Cuenca Castles
Leaving Cuenca through the N-420 road, we find the
first castle, in the village of Castle of Garcimuñoz, where
the medieval structure and the ascentral house with Ranaissance
grilles and coats of arms, need to be highlighted. The castled
was built above the Arab fortress and rebuilt by the Marquess
of Villena in the 15th century. We must point out the superb access
door in front of the place were poet Jorge Manrique was wounded
in one of the nobel fights in the 15th century.
In El Cañavate, a Roman village, we find the remains of
an old fortress datingfrom the 14th century, next to the chapel
of the Virgin of Trascastillo, a 16th century Renaissance chapel.
Alarcón, the old capital town of the marquessate of Villena,
which is presently considered as historical artistic conglomerate,
has one of the most beautiful castles in the province, which has
now become a national Parador de Turismo. Alarcón was under
Arab rule from the 8th to the 10th century. The fortress belonged
to the Santiago Order of Knighthood. Ihe castle started to be
built in the 12th century and has Roman and Visigothic features,
and other
elements from the 14th and 15th centuries.
This historie art monument nowadays houses the project of the
mural paintings in the old Church of Saint John The Baptist, sponsored
by the UNESCO since I997.
However the most spectacular building in the arta is the Alarcón
Castle, which,from the watchtowet; dominates the whole village
of Alarcón.
The Castle is the gafe to the village, through one of its ares.
It is located on the top of a hill, surrounded by the Júcar
River; which course flows many metres lower as a consequence of
the enormous canyon that originated over thousands of years.
In Villanueva de la Jara or San Clemente,
you can find plenty of Castilian Renaissance buildings.
On the southwest comer of Cuenca, in the very heart of La Mancha,you
will find Mota del Cuervo. From here,you can make out Don Quijote
de la Mancha, crowned with windmills, and arrive to the noble
villa of Belmonte, one of the greatest urban developments in the
province, with an important castle, which is fully preserved and
stands proudly, reviving the Renaissance spirit. Belmonte, home
town of Fray Luis de Leon, has one of the best preserved walls
in the province of Cuenca. The walled grounds, along with the
wall itself and the tales, link the village to the castle, which
was built at the request of Juan Pacheco Esq. The Castle, halfway
between a luxurious palace and a hard fortress, shows polychrome
coffirings with flower and geometric motifs. The lords bedroom
is an example of the luxury and beauty of the castle, as it has
a revolving dome decorated with coloured crystals and ringing
silver bells. On top of its great beauty, the castle also was
a secure fort, prepared to support long and heavy sieges.
Cuenca guide
Cuenca
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