It's a city east of Madrid most likely founded over the ruins of the Celtiberian castrum of Obila mentioned by Pliny the elder, during the XI century by the king Alfonso VI of Leon. It was primarily a military city, used by knights who were to defend the borders from Toledo to Extremadura from any Saracen attack. According to contemporary documents, it was populated by Asturians, Navarrese, Cantabrians, Navarrese, Aragonese, Occitans, and Christians fleeing Al-Andalus.
And it was the home of Saint Teresa of Avila and Saint John of Avila, two mystics from the XVI century that influenced the Tridentine reformation, and some of the friars martyred in Nagasaki. People visiting it at XIX century described it as a city stuck in Dark Ages, although it was strongly reformed with a lot of old buildings from previous centuries getting demolished, and yet it still has a lot of buildings from that time.
Here are some pictures I want to share from the Cathedral and from the monastery of the city.
The baptismal font of the cathedral is an anonymous work from the 15th century
A photo of the cathedral in general. It was the first in the Gothic style, surely taken by a French mason. It's really dirty and seriously needs maintenance. Curiously, stained glass was never used, although they were generally added in the late Middle Ages to many Gothic cathedrals.
>>213022275Some knights' tombs I saw, I think these are monkeys of a family crest, the work was done in the 15th century
>>213022313The death knight alongside his dog
>>213022329And his page waiting for his return
Another family crest, a monkey pulling a woman's hair
I took this photo from the choir stall. I said the cathedral was the first one made in Gothic style, I think it still holds a lot of Romanesque elements, it was built during XII century.
>>213022440An anonymous XV-century artwork depicting the founding of the cathedral centuries before.
>>213022457I believe these are important bishops of the city framed in the main altarpiece of the choir
>>213022532I think this is a cardinal, the works are from the XV century, so it seems that during the reign of the Catholic Kings there were a lot of reformations in the city
The statues of the 4 evangelists in the ambulatory were made by an anonymous sculptor from Burgos during the XV century, along with a fifth statue of a very important bishop of the city.
>>213022770Although I haven't included the entire scene, the bishop's statue has two praying women below, a scene from the Last Supper above, and on either side, a naked Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit. Although you can still see the apple tree from the Garden of Eden on either side of the statue.
Some of the reliefs in the cathedral's transept
>>213022275 that were made by local artisans, Lucas Giraldo and Juan Rodríguez
The tomb of an hidalgo and his wife in the city's monastery, from the XV century
>>213023061the antiphonaries of the monastery
And these are some of the things I really liked about the city. There are more things: Romanesque statues and an apocalyptic painting by a Flemish artist, the three gardens of the monastery, its classroom and basilica, the tomb of Prince John (son of the Catholic kings), and its small natural science collection. But it would take forever to post everything.
I visited this city last year apart from Salamanca and Segovia. Such underrated monumental cities.
nice pics dude
>>213024701>Salamancavisited this year, I really liked the city, very beautiful
