Page 351 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Spain

INTRODUCING CENTR AL SP AIN  349

The Alcázar, Segovia
Terms used in
The plan of the royal castle of Segovia
(see p368) is determined by the con tours this Guide
of the rocky outcrop on which it Alcázar: Castle or palace used
stands. Although first records date as a royal residence.
from the 12th cen tury, it was Bartizan: A small turret which
mostly built between 1410 and projects from the battlements
1455 and had to be largely of a tower above attackers.
rebuilt following a fire in Cross and orb
1862. The fortress’s walls loophole: Narrow
conceal several slit, shaped to allow
sumptuous archers to shoot at
apartments. various angles.
Curtain wall: Outer, window­
less wall, often low enough for
Torre del
Homenaje has archers to fire over it from the
pointed turrets, keep and other towers.
atypical of Machicolation:
Spanish castles. A projection
overhanging the
Curtain wall wall beneath a
battlement to allow
boiling oil, missiles
The King’s Room, the most or human waste to be dropped
important room in the castle, on to the enemy.
is Gothic in style.
Torre del Homenaje: The
fortified tower or keep at the
The Pine Cone Room gets
its name from the golden heart of a castle, often built to
pine cones on the ceiling. a square plan, in which the
nobleman’s family lived.
The Galley Room
The Throne Room
has ornate
plasterwork and a
Mudéjar ceiling.
Peñafiel Castle (see p371)
has been compared to a
battleship because of its long,
narrow shape. The site above
the Duero Valley has been
defended since the 10th
century, but the present
castle is 15th century.
The Castles of N610 Palencia A1 N234
Castilla y León N630 NV1 A6 N601 A62 Peñaranda
de Duero
Some of Central Spain’s Torrelobatón + Valladolid Aranda de Duero + Calatañazor + N122
finest surviving castles A11 N122 + Peñafiel +
can be visited today. Zamora Tordesillas + Simancas Gormaz +
A few, such as Ciudad A601 +Cuéllar A1 Berlanga
Rodrigo (see p361), A62 + + Coca Pedraza de Duero
have been turned into A66 Buen La Mota N601 +
Amor
luxurious paradors. + NV1 A6 Turégano +
Salamanca Arévalo + Segovia + N110 A1
A50
N403
A62 A66 AP51 AP61 0 kilometres 100
AP6
+ Ciudad Rodrigo Ávila 0 miles 50

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