Segovia Travel Guide

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Rome's stamp is pressed firmly into the foundations of Segovia. Unlike the Eastern 'architecture of ephemerality,' the Romans believed in permanence, in an unending Pax Romana, and they built accordingly. Their dreams of eternal empire may not have been realized, but their infrastructure and monuments are remarkably intact in central Spain. Bookending Madrid to the north like Toledo does to the south, Segovia reigns over the province of Castile-Leon, and like Toledo is a UNESCO site. An enormous Roman aqueduct arches across the blue sky, its stones set and impeccable. Amazingly, the construction for the waterway was begun in the first Century A.D. but it doesn't look a day over fifty. While 'downtown' visit the Cathedral of Segovia, a beautiful 16th C. relic.

Atop the plateau a palatial fortress, the city's 8th Century alcázar, stands vigil over the medieval walls. The towering castle overlooks the long exposed valley. Steep walls drop into space as the Moorish castle rises majestically from the jagged promontory. The fortress was a prize reclaimed with relish in the reconquest. Visitors will find the interior of the castle decorated by large stained glass windows, paintings with dappled light; cheerful scenes of Spanish knights on horseback, severed Moorish heads cringing under their hooves. Sound like the happiest place on Earth? It should, Walt Disney used the vertical angles and conical turrets of Segovia to inspire his iconic Anaheim palace, along with another famous continental castle. (See Neuschwanstein.) If your interest in history is limited to the Da Vinci Code, take heart! Segovia isn't too terribly far south of Paris' rose meridian-- even those wiley Knights Templar left their mark in Segovia. The Church of Vera Cruz, just outside the old town walls, is arranged in a circular pattern, homage to Jerusalem's Temple Mount.

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