Friday March 11, 2011
Got myself out of bed by 9 to catch the 10am bus to Segovia! Dreary rainy day so it was nice to be warm and dry as we traveled through the countryside. First stop: the IE university. We were greeted by a cheerful professor who explained to us the history of the site. He was a history professor who actually teaches the spring class about the Camino de Santiago! We learned that the (mostly) Gothic buildings had been used by the Dominicans and, of course, decorated with statues and emblems that reinforced the close links between catholicism and the Spanish monarchy, particularly Los Reyes Católicos. Isabel and Fernando were represented by statues and lots of "Y" and "F" emblems. The existing university does not have religious ties, but they use the little church (which had a balcony especially designed for Isabel II) for all their important ceremonies. We got to peek into a few classrooms, some of which actually had archaelogical excavation sites within their walls! We received little tokens of 2nd century Roman pottery from the floor as souvenirs haha. Outside we had a chance to admire the student dormitories, brick buildings originally used to house orphans (though our guide commented they look more like prison buildings). Also visited the little chapel that still belongs to the Dominicans. Inside was a beautifully, colorfully decorated room with a cave at the front.
We learned a bit about the town of Segovia too. It's a little smaller than Palo Alto (around 60,000 inhabitants) and about 50 miles from Madrid. The Romans originally settled here because it was ideally located at the crux of 2 rivers, making it easy to defend. Later, it was settled by Muslims and Jews and was one of the most cities of Castile. It's actually where Queen Isabel was coronated (coming soon...). Apparently it never gets quite as warm as Madrid (it was frigid during our visit) so lots of Madrileños come here in the summer time.
At 12:30 professor Baker gave his talk about the Obama health care reforms (his invitation was the reason we came to Segovia in the first place). Afterwards we enjoyed tapas with the few students who didn't have to go to class. I was surprised to see that there were so many non-Spanish students -- I noticed lots of British, German and Dutch students. Most of the advertising material I saw at the admissions desk was in English too.
Afterwards, we ascended the road towards the enormous Roman aqueduct. Like the one we saw in Mérida, the Romans built it to provide water in the homes of the townspeople. This one is about 9 miles long and leads to the Alcázar (the castle today). We visited the tallest point of the aqueduct, which is some 100 ft tall. It's really amazing because the structure has 118 arches and the Romans didn't use any kind of mortar -- it's all just granite blocks. The town actually still used it until the 19th century too.
After Isidro gave us the low-down on the aqueduct, we had free time to eat lunch. Kelly and I tried to enjoy our sandwiches outside but it was so cold we eventually ducked into a nearby café at the Plaza Mayor for hot tea, coffee and later a cream-filled pastry. Apparently, the Plaza Mayor was once were the town held executions, theater performances and bullfights, now home to many cafés. The Renaissance church here is where Isabel was crowned Queen of Castile in 1474. Isabel and Fernando actually required that the noblemen of Segovia truncate the towers of their mansions, giving the Segovian "skyline" a shortened look. When their grandson (Carlos I of Spain aka Carlos V the Holy Roman Emperor) inherited the throne of Castile, the local Segovians were were upset and the nobles (led by Juan Bravo) actually revolted against the king in 1521. The nobles were quelled and Juan Bravo executed, not surprisingly, but the town is still proud of him.
The other impressive building here is the Cathedral, the last big Gothic building constructed in Spain, though it was actually built during the Renaissance (and thus explaining why it has a dome and not a spire on top). Lastly we walked over the Alcázar, the fortified palace where the Castilian monarchs (Isabel's ancestors) lived in the Middle Ages. Since then it was also used as a prison and royal artillery school.... regardless, it has a great view of the surroundings and an enormous protective moat! The decoration of the castle show Moorish and Jewish decorative influences (I liked the little Moorish window with its narrow column and rounded arches). The use of clay circular designs with black dots on the facade was unlike anything I've seen anywhere else in Spain. I was very much struck by how closely the color of the castle matched the color of the clay/soil of the surrounding countryside -- it almost all just blended together!
First we visited the lowest floor to see the foundations -- literally, this structure is built into the mountain rock. Then we went up to see the throne room, Hall of Monarchs--very cool, had sculptures and shields of all the kings and queens of Castile from the 8th century (starting with Pelayo) up until Juana la Loca, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabel. The little chapel had be built, just like in Yuste and Escorial, right next to the queen's bedroom so she could listen to mass from her bed if she was sick or too tired to get up haha.
Finally we climbed up the 150+ tower to briefly enjoy the panorama of the city in the brutal wind before dodging out back to the bus before the sprinkling became rain. I was definitely glad to have a chance to see Segovia, but it was nice to be home again in the milder climate of Madrid!
