Many of you will have visited Cangas de Onís and the many monuments found there, the first of which being The Roman Bridge.

In fact, it is not certain to whom this bridge belongs, whether to the municipality of Cangas de Onís or of Parres. This is because the bridge, or “El Puentón” (as it is called locally), crosses the River Sella and joins both municipality.

What is certain is that it is an important historical and cultural heritage left to us in Asturias. In fact, it was declared a Historical-Artistic Monument in 1931.

This structure is one of the most representative of Cangas de Onís and the Principality of Asturias.

The Roman Bridge dates from the High Middle Ages, although it was built on the remains of a Roman bridge. It has 5 arches and in the centre hangs the Victory Cross (Cruz de la Victoria) that King Pelayo carried in the battle of Covadonga in 722AD.

This monument had great importance up until the 19th century, as it was the only bridge that still existed to cross the River Sella, joining the provinces of Cantabria and Asturias.

The Roman Bridge of Cangas de Onís is striking, but personally I find it has a special magic when it is lit up at night.

Cangas de Onís is a city imbued in history, in fact, it was the first capital of Asturias when this was the Kingdom of Asturias. All this history is alive in the numerous monuments of the town. Although the most emblematic is the Roman Bridge, today I shall tell you about: Palaciu Pintu.

The Palaciu Pintu is in the centre of Cangas de Onís, next to the market square, where there is a market every Sunday and I recommend you visit it.

This building dates from the 20th century, although it is built on something a lot earlier from the 17th century. The colourful façade of the palace gives the palace its name: Palaciu Pintu – the painted palace.

This building lays between the Church of Cangas de Onís and the statue of King Pelayo.

I recommend you visit it by day and at night, because the building changes depending on the angle and in the different light.

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is over 530 years old, although it wasn’t until 1478 that it was founded as a city because originally it was a military base. The following link provides more information on the history of the city. (Click).

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has many tourist spots. Below is a selection of these attractions and I shall talk about them in forthcoming articles:

• La Playa de las Canteras (Quarry beach)
• Alfredo Kraus Auditorium.
• Santa Catalina Park: between the Playa de las Canteras and the Puerto de Luz (Port of Light), you will find one of the many museums on Las Palmas: the Science and Technology Museum.
• Vegueta – Triana.
• Plaza Santa Ana.
• Cristopher Columbus Museum.
• Calle de los Balcones. (Balcony Street)
• San Telmo Park.

These are some of the many tourist attractions this capital city has to offer. I recommend you visit it and if you mingle with its people… you’ll appreciate Las Palmas de Gran Canaria from a different perspective.

Ponferrada is a beautiful city which the River Sil runs through. Its many ruins hold great cultural importance, providing evidence of the different civilisations that lived there in the past.

One of these ruins is the Ponferrada Castle, declared a Historic Artistic Monument in 1924.

In 1178, Ponferrada was governed by the Templar Knights to provide shelter to pilgrims who were on the pilgrimmage of the Way of St James, because this castle was situated on a crossroads on the Way of St James between León and Villafranca.

If you have a chance to visit Ponferrada, don’t miss a visit to this Templar Castle…it is a monument of unusual beauty, which you have to see with your own eyes to really feel what it represents.

By the way, I should like to point out the route that runs along the side of the castle… perhaps a little hard going, but it’s worth doing.

For those of you who enjoy fairs and festivities, you might like to visit the The Seville Fair which ends on the 25th of April.

The fair is inaugurated with the alumbrao (lighting) ceremony. The mayor of the city presses a button that gradually switches on a series of bulbs. This year, 370,000 bulbs were lit.

The Seville Fair is one of the best Spanish fairs; it has a long history and is of high cultural interest.

Lastly and for those of you who do not know how or why the Seville Fair came about, here are a few pointers:

The Seville Fair dates from 1846 and its aim was to turn the city of Seville into a merchant trade centre and into an important agricultural market in Spain.

