Page 392 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Spain

390  CENTR AL SP AIN

R Hospital de la Caridad
Calle Cardenal Cisneros 2. Tel 925
54 00 35. Open Mon–Sat. & 7
q Talavera de
la Reina
Toledo. * 89,000. £ @ n Calle
Ronda del Cañillo 22, 925 82 63 22.
( Wed & 1st Sat of month. _ Las
Mondas (Sat after Easter), Feria de San
Isidro (15–18 May), Virgen del Prado
(8 Sep), Feria de San Mateo (20–23
Sep). ∑ talavera.org
Remains of a Roman building in Segóbriga
A ruined 15th-century bridge
8 Segóbriga from 1174, because of its cen tral across the Tagus marks the
location. The austere building you entrance to the old part of this
Saelices, Cuenca, CM-310, km 58.
Tel 629 75 22 57. Open Tue–Sun. see today is mainly Renaissance busy market town. From the
Museum: Closed some public hols. but over laid with Baroque detail. bridge you can walk past the
& 8 by appt. ∑ segobriga.org It has a magnificent carved surviving part of the Moorish
wooden ceiling and staircase. and medieval wall to the 12th-
The small ruined Roman city century collegiate church. It has
of Segóbriga, near the town a small but beautiful Gothic
of Saelices, is located in open, 0 Illescas cloister, and 18th-century belfry.
unspoiled countryside close to Toledo. * 23,500. £ @ n Plaza Talavera’s ceramic work shops
the Madrid–Valencia motor way. Mercado 14, 925 51 10 51. ( Thu. still produce the blue and yellow
The Romans who lived here _ Fiesta de Milagro (11 Mar), Virgen azulejos (tiles) which have been a
exploited the surrounding area, de la Caridad (31 Aug). ∑ illescas.es trade mark of the town since the
growing cereals, felling timber 16th century; but nowadays
and mining minerals. Illescas was the summer they also make domestic and
Many parts of the city can be location for Felipe II’s court. decorative objects.
explored. The 1st-century theatre While there is little to see of its A good selection of azulejos
– which has a capacity of 2,000 Old Town, the 16th-century can be seen in the large Ermita
people – is sometimes used for Hospital de la Caridad, de la Virgen del Prado by
perform ances today. Segóbriga near the Iglesia the river. Many of the
also had a necropolis, an amphi- de Santa María interior walls have
theatre, a temple to Diana and (12th–13th cen tury superb 16th- to 20th-
public baths. The quarries which and reno vated in century tile friezes
supplied the stone to build the the 15th), has an of religious scenes.
city can also be seen. important art collec- Housed in a 17th-
Nearby, a small mu seum has tion, including five century convent, the
some of the site’s finds, although late El Grecos (see Ceramics in Talavera Museo Ruiz de Luna
the best statues are in Cuenca’s p395). The subjects of workshop houses the private
Museo Arqueológico (see p388). three of these are the Talavera pottery
Nativity, the Annunciation and collection and personal works
9 Monasterio de the Coronation of the Virgin. of ceramist Juan Ruiz de Luna.
Uclés
Uclés, Cuenca. Tel 969 13 50 58.
Open 10am–6pm daily (till 8pm Jul
& Aug). Closed 1 & 6 Jan, 25 Dec.
& ∑ monasterioucles.com
The small village of Uclés, to the
south of the Alcarria, is domi-
nated by its impressive castle-
monastery, nicknamed “El Escorial
de La Mancha” for the similarity
of its church’s profile to that of El
Escorial (see pp334–5). Originally
an impregnable medieval for tress,
Uclés became the monastery
seat of the Order of Santiago Part of a frieze of tiles in Talavera’s Ermita del Virgen del Prado
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp570–71 and pp595–7

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