Page 353 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Spain

CENTR AL SP AIN  351

CASTILLA Y LEÓN

León • Zamora • Salamanca • Ávila • Segovia
Valladolid • Palencia • Burgos • Soria
A wesome expanses of ochre plains stretch to hills
crowned with the castles that cover this vast region.
Through Spain’s history, these central provinces have
had a major influence on its language, religion and
culture. Their many historic cities preserve some of the
country’s most magnificent architectural sights.

The territories of the two rival medieval León. Burgos has an exuberantly dec-
kingdoms of Castile and León, occu- orated Gothic cathedral. León Cathedral
pying the northern half of the great is famous for its wonderful stained glass.
plateau in the cen tre of Spain, now At the heart of the mon umental city of
form the country’s largest region, or Salamanca is the oldest university in the
comunidad autónoma. peninsula. Segovia’s aqueduct is the
Castile and León were first brought largest Roman structure in Spain and
together under one crown in 1037 by its Alcázar is the country’s most photo-
Fernando I, but the union was not con- graphed castle. Ávila is sur rounded by an
solidated until the early 13th cen tury. unbroken wall, built by Christian forces
The kingdom of Castile and León was against the Moors. In Valladolid, the
one of the driving forces of the regional capital, a superb collection of
Reconquest. El Cid, the legendary hero, multicoloured sculpture is displayed in
was born near Burgos. a magnifi cent 15th-century building.
Wealth pouring in from the wool trade Beyond the cities, in Castilla y León’s
and the New World, reaching a peak in varied countryside, there are many
the 16th century, financed the many great attractive small towns which preserve
artistic and architec tural treasures that outstanding examples of the region’s
can be seen today in the cities of Castilla y vernacular architecture.

Cereal fields and vineyards covering the fertile Tierra de Campos in Palencia province
View of the Old Town of Segovia, dominated by the tower of the Gothic cathedral

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