The Castle on a Hill

The Castle on a Hill

Today, on the 26, we had not only an educational day, but a rather magical one. Before I go on, please pause for a moment and imagine Sleeping Beauty’s castle.  Now imagine being inside of it, shuffling alongside other tourists as you gaze open mouthed at the tapestries, paintings, throne room, and old weaponry.  If you can do that then you can imagine what our adventure was like.  

The castle to once inspire Walt Disney certainly inspired our class this afternoon.  As we walked over a moat, climbed up to a tower, and made our way down to the very foundations of a centuries old structure it’s not hard to see why the producer/director/animator chose this setting as a reference for his animation.  And while that fun fact is indeed fascinating, the history of the structure itself is even more interesting.  

Known as El alcázar this large stone structure is located in the western part of Segovia, surrounded by hills on one side and the city on the other.  Today it is a popular tourist destination.  In the past it served many functions, beginning as a Roman fortress.  In fact, its name is derived from the Arabic word al-qasr (fort, castle, palace) and also is related to the Latin word castrum (army camp or fort). During the reign of several kings the structure was added onto, forming the picturesque “castle” we see today.  In 1868 the alcázar was badly damaged by a fire, but was eventually restored. The exquisite architecture reflects much of the different cultures that influenced Spain’s history.  Moorish tiles, Gothic arches, and the remains of the original Roman base, provide only a sample of the mezcla de culturas.

Throughout our tour we learned the history of not only the alcázar but those who lived within it.  The stories are often bloody, following the intense lives of kings and queens that ruled during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. On the walls hang pictures of important kings and queens such as Los Reyes Católicos (Isabel and Fernando), Felipe II, and his fourth wife Anna of Austria, for example. A large fresco shows the coronation of Isabel as queen of Castile, which took place in the Church of San Miguel in Segovia, 1474. Her marriage to Fernando of Aragon united two great kingdoms and the two monarchs ruled with equal power. Below is a picture of their thrones. As if that weren’t interesting enough, Felipe II married his fourth wife there and added many embellishments to the fortress (often reflecting other European styles).  Prior to Felipe II and the Catholic King and Queen, King Pedro was killed by his brother in order to secure the throne.  Before this event, King Enrique, the brother of King Pedro (at the time not yet king) endured the death of one of his 16 children on the palace grounds.  The child, while playing, fell into the moat.  Mind you, this moat is a dry moat, and so deep that it’s not entirely far fetched to call it a gorge.  After the child’s fall, his nanny, fearing repercussions for her failure to more carefully watch the child, jumped into the moat herself, preferring suicide to whatever punishment awaited her.

The ghosts of the past fill the grand chambers within this beautiful 

fortress, and I left feeling inspired by Spain's history and architecture, not to mention the surrounding views... all of which were breathtaking.  I don't think anyone in our group would disagree that to stand in the courtyard, on the towers, or even in the sótano (the basement) leaves you feeling awed.  What a privilege to have explored this unique part of Segovia!

'Ahora... la proxima aventura! Hasta luego!!

Segovia's Roman Aqueduct

A bit of water, moving both horizontally and vertically

Rain was falling (vertically) when we met today to learn about the aqueduct at the center of Segovia.  Designed to move water (horizontally) from the Río Frío about 9 miles from the edge of Segovia to all of the original walled-in city of Segovia, including the palace on the opposite side of the city known as el Alcázar, the aqueduct was designed and built by the Romans towards the end of the first century c.e. or the beginning of the second century.  It runs underground for many miles before it is visible, running at a constant slope of one degree over 167 arches before going back underground just inside the walls of the old section of the city.

According to legend, the aqueduct was built when a woman, tired of walking miles into the mountains each day for water, made a deal with the devil.  The devil came to her one night offering to make an aqueduct that very night.  If he finished before the first rooster crowed, she would give him her soul in exchange.  The legions of demons worked all night, but as they were putting the last stone in place, the rooster crowed and the women kept her soul.  In place of the last stone, a statue of the Virgin of Fuencisla, the patroness of Segovia, was erected in the niche.  If the devil did build the aqueduct, however, he was at least heavily influenced by the Romans, as can be seen in the half-circle arches and the lack of mortar between the stones.  A keen eye might notice the arches in the first photo are not semicircular, but come to a point at the top.  These are among the 36 arches at the beginning of the visible aqueduct that were destroyed during an Arab attack.  They were rebuilt later in the Gothic style, as that was believed to be an improvement on the original Roman architecture.

Luckily for our little walking tour, it wasn't raining hard enough to get the water really flowing in the aqueduct, as you can see in this photo of the channel on top of the aqueduct as it leads into the second filtration station built by the Romans to ensure the water was not dirty.  Tomorrow we will be spending some time indoors, so hopefully we'll be a little dryer!

We arrive!

Coming from Delaware, Rhode Island, New Jersey and upstate NY, our group began to coalesce at JFK on Sunday evening, thanks to wonderful parents and mostly cooperative traffic. With plenty of time to check in, stand in lines, get a dose of x-rays, and stand in more lines, we boarded our plane on Iberia Airlines and took off for Spain at 10:00 PM. Roughly 7 hours later and well into Monday morning (Spanish time), we landed at Barajas airport ready to be swept away to our final destination of Segovia, which lies 50 miles north and west of Madrid. Students were met by their host mothers who'd been waiting for them at the base of the Segovia aqueduct, a monumental structure and testament to Roman engineering skills. After lunch with host families, settling into our new surroundings, and time for a brief siesta we rejoined as a group and strolled through this beautiful medieval city encased by limestone walls, stopping along the way to hear our guide, Ricardo, explain the lore of its buildings and earlier inhabitants. After some map study and general orientaion of major streets and landmarks, by the end of the day everyone was able to head back to their host families on their own in time for dinner. Tomorrow each student will be retracing her steps to meet at the Centro de Estudios Hispánicos for our first class on the history and culture of Spain. Hasta entonces. -Dra. Shaw

Welcome to Segovia, Spain!

¡Bienvenidos a España! Welcome to Spain!