Today, the fair is set in the Barrio de los Remedios, with some 1047 participating stalls which you can enjoy visiting during this fair.

Pedimos disculpas, ya que hoy no hemos subido información de ningún tipo.
Estuvimos realizando una actualización que consideramos imprescindible para ustedes, consiste en la localización de los temas escritos; de modo que puedan saber donde se encuentra tal sitio , tal monumento, tal ruta,…
Esperamos les sea de gran ayuda esta nueva actualización y puedan organizar sus viajes de una forma más cómoda.

Oviedo is an Asturian city which I have talked about before in this blog. It is a culturally and historically rich city, proof of which is the church of Santa María del Naranco.

Santa María del Naranco is set in the hillside of Mount Naranco, amongst beautiful scenery and amazing views of Oviedo, just like San Miguel de Lillo.

This pre-Romanesque monument was ordered to be built by king Ramiro I in 842 AD. It is believed that because Santa María del Naranco does not have an apse, but holds the king’s throne instead, it was used as a country palace or recreational royal residence.

It is also believed that in the 12^th century, when the apse and some of the naves in San Miguel de Lillo collapsed, Santa María del Naranco was made into a church.

Santa María del Naranco was declared a World Heritage by UNESCO in 1985.

A while ago I talked about some of the places in Galicia and its gastronomy and about Santiago de Compostela in the province of La Coruña with the motive of the Holy Year.

Today I shall talk about a historic event that took place in La Coruña, capital of the province that shares its name. It was an event that marked the lives of the people of La Coruña.

It was back in 1589 when the English troops breached the city walls and began their attack. The attack was led by a soldier who managed to reach the highest part of the wall with his country’s flag in his hand. But his victory was briefly lived because he was killed by María Pepita.

According to tradition, María Pepita followed her heroic act with a shout of “Quien tenga honra, que me siga” (Whoever has honour, follow me!), which totally demoralised the English and caused them to retreat.

If you are interested in this personage, you will find a monument raised in her honour in the Plaza de María Pepita where you’ll also find the town hall.

The Royal Palace of Madrid has its origins in the 9^th century when the Muslim kingdom of Toledo built a fort which was later used by the kings of Castilla and on which the Fortress was built in the 16th century. It was destroyed in a fire in 1734 and Philip V of Spain wanted the new palace to be built on the same spot.

Today, the Royal Palace of Madrid is the official residence of His Majesty the King, although it is only used for State ceremonies. The present Royal family of Spain have lived in the Zarzuela Palace since 1962, Alphonse XIII being the last monarch to have lived there.

The Royal Palace of Madrid is a beautiful piece of architecture in the centre of the city and surrounded by wonderful, generous gardens: to the west is the Campo del Moro, in front of the palace lays the Plaza de Oriente Gardens and to the north the Sabatini Gardens.

This palace is open to the public, so apart from being marvelled by the exterior, do visit it inside.

There are quite a lot of artists (musicians, artists, photographers, etc.) on the promenade between the Royal Palace and the Plaza del Oriente, making them another tourist attraction in themselves.

A while ago I talked about Oviedo, the capital of the Principality of Asturias; today I shall talk about a pre-Romanesque church called San Miguel de Lillo which lies within the city surroundings, in the hillside of Mount Naranco. This mount is also home to another monument of special interest, the church of Santa María del Naranco, but I shall keep that for a separate post.

As mentioned, San Miguel de Lillo is a pre-Romanesque church and its construction was ordered by king Ramiro I in honour of Saint Michael Archangel in 842.

In 1985, it was declared World Heritage by UNESCO.

There is a fantastic aerial view of Oviedo from this church, and from where you can spot other important sights of the capital such as Oviedo Cathedral or the Calatrava building, Espacio Buenavista.

It is just a few minutes from the city centre and yet it is in the middle of the countryside. You’ll certainly enjoy the architecture, history and surroundings of this church.