. A pedestrianised street links the main square with the Alameda de Cervantes city park, where a small chapel, the Ennita de la Soledad, contains a treasured 16th-century wooden statue of Christ. Across the street, the Museo Numantino (Museum of Numancia) specializes in relics found in the Roman ruins just north of town. Numancia was a Celtiberian city.
Soria's collection of churches, all in toast-coloured stone, is bountiful and beautiful. All date from the 12th century. Among the most important are: Santo Domingo, with an expansive Romanesque facad
e; San Juan de Rabanera, with Byzantine touches and an early hint of Gothic; and the Catedral de San Pedro, with a Plateresque portal and a Romanesque cloister.All but hidden on the left bank of the river, San Juan de Duero used to be a monastery of the Knights Templar. The remains of the original Romanesque-Oriental cloister reveal finely carved capitals, and the church now serves as the medieval section of the Museo Numantino.
A sleepy town northeast of Madrid, Sigiienza is home to a classic fortress, an outsized (for this small town at least) cathedral and the lovely Plaza Mayor, one of the most beautiful main squares in Spain. Founded by Visigoths and occupied by Moors, Sigiienza's fort was reconquered by Christian forces early in the 12th century. It became the headquarters of the bishops of Sigiienza, and housed around 1,000 soldiers and more than 300 horses during the 15th century. Today, it is a parador.
At first sight, the crenellated cathedral also resembles a fortress. However, it contains a wealth of sculptural features, of which the most celebrated is the sepulchre of "EI Doncel" ("The Page"). Commissioned by Queen Isabella, it honours a young servant killed fighting in Granada in 1486. Opposite, the Museo Diocesano de Arte packs its 14 halls with everything from prehistoric axes to an ethereal rendering of the Virgin by Zurbaran.
Teruel Information Spain
Teruel, the capital of Lower Aragon, is a prime showcase for Mudejar-style architecture. When Alfonso II of Aragon captured the town from the Moors in 1171, most Muslims chose to stay until their enforced expulsion at the end of the 15th century. This was time enough for the creation of lasting works of Mudejar art.
The city's cathedral has some intriguing Mudejar elements, especially the finely decorated 13th-century brick towe
r and the lantern in the dome. There are also two other local towers which are considered to be classics of this style: the Torre San Martin and Torre del Salvador.Spanish tourists are likely to make a bee-line for the Gothic Iglesia de San Pedro (St. Peter's Church), but not for its 13thcentury Mudejar tower. Adjoining the church is a chapel containing the mausoleum of the Lovers of Teruel, a star-crossed 13th-century couple whose tale of love lost and early death has inspired generations of Spanish writers.
Away from the main highways in the hill country of eastern Castilla La Mancha, pretty Cuenca is a favourite on many tourist itineraries. The old town occupies a dramatic site perched on a precipice above the rivers Huecar and Jucar. It is here that Cuenca's famous medieval Casas Colgadas (Hanging Houses) literally hang out over the void.
Visitors are also drawn to Cuenca's Museo de Arte Abstracto Espafiol, a collection of outstanding contemporary Spanish paintings and sculptures installed in the old town. And there is the Museo de Cuenca, a provincial archaeological museum occupying a 14th-century mansion near the cathedral. Construction of the cathedral began right after the Reconquest, from a Gothic plan with some Norman features attributed to itinerant medieval architects. Among the treasures here is a 14th-century Byzantine diptych embellished with precious stones, said to be the only one of its kind in Spain.
Although it's a significant dot on the map, Ciudad Real is, in truth, a distinctly underwhelming "Royal City." Sightseeing focuses on the remains of the 14th-century town wall, specifically the Puerta de Toledo, a Mudejar gate. There are also three Gothic churches, including the cathedral, noted for its choir stalls. The church of San Pedro features fine Mudejar and Gothic portals.
If you're planning to spend a few days following the footsteps of Don Quixote, the town of Almagro (25 km/16 miles east of Ciudad Real) is a preferable overnight stop and Teruel and Toledo are easily accessible by hire car from the airport.
La Mancha Information
The vast, parched plain of La Mancha, with its endless horizons and shimmering mirages, was the perfect setting for the adventures of author Miguel Cervantes' myopic, idealistic knight, Don Quixote, and his squire, Sancho Panza.
Cervantes was born on the very edge of La Mancha, at Alcala de Henares, in 1547. The son of an itinerant doctor, his education was minimal. Later, travels took him to Italy and then to Algeria, as a prisoner of the Turks after the Battle of Lepanto (1571).
Back in Spain, it is said he wrote the first draft of Don Quixote in the prison of Argamasilla de Alba (northwest of Almagro). It was published in 1605 to great acclaim, and has been translated into more languages than any other book except the Bible. A sequel appeared in 1615, but a year later Cervantes was dead. The names of several of La Mancha's villages and towns appear in the text of Don Quixote, none more important than EI Toboso (in Toledo province), the home of Dulcinea, the woman of Quixote's dreams. Dulcinea's house is open to the public.
posted by The Car Hire Guy at
13:19
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home