To cotinue with blogging about our trip around Spain, we took a day trip to Segovia after two days in Salamanca. It's a small city right outside of Madrid, with ~55,000 people. Apparently, myths that it was founded by Hercules or by the son of Noah still exist today. Regardless of whether either or these are true or not, it's certainly is a city with ancient roots: a Roman acqueduct from the first century still stands there today which was raised using 25,000+ granite blocks, all without the use of mortar. Although parts of it were restored under King Ferdinand & Queen Isabella after being badly damaged in battle. It even continued to provide water to several parts of Segovia (especially some of its famous landmarks) until recently.
Overall, the city was quite charming.
We didn't have time to visit it, but this is the Segovia Cathedral, the last Gothic cathedral built in Spain- started in 1525 to be exact, when its predecessor was destroyed during war & took almost 200 years to complete! Just from walking by, I could sense the unity expressed in the archeitecture.
What we did get to visit, though, was the Alcazar of Segovia, which is the Arabic world for fortress. It was first used as a fort & then dramatically transformed into a royal castle for numerous Spanish kings. Walt Disney allegedly used it as inspiration for Cinderella's castle. Or maybe Sleeping Beauty's castle. (see a pattern of myths about this city here? :)
Admitely, the second picture is from Google Images, since it captures the similarities to the Disney princess castles much better than any of my pictures:
The moat was DEEP. I wouldn't suggest sitting or standing on the ledge. Or looking down if you're afraid of heights for that matter.
The celing is/was made of wood. Which made it a perfect target for prime damage by fire in the 19th century. So much of the castle today is a restored (though some argue over-the-top) version of the original. The royal dining room was decorated with beautiful blue tiles & had a stove which reminds me a bit of a raised version of my host family's brasero .
The throne room. There are two displayed today- one for Ferdinand & one for Isabella, who were among the royalty who resided in the castle throughout history. Isabella took refuge in the castle during the war which erupted around who would take the throne after her half brother, Henry IV of Castille died before she could officially be crowned queen. All because of some alleged adultery on his wife's part- scandalicious lolz!
The room of the Sala de las Piñas /Hall of the Pine Cones. Appropriately named considering the celing decorations create the appearance of bunches of hanging pinecones.
Even the safes to store important documents are extravagant. Never mind the inclusion of Magen Davids (Jewish stars) in the decorations even with Ferdinand & Isabella's later-expelling-the-Jews-from-Spain-in-the-Inquisition thing.
One of the many painted tapestries used to decorate the rooms of the castle. They seemed to mostly depict leisurely palace life or were more formal portraits.
La Sala de las Reyes /Hall of Kings included figures of each ruling king (& in a few cases, queens) of Castille in an ornament of gold & a short bio underneath.
Our guide showing us the palace chapel. Apparently, Phillip II married each of his four wives in this same chapel, though it seemed quite small for a royal wedding of today. Say, the one between Prince William & Kate Middleton which the press is having a field day over already. Luckily, if I do visit London during my vacation, the wedding won't be until the following week!
Just a cannon in case the royalty needed to wreck some invaderz. No biggie.
Lastly, we climbed the super narrow & super steep tower which seemed to never end at the time. The view was completely worth it though!
You can tell I'm STILL trying to catch my breath.
After Segovia, we visited El Escorial, another historical residence just outside of Madrid. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures inside, so the ones below aren't mine. Construction was overseen by Juan Bautista de Toledo & Juan de Herrera’s (who was brought from Italy due to his experience as Michelangelo’s supervisor when he took the building of Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome) between 1563-84 in a Renaissance style inspired by Bramante's work (ex. overwhelming size, super-detailed geometric proportions & fine masonry). It was originally ordered by King Phillip II to comply with his father’s will to construct a crypt to serve as the royal burial chamber. Though it also housed his court & government as well as a monastery, school, library & church with the crypt. It really does embody the serious & deeply religious spirit of Spain under Phillip II.
The library. Several of the frescoes as well as the measurements etched under it all include the use of the number system we used today instead of the Roman numerals which were still commonly used for such purposes in Iberia at the time. One of the many contributions Arabs of the Al-Andalus era brought which are seldom recognized.
The bedchamber where King Phillip II eventually passed away from gout. He had the bed specifically moved to face the window which looked into the church so that he could see the services inside.
The crypt. Maybe it was the fact it was located in a darkened room below. Maybe it was the gold & red colors together with the fanciful style which reminded me of the Overlook Hotel in The Shining . Maybe it was seeing the actual coffins containing the bodies of several generations of Spanish royalty right in front of me in stacked compartments instead of buried underground & marked with headstones. Regardless, the creepy factor was a tad too high for my liking.
Right now, I'm still trying to get settled in Córdoba & the like. Later in the week, we're hitting all the sites in the city, which I'm excited to blog about also. Additionally, I'm planning a post with all the sites in my neighborhood/typical day. Please. Keep reading!
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