Segovia treasures
In addition to the ancient aqueduct, which still delivers water to the city, Segovia has a couple of other must see treasures. Both have more history than the recorded history in North America.
Like the city of Toledo to the south of Madrid, Segovia has an impressive cathedral as well. It is located at one end of the Plaza Mayor in the upper part of the walled city. We visited in mid April. As you can see from the ski jackets, it was not too warm. It was cloudy and had rained on our trip to the city. Nature rewarded us with a beautiful rainbow. The clouds were so thick the street lights in the town square switched themselves on so the tourists could better see the charm of the city. I used a little editing on the next picture to brighten it up and enhance the ancient nature of the building.
In 1525 construction began on the site of a previous chapel. Two hundred years later, it was declared completed. (From then on, it was just maintenance.)
The Plaza Mayor, or main square, was displayed in a previous post. https://jarvie.ca/segovia/
The third most noted treasure is the Alcazar, or castle of Segovia.
The castle is located at the far end of the city at the edge of a cliff. Our guide, a long time resident of the city, directed our bus driver to the parking lot near the green lawn on the left of the picture below. It was a great spot to photograph the castle.
Originally a fortress in Roman times, it was rebuilt in the 13th and 14th centuries. During that time, this was the castle home of the kings of Castile. Queen Isabella was crowned here in 1474. In 1862 most of it was destroyed by fire. What we see now is an enhanced version of the original. Walt Disney saw it as the inspiration for his design of Cinderella’s Castle. Can you see the similarities?
