Ávila Province

Ávila Province in the south of the autonomous region of Castilla y León is governed from the centrally located capital city of the same name. Built on a desolate granitic plain, Ávila is perhaps the most emblematic city of Spain.

The province played a key role in the foundation of Spain with the expansion southwards by Alfonso VI, and it was here that repopulation of lands cleansed of their original Moorish settlers commenced. Repopulation was one of the principal tools in the creation of a common identity loyal to the recently united Spanish regions.

The north of the province, known as La Moraña, is an integral part of the high alluvial Spanish meseta that is watered by many rivers, the principal one being the River Adaja. During the reign of Islam, many Moorish settlements were founded here, hence the name and the eclectic mixture of Romanic and Mudejar architectural principles that dominated construction techniques of public and religious buildings until the 16th century.

Madrigal de las Altas Torres, birthplace of Isabel, the Castillian part of the Catholic Kings partnership, still possesses extensive stretches of its 13th century defensive walls, originally constructed in Moorish style. The monastery of Nuestra Señora de Gracia occupies part of the ground on which was built the palace of Juan II, birthplace of arguably the most powerful Queen of Spanish history.

Other towns of immense interest in the region of La Moreña include Fuentes de Año, in which there is a wealth of Romanic architecture; Fuentes el Sauz, home to a Mudejar – Romanic church of great artistic value, and Fontíveros, birthplace of the famous Carmelite reformer, San Juan de Cruz.

In Cardeñosa the importance of the principal building material of Ávila is forever marked on the land. Here are located several of the original granite quarries that supplied a large part of the province with raw materials for construction.

South and east of the city of Ávila lie the Sierras of Ávila and Gredos. Gentle valleys and green forested hills are amongst the principal features and here towns and villages of stunning natural beauty have been forged from the natural granite. Piedrahita, with strong connections to the Duke of Alba, boasts a sumptuous 13th century church apparently built over the foundations of a palace that belonged to Doña Berenguela. Its interior is home to some exemplary 15th century paintings and sculptures.

Throughout the province there are many high quality rural hotels and guesthouses in which to stay. From this base the sheer variety of activities that allow one to commune not only with nature but also with the cultural heritage that forged the Spanish identity can be experienced to the full.

More information: http://avilaturismo.com/

Routes and Places worth a Visit

El Barco de Ávila, situated next to the Rio Tormes, lies on one of the principal access routes into the Sierra de Gredos. Its medieval bridge over the Tormes and its proudly conserved castle of the Dukes of Alba attest to its medieval strategic importance.

The Sierra de Gredos, although not as high as the central Sierra de Ávila, is an area of immense natural beauty. Declared a Natural Park and therefore subject to strict laws of conservation, the Sierras de Gredos possess many beautiful isolated green valleys where fields of granite boulders speak silent words of a violent geomorphological past.

One of the most fascinating experiences in Ávila province is a visit to the enigmatic Toros de Guisando. Carved from raw granite in pre-roman times, the ancient artists of these impressive bulls remain unknown. The carvings were transferred to their present location to form a commemorative monument during roman times; this evidenced by Latin graffiti on the side of one of the bulls that dates from early roman colonisation of the area.

The locality was symbolised and made famous by the taking of its name for the famous treaty of the Toros of Guisando of 1468, in which Enrique IV proclaimed Isabel the Catholic as his universal heir and so marked what could be considered to be the beginning of the consolidation of the modern Spanish nation.

Important Fiestas

Arenas de San Pedro: from the 15th to the 31st August, the fiestas of the town. ‘Big’ week is between 8th and 10th September.

El Barco de Ávila: 21 to 25th July see the town celebrating the Fiestas de los Quintos. From the 10th to th 13th August, the town celebrates the fiesta of San Pedro del Barco.

Navarredondo de Gredos. 24th to the 26th July is the agricultural festival of Santiago. Between the 18th and the 21st September, the Fiestas de la Virgen de la Nieves.