July 30, 2019 – We were very sad to leave Salamanca, but on to – MADRID! We were excited to finally see the capital but also for a interesting side trip we just couldn’t pass up with a quick stop in a town called Segovia to check out their ancient Roman aqueduct.
We walked out of our hotel and out onto the streets with our bags. We found a good spot where I could wait for Wayne with all of the bags while he went to get the car. It was a good spot with lots of room where he could easily pull over while loading and not block traffic (which is so easy to do on these narrow old streets originally designed for ox carts and carriages in these medieval cities). However, as soon as Wayne walked away a very large truck pulled into the spot where he was going to park….GREAT!! It was a meat truck and they looked like they were possibly going to make deliveries to the local restaurants. I was hoping they would be quick and be done by the time Wayne returned.
Two men dressed all in red got out of the truck. One was older and the other was young, very tall and looked strong. They went to the back of the truck, rolled up the door and went inside. It was warm and humid outside and when they opened the back door you could tell it was a refrigerated truck because a lot of condensation came out. They were in there for about a minute or so and then the older guy came out, followed by the bigger guy with a HUGE hunk of meat slung over on his back and shoulders. I was stunned (think jaw on the ground) and Wayne was missing this. On further inspection, he was carrying a hind quarter of a very large cow. I was upset that I missed this photo opportunity… should have grabbed a picture, but I was so surprised and in awe and my camera was not ready. Luckily, he came back again and again, each time carrying out another giant hunk of meat. He brought in 3 whole cows (12 trips) then moved on to lamb, pork and probably a goat… but I’m not sure.
When they were almost done, the older man approached me (he saw me gawking and trying to discreetly take pics) and we struck up a conversation in Spanish… I asked him how much that beef weighed and he told me 250-300 hundred kilos for each whole bull. We also discussed that the other items were lamb, pork and whatever else he said that other animal was… He was very nice and patient and it was good to practice my Spanish. Then he asked me why I was standing on the street with all of this luggage just as Wayne pulled up and squeezed in behind his big truck. That answered his question.. and after saying goodbye, we left. Many of the bulls from Pamplona were from the Salamanca areas… In fact I think the group Wayne ran with were… haha..
We hit the road after stopping to grab a coffee and a bite to eat on the way. Our journey would be about a 4 hour drive, plus the time it would take to explore Segovia…and it is a work day so Wayne would need to get to Madrid to get to work. The drive was pretty with golden pasture lands with large trees in the middle of the fields. It was mostly flat, but did have some rolling hills and later more trees.
Segovia is a historic city northwest of Madrid. Its original settlement dates to antiquity resulting in a rich architectural legacy and ancient structures.
The city is most famous for the three main landmarks – The Roman Aqueduct, the Alcazar Palace and the Cathedral (the other “last” Gothic Cathedral with Salamanca to be built in Europe). The sights are beautiful and the Aqueduct is jaw dropping. Even though we knew what we were coming to see, we were still in awe of its magnificence when it came into view.
Segovia’s Aqueduct is the defining historical feature of the city, dating from the late 1st or early 2nd century AD. Like a number of other aqueducts in Spain, Segovia’s Roman-built aqueduct receives the most attention for being one of the “extraordinary engineering accomplishments of the ancient world” existing in the country and remains one of the most intact elevated Roman aqueducts in Europe.
The water was first gathered in a tank known as El Caserón (or Big House), and was then led through a channel to a second tower known as the Casa de Aguas (or Waterhouse). There it was naturally decanted with sand settling out before the water continued its route.
Next the water traveled 796 yards on a one-percent grade until it was high upon the Postigo, a rocky outcropping on which sits the walled city center.
To reach the old city, the water way was brought in via its aqueduct bridge. At Díaz Sanz Plaza, the structure makes an abrupt turn and heads toward Azoguejo Plaza. It is there the monument begins to display its full splendor.
