Madrigal de las Altas Torres

Ávila

Max 14ºC / Min 9ºC

A locality with an illustrious past, cradle of Queen Isabel the Catholic and the old residence of the Court. Its walled premises have the Property of Cultural Interest designation.

It preserves one of the few examples of medieval walls in the Mudejar style in the whole country. The parts that can be seen –which mix the Romanesque, primitive Gothic and Mudejar styles– date back to the 13th and 14th centuries, although many of them have been reconstructed. The original premises, in the shape of an irregular oval, had a 2,300 metre perimeter and an internal area of 390,400 square metres, statistics equalling those of the famous walls of Avilla.

Its average thickness of 1.5 metres was reinforced using exterior eaves and a moat. Mud, stone and bricks were the materials used to build it. Today, 23 of the 60 to 80 original towers are preserved –square or pentagonal–, various wall panels and four doors: Arévalo, Medina, Peñaranda and Cantalapiedra. The last is the most interesting: a pointed arch flanked by two separate towers of different heights, the taller pentagonal and the lower square. It is essential to visit the Palace of Juan II, which was transformed into the Nuestra Señora de Gracia Monastery. In the palace you can access various buildings, such as the Court Chambers or the alcove where Queen Isabel the Catholic was born in 1451. Other points of interest include the San Nicolas de Bari Church, where the tallest tower in the whole province stands out, 75 metres high; and the Santa María del Castillo Church or the Royal Hospital, from 1443, which houses a museum of Mexican crafts.