Continuing our enrapturing visit to a 15th C fairytale castle, the Alcazar of Segovia.
Having entered through the beautiful stone public rooms on the ground floor, complete with knights in armour and on horseback, we come now to the more private areas of power.
Having entered through the beautiful stone public rooms on the ground floor, complete with knights in armour and on horseback, we come now to the more private areas of power.
The throne room, which was quite small compared to .............
… the dining hall. The ceilings, replaced after the fire of 1862, are fabulously ornate. Every ruler of Spain until that time is depicted in the frieze.
Another wonderful ceiling. The wall frescoes depict a marriage - maybe that is the future queen, Isabella in 1474.
Tapestries and moorish arches. Everything is so old. Look at the carved wooden panel, near the arch. Everything looks and feels original and preserved - nothing seems to look "restored" or "remade".
Beautiful arched windows. You can see how dry the surrounding areas are. And yet this valley of Segovia seems so green and lush. Maybe there is a micro-climatic condition in play here that we are yet to learn about.
A bed chamber.
Next - outside onto the walls with those lovely slate spires, and the road and valley below. Good strategic position, eh?
Then into the arms room. The suits of armour would need to be a lot larger if they were to be put into commission today.
This cannon was being used by the military before Christopher Columbus sailed off to find the Americas! Amazing!
After many hours of wandering around this fascinating place, we say goodbye to the fairytale spires and head into the old, walled town of Segovia.
It looks like this.
Part 3 soon.
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