At its tallest, the aqueduct reaches a height of 93 ft 6 in, including nearly 19 ft 8 in of foundation. There are both single and double arches supported by large pillars. From the point the aqueduct enters the city until it reaches Plaza de Díaz Sanz, it includes 75 single arches and 44 double arches (or 88 arches when counted individually), followed by four single arches, totaling 167 arches in all. The Aqueduct consists of about 25,000 granite blocks held together without any mortar!
Within the walled city there was a water distribution system. The details of this system are not fully known, but it has been established that the water followed a subterranean route, which has recently been marked on the city’s pavements.
Reconstruction was needed in the 15th century due to damage caused by the Moors in 1072. A total of 36 arches were rebuilt, with great care taken not to change any of the original work or style. Later, in the 16th century, the central niches were created and once held statues. One of the niches housed an image of Hercules who, according to legend, founded the city. Also in the niches are statues of the Virgin of Fuencisla and St. Steven.
Until the 19th century, the aqueduct transported water from the Frio River, situated in mountains nearly 11 miles from the city. Beginning in the 1970’s Spain and local governments began a massive conservation campaign to maintain this historic structure. We walked along the entire length of the wall, within the city, from end to end. It was truly amazing.
Our next stop was The Alcázar of Segovia. The Alcázar is one of the most distinctive castle-palaces in Spain by virtue of its shape – like the bow of a ship. Fact – The Alcazar of Segovia (Palace) was an influence for Walt Disney’s Cinderella Castle. (Along with the Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany we hope to see later in the trip).
Like many fortifications in Spain, the Alcázar started off as an Arab fort (built by the Berber Almoravid dynasty) ,which itself was built on a Roman fort – but little of that structure remains.
Documents exist indicating that a fortress existed on this site by the early 12th century, a short time after the town had been recaptured by Alfonso VI of León and Castile.
A short time later, in a letter of 1155, it was already being referred to as “Alcázar“ literally meaning a Spanish palace or fortress of Moorish origin. However, it is more than probable that the fortress had existed in earlier times, possibly since the Roman occupation, because granite blocks similar to those of the Aqueduct have been found in the course of recent excavations.
The shape and form of the Alcázar were not known until the reign of King Alfonso VIII (1155–1214), however early documentation mentioned a wooden stockade fence. It can be concluded that prior to Alfonso VIII’s reign, it was no more than a wooden fort built over the old Roman foundations.
Alfonso VIII and his wife, Eleanor of Plantagenet made this Alcázar their principal residence and much work was carried out to erect the beginnings of the stone fortification we see today. Undoubtedly, the gallery on the north side belongs to this period, consisting of a large hall (called the Great Hall) flanked on both sides by private rooms in the oriental style.
This painting linked the Alcazar to among the most momentous events in the Spanish history.
In 1258, parts of the Alcázar had to be rebuilt by King Alfonso X of Castile. Alfonso X “The Wise” showed a special liking for Segovia and made the Alcázar into one of his favorite residences until the later days of his life when the Parliament was held in this town which had remained loyal to him.
In the 13th and 14th centuries, the palace was enlarged during the reign of King John II. He was the single largest contributor to the continuing construction and built the “New Tower,” also known as “John II Tower.”
The Alcázar, throughout the Middle Ages, remained one of the favorite residences of the monarchs of the Kingdom of Castile and a key fortress in the defense of the kingdom. It was during this period a majority of the current building was constructed and the palace was extended on a large scale. It was built and renovated through the transitions from Romanesque to Gothic and Mudejar.
The building is structured around two courtyards and has two towers, and a keep. Devastated by a fire in 1862, it was later rebuilt. Although it was originally built to be a fortress, it has served as a royal palace, a state prison, and a military academy. Today it now houses the General Militar de Segovia archive, a museum, is an important tourist attraction and home of the Royal School of Artillery.
Wayne climbed up and went into the John II Tower to have a look and see the view. I stayed below because my knee was aching and it was probably the hottest day of our trip thus far. After his tower climb, we went into the armory and museum.
