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Hot Air Balloon Rides in Segovia is Spain and Castile at its best,
all surrounded by the city's medieval wall bordered by two rivers and an
extensive green-belt park.
Segovia is a mediaeval city, like Toledo, but with a quite
different feel to it, like the essence of Old Castile, noble, powerful,
and a little austere. It is a World Heritage site, packed to its city
walls and beyond with historic buildings.
The old city has a spectacular situation on top of a long ridge, highest
at the west where the Alcazar looks out over the neighbouring
countryside. Dating from at least the twelfth century, the Alcazar is
instantly recognizable, having served as the inspiration for the
Disneyland Sleeping Beauty castle. Isabel the Catholic was living here
when she was proclaimed queen, and received Christopher Columbus here to
promise funding for his transatlantic adventure. |
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On the south-east extreme is the world renowned Roman Aqueduct, the
largest and best preserved of its kind anywhere. The local legend says
that the aqueduct was put there overnight by the devil, because of a
young Segovian girl who was so tired of fetching water from the river
that she sold her soul to him in exchange. It is Segovia's most
emblematic monument and the most important example of Roman civil
engineering in Spain. It was built to bring water from the Rio Frio high
in the sierra. No-one knows exactly when it was constructed, though the
consensus is the first century A.D. when Trajan was emperor. The most
unbelievable thing about it, is that no binder holds it together, no
cement, no mortar, nothing: its entire 800 m length and going on for 30 m
height has stood for nearly two thousand years purely because it was
well built. It is no wonder mediaeval Segovians thought this was
supernatural!
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The tallest building in Segovia is the 16th-century Cathedral, a
prominent landmark as one approaches from any direction. It was built to
replace a Romanesque one which burnt down in 1520.
Work started on the
current cathedral in 1525, so the style is extremely late Gothic. It is
very big, without being overly imposing, and is light in colour, which
may be why it is called the "Dame" of Spanish cathedrals.
Segovia is also world wide famous due to the fact that it is one
of the cities which has more Roman Churches in Europe , including the
church of Corpus Christ, originally a synagogue, and the fascinating
Vera Cruz outside the city walls, built by the Knights Templar and
thoroughly esoteric.
Besides these churches, this city also has a great amount of
other constructions dating from several different epoques and showing a
variety of styles. The mountains provide a dramatic backdrop to
Segovia's monumental skyline, particularly in winter and spring when
covered with snow. |