Got myself out of bed by 9 to catch the 10am bus to Segovia! Dreary rainy day so it was nice to be warm and dry as we traveled through the countryside. First stop: the IE university. We were greeted by a cheerful professor who explained to us the history of the site. He was a history professor who actually teaches the spring class about the Camino de Santiago! We learned that the (mostly) Gothic buildings had been used by the Dominicans and, of course, decorated with statues and emblems that reinforced the close links between catholicism and the Spanish monarchy, particularly Los Reyes Católicos. Isabel and Fernando were represented by statues and lots of "Y" and "F" emblems. The existing university does not have religious ties, but they use the little church (which had a balcony especially designed for Isabel II) for all their important ceremonies. We got to peek into a few classrooms, some of which actually had archaelogical excavation sites within their walls! We received little tokens of 2nd century Roman pottery from the floor as souvenirs haha. Outside we had a chance to admire the student dormitories, brick buildings originally used to house orphans (though our guide commented they look more like prison buildings). Also visited the little chapel that still belongs to the Dominicans. Inside was a beautifully, colorfully decorated room with a cave at the front.
We learned a bit about the town of Segovia too. It's a little smaller than Palo Alto (around 60,000 inhabitants) and about 50 miles from Madrid. The Romans originally settled here because it was ideally located at the crux of 2 rivers, making it easy to defend. Later, it was settled by Muslims and Jews and was one of the most cities of Castile. It's actually where Queen Isabel was coronated (coming soon...). Apparently it never gets quite as warm as Madrid (it was frigid during our visit) so lots of Madrileños come here in the summer time.
At 12:30 professor Baker gave his talk about the Obama health care reforms (his invitation was the reason we came to Segovia in the first place). Afterwards we enjoyed tapas with the few students who didn't have to go to class. I was surprised to see that there were so many non-Spanish students -- I noticed lots of British, German and Dutch students. Most of the advertising material I saw at the admissions desk was in English too.
Afterwards, we ascended the road towards the enormous Roman aqueduct. Like the one we saw in Mérida, the Romans built it to provide water in the homes of the townspeople. This one is about 9 miles long and leads to the Alcázar (the castle today). We visited the tallest point of the aqueduct, which is some 100 ft tall. It's really amazing because the structure has 118 arches and the Romans didn't use any kind of mortar -- it's all just granite blocks. The town actually still used it until the 19th century too.
After Isidro gave us the low-down on the aqueduct, we had free time to eat lunch. Kelly and I tried to enjoy our sandwiches outside but it was so cold we eventually ducked into a nearby café at the Plaza Mayor for hot tea, coffee and later a cream-filled pastry. Apparently, the Plaza Mayor was once were the town held executions, theater performances and bullfights, now home to many cafés. The Renaissance church here is where Isabel was crowned Queen of Castile in 1474. Isabel and Fernando actually required that the noblemen of Segovia truncate the towers of their mansions, giving the Segovian "skyline" a shortened look. When their grandson (Carlos I of Spain aka Carlos V the Holy Roman Emperor) inherited the throne of Castile, the local Segovians were were upset and the nobles (led by Juan Bravo) actually revolted against the king in 1521. The nobles were quelled and Juan Bravo executed, not surprisingly, but the town is still proud of him.
The other impressive building here is the Cathedral, the last big Gothic building constructed in Spain, though it was actually built during the Renaissance (and thus explaining why it has a dome and not a spire on top). Lastly we walked over the Alcázar, the fortified palace where the Castilian monarchs (Isabel's ancestors) lived in the Middle Ages. Since then it was also used as a prison and royal artillery school.... regardless, it has a great view of the surroundings and an enormous protective moat! The decoration of the castle show Moorish and Jewish decorative influences (I liked the little Moorish window with its narrow column and rounded arches). The use of clay circular designs with black dots on the facade was unlike anything I've seen anywhere else in Spain. I was very much struck by how closely the color of the castle matched the color of the clay/soil of the surrounding countryside -- it almost all just blended together!
First we visited the lowest floor to see the foundations -- literally, this structure is built into the mountain rock. Then we went up to see the throne room, Hall of Monarchs--very cool, had sculptures and shields of all the kings and queens of Castile from the 8th century (starting with Pelayo) up until Juana la Loca, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabel. The little chapel had be built, just like in Yuste and Escorial, right next to the queen's bedroom so she could listen to mass from her bed if she was sick or too tired to get up haha.
Finally we climbed up the 150+ tower to briefly enjoy the panorama of the city in the brutal wind before dodging out back to the bus before the sprinkling became rain. I was definitely glad to have a chance to see Segovia, but it was nice to be home again in the milder climate of Madrid!
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