These were made of copper or brass and often more dangerous to the men firing them than those being fired at due to lack of metallurgy technology.
It was spectacular with cannons, armor, weapons, documentation and old plans, books of physics, artillery ballistic calculations, chemistry for making gun powders, and metallurgy for cannon manufacturing. Small scale models showing how artillery was made and used and moved were interesting and so much more. We could have spent so much more time exploring if we had it. We had to rush through to stay on schedule. Fun
They were built into wood frames that allowed the rear to be swiveled up and down to change the trajectory.
The Segovia Cathedral is considered a masterpiece of Basque-Castilian Gothic architecture and is known as The Santa Catedral de Nuestra señora de la Asunción y de San Frutos (literally “The Holy Cathedral of Our Lady of the Holy Assumption and Saint Frutos”) Phew!!! try saying that five times…
The church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, was built between 1525-1577 in a late Gothic style, It is one of the more ancient cathedrals in Spain and Europe. It was made in the midst of the XVI century, specifically between years 1525 and 1768. In this period of time the most popular kind of architecture in Europe was already Renaissance style. Thus, we can distinguish a predominantly Gothic style in Segovia Cathedral, since not only it has a late Gothic style but also it has some Renaissance elements.
The current cathedral was built on one of the highest spots in the city, and on top of the old convent of Santa Clara. The convent of Santa Clara was exactly located on the headland; it consisted of a two floor cloister with houses, stockyards, vegetable gardens and a church. In the early years of the construction of Segovia Cathedral, which started on top of the current west facade, the church of the Convent of Santa Clara was used as the main place of worship in the city, but later it was demolished.
In order to reduce costs, some elements from the old cathedral were transferred to the new location. The entire cloister (from the 15th century) was moved piece by piece to its current location, the chancel, (also from the 15th century) was made of walnut wood with the honored seats of King Henry IV and his wife Joan of Portugal, and many sculptures and paintings.
The interior, illuminated by 16th-century Flemish windows, is light, bare and uncluttered. In the 18th century, many stained glasses were removed and were replaced by clear glasses in order to give more light to the presbytery and to the high altar.
The 18th century altarpiece at the high altar is the work of the Italian architect Francesco Sabatini, it was dedicated to La Virgen de la Paz (“Our Lady of Peace”) and it was made with Neoclassical style different colored marbles and bronzes.
The large Gothic choir (15th-century, predating the cathedral) is placed in the center.
It is essential to highlight an event of great importance in the historical tour of the marvelous richness of the Cathedral: On September 18, 1614 lightening caused a fire in the old wooden steeple. The original steeple steeple, entirely Gothic, was 82 feet high and built of American mahogany, had a pyramidal structure, and was the tallest tower in Spain at the time. A complete renovation affected the current shape and slenderness of the Cathedral. The renovations respected the four Gothic buttresses in which the original wooden structure was supported, although this material had to be replaced with stone. Makes you wonder what poor sinner walked into the church and caused lightening to strike …Hmmmm.
After Segovia, we continued on toward Madrid. At one point in our drive, we came upon miles and miles of fields that were covered in sunflowers… it was so pretty so we pulled off the road to get some pics. There were also a couple of foxes that we saw and I was lucky enough to snap a couple of pics of one of them too.
The room that we picked in Madrid was a very cute and big apartment, with awesome AC, a washer, kitchen and a desk…heaven right? Well, no. Apparently, I booked us an apartment in the ghetto or is it barrio, anyway… oops. It is actually a large apartment building in an industrial area…with hookers….and evidence of purse snatchers dumping the purses at taking the cash….and a prison….how odd is that? It is very close to a train station though (5 min walk) and the price was great! We will see how it goes. We arrived right at work time and Wayne got right to work and I planned our next day and trains to the city etc. We didn’t go our for our usual evening stroll because, well…barrio.