Segovia is an easy city to fall for. Between the Aqueduct, the many Romanesque churches (18), Alcazar, the Cathedral, the suckling pig, Plaza Mayor, and the Aqueduct.
(Editor’s Note: You mentioned the Aqueduct twice. Writer: I know. You think it was an accident? It wasn’t – being mentioned twice is earned by the sheer jaw-dropping nature of the Aqueduct.)
We had a three hour walking tour with Mariano, whom we hired through Destino Toledo. I must say, between Javi in Toledo and then Mariano in Segovia, they provide fantastic guides. Two of the best we ever had.
Mariano went into great detail about the history and stories of Segovia. He had so much to show and tell us that we didn’t go into a single building. He had information and stories about everything in Segovia that we walked past or could see from various views.
Built along a ridge, Segovia has been a Roman town, a medieval trading center, and a place the kings and queens of Castile enjoyed hanging out. Rick Steves compares Segovia to a medieval ship, where you start at the stern (the aqueduct), head up hill to explore the geographic high points of Plaza Mayor and the Cathedral area, and then descend to Alcazar at the bow.
And that’s what we did with Mariano. We started out from the hotel, walking past several Romanesque churches, including Mariano’s favorite of San Millan. We could see the bell tower out one of our hotel windows, and hear the bell from early in the morning to late into the evening. While I won’t miss the loud drunks in the various towns, I will miss the church bells.
Then we came to the Aqueduct, where Mariano gave us both the details and the Devil myth, but those are covered in other posts. Then we headed up a side road away from the aqueduct where we saw both the devil statue and had great views of the aqueduct. From there, Mariano talked about the many fortified palaces and towers of the feuding local noble families. When threatened externally, they had to band together, but when not threatened, there were all sorts of mini civil wars, some specific to Segovia and some a reflection of broader clashes in the country.
One of the mansions also served as the HQ of the Spanish Inquisition in the town. Mariano made the case that inquisitions were much worse in other European countries, such as France, Germany, and Italy (he used witch burning as an example), but that because those countries were jealous of Spain’s wealth and power back in the day, those jealous countries spread the word that Spain’s inquisition was terrible. Monty Python’s running gag probably hasn’t helped Spain’s image either.
We then toured the end of the aqueduct above ground, also admiring elements of the city walls. From there we walked past more Romanesque churches (sense a theme?) before coming to the Case de los Picos, or “house of a thousand beaks.” It has many points to it, but to understand, you’ll have to see the photos (see next post).
Then we headed up the main street, called Calle de Juan Bravo to Plaza de San Martin, which includes the 12th century Church of San Martin, which has absolutely beautiful arches. We finally got into it before leaving town Sunday morning. Also in the square is a statue of Juan Bravo, who lost his head in 1521 leading a failed revolution against the unjust tax policies of the Democrats, er King Charles V. While Juan Bravo lost the battle, and subsequently his head, he served as the inspiration for the long-running Cartoon Network show, Johnny Bravo.
(Editor’s Note: That’s not true, is it? Writer (shrugs): Don’t let facts get in the way of a good story.)
We passed the small Corpus Christi Convent, a Franciscan church that had been a synagogue that had been a mosque. They were good at recycling, even if they had to kick religions out of the country to go green.
Next up from Mariano was Plaza Mayor, where Isabel outmaneuvered a potential queen and a king (who happened to be her husband. . .awkward!) to be crowned queen. Thusly, Isabel proved the old chess adage that a queen can move in any direction.
(Editor’s Note: “Thusly?” Writer: Adding some medieval flair to my writing. Editor: I don’t think that was ever a word. Writer: But you don’t actually know for sure.)
When we came to the Cathedral, Mariano advised us that it is beautiful and simple, but does not compare with the cathedral of Toledo, Leon, or Burgos. You'll see in a later post we went into it the next day.
We then walked through the clergy’s part of town, which, until a queen was to be married at the Alcazar, women were not allowed in.
Passing through one of the few remaining gates in Segovia, we passed by the house that had the first printing press in all of Spain. Then we came to the Alcazar, which looks like Disney threw up on that spot in Segovia. (That’s not a knock, but more an observation that the Alcazar looks like Disney used it as a model for more than one movie castle.
We ended up NOT going into the Alcazar, not just with Mariano but also skipping it on our own. We did spend time outside the Alcazar, as Mariano pointed out some design features. He also pointed over the walls down into the river valley, suggesting a church, a viewpoint, a monastery, and a mint worth visiting. We made it the next morning to three of the four.
While a castle has stood on the spot since 1100. After it was a palace, it became a prison for 200 years, and then a royal artillery school. It burned in 1862, after which it was built in the Disneyesque architectural style you see now. Carol felt strongly we didn’t need to go through the Alcazar since it’s not that old and the furniture is not the original. Since it’s not the castle Isabel grew up in (that obviously burned), I didn’t have strong emotions about going into it, so we didn’t.
From there we went into the Jewish Quarter, walked on the city walls for a bit, and looked across the valley to the Jewish cemetery. We also saw one of the two Jewish abattoirs (for the ritual slaughter and preparation of Kosher meat) from before Isabel expelled the Jews from Spain in 1492. It was built into the city walls, and looked quite imposing.
We bid Mariano a fond farewell, appreciating having a great tour guide for our three hour tour (three hour tour) which turned out better than the S.S. Minnow’s tour of the same duration. It was a bit unusual to take a tour without going into a single building, but the weather was great and we really enjoyed Mariano’s narration. There’s a lot to see in Segovia. Walking back through town, we found a solid tapas place for lunch and plotted our next move.
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