Segovia Province
Bordering both Castille y Leon and Castille La Mancha Segovia is located within the former but its topography differs markedly from the arid and harsh landscape often represented by its provincial neighbours.
The tall mountains of the Guadarrama Sierra provide fresh mountain waters that flow down to the tablelands below. On their way they pass extensive pine forests, meadows where livestock graze and vast fields of summer wheat, until they finally join the river Duero.
The province lies in the heartlands of Spain and has participated to the full in a turbulent history that has left not only many important buildings and monuments but has also moulded the traditions and customs of the inhabitants.
All the major civilisations that ruled at one time or another are represented here; from the Romans, whose engineering skills can still be seen in Segovia which boasts one of the finest examples of an aqueduct to be seen anywhere in the world, to the Moors, who left imperious castles and mosques.
Later, the Christian kings, whose religious devotion and security minded approach, resulted in some of the finest examples of castle construction anywhere in the Iberian Peninsula if not Europe.
Taking a tour through Segovia is like stepping back in history along a timeline that leads directly to the heart of a long removed civilisation. Most Segovian villages have roman constructions that are breathtaking in their concept and masterful in their execution. Their existence speaks volumes about the genius of the Romans and their mastery of engineering techniques and principles in times when machinery was at its most basic stage of development.
Post-Arabic castles that are found all over the province graphically illustrate the neurosis of the contemporary inhabitants. Large, forbidding, impenetrable and grand, they tower over villages and towns, watchful sentinels forever on guard for signs of invasion.
And if its cuisine that does it for the palate then check out the food of Segovia. Lamb and pork dishes, succulent white beans, mountain trout and mouth watering cakes pack out a menu laden with surprises.
More information: http://www.turismocastillayleon.com/
Places and Routes worth a Visit
Segovia’s countryside is like an open air museum. Towns such as Pedraza, Castilnovo, Coca (birthplace of the Emperor Theodosius), Riofrio, Turegano, Cuellar and Segovia (the incomparable Alcazar) are all worth special attention. And all are permanently protected by sightless, uncomprehending eyes of ancient castles filled with the ghosts of long-dead watchers. The sightless windows of the impressive monuments now appear to that watch an alien horizon or gaze at the sky that is nowadays crossed occasionally by the lazy trail of an airliner.
Popular Fiestas
Pedraza: 6th to the 12th of September is the time of the town fiesta in honour of Nuestra Señora del Carrascal. There are street runs by young bulls and colourful tradition procession.
Cuellar: between the 18th and 19th of April, the regional fair. On the 22nd and 23rd of August, there is a colourful and exciting Medieval Fair concentrating on the Mudéjar tradition.
