This is the view from the terrace of the hotel. In the background is the Alcázar, the medieval fortress and palace.
Segovia dates back to the times of the ancient Romans. A magnificent monument from the Roman era is the Aqueduct of Segovia. The aqueduct was built to bring water into the city, and was still in use into the 20th century. It is constructed without mortar from 25,000 granite blocks, and has a height of nearly 100 feet.
During the Middle Ages, Segovia was a major center of the wool trade. Today the city is full of merchants' mansions and Romanesque churches built during the city's heyday.
The Church of San Martín is nearly 900 years old.
This medieval mansion, known as "La Casa de los Picos" is decorated with stone spikes across its facade.
Many of the buildings display a type of decoration known as "esgrafiado". Intricate designs were painstakingly cut into the plaster walls.
A typical side street in Segovia
The current Cathedral of Segovia was built relatively late in the city's history. Construction was begun in 1525 to replace an earlier cathedral which had been destroyed during a rebellion against King Carlos I. It is the last Gothic church to have been built in Spain, and is referred to as the "Lady of Cathedrals".
I visited Segovia in 1985, and it was my favorite smaller city in Spain as well. Thanks for the images. It doesn't appear to have changed much.
ReplyDeleteHi Marc! Good to hear from you! Segovia is still very charming, although on this visit it seems much sleepier than before. While strolling around in the afternoon, I figured that the streets were empty because of "siesta", but the town didn't "wake up" in the early evening as in previous visits. My favorite memory of Segovia was of sitting at a sidewalk cafe at 10 PM (It was a week night in September) and watching all the people on the plaza. Last night the plaza was virtually deserted. I'm wondering if the town has been harder hit by the economic crisis than the big cities
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