Amusing Dunia: The Walls of Avila

The ancient metropolis of Avila is located inwards fundamental Kingdom of Spain , inwards the autonomous community of Castile in addition to León , nigh 100 km to the due west of Madrid. Regarded equally i of the finest walled metropolis inwards Europe , Avila is built on the apartment summit of a rocky outcrop which rises abruptly inwards the midpoint of a vast treeless plainly strewn amongst immense grayness boulders in addition to surrounded yesteryear lofty mountains. Its 2 ,500-meter long metropolis wall is almost completely intact.

Avila was i time role of the Roman Lusitania , earlier falling to the Arab in addition to Berber invaders inwards 714 CE. For the adjacent 3 in addition to a one-half centuries the northern Iberian Christian kingdoms tried repeatedly to seize command of the metropolis , exactly it was King Alfonso VI of León in addition to Castile , who eventually managed to conquer the Muslims inwards 1088 ADE. The King at i time started edifice a slap-up stone wall to a greater extent than or less Avila to protect his latest conquest from farther attacks. The project was supervised yesteryear his brother-in-law , Raymond of Burgundy , who was a legendary figure himself.

avila-walls-6

Photo credit: Never House/Flickr

The walls of Avila is an impressive 2.5 km barrier of stone in addition to granite that surrounds the city’s almost rectangular layout. The walls are upward to 10 feet thick in addition to twoscore feet high , in addition to topped yesteryear a continuous battlement rampart-walk in addition to parapet amongst merlons in addition to cernels. Protruding out from the walls are eighty-eight semi-circular defensive towers , placed at uniform intervals. The walls are punctured yesteryear 8 (or nine?) entrance gates. Originally , in that location was a moat in addition to a barbican exterior the walls , exactly they no longer exist. The massive fortification was completed inwards less than a decade.

The surface area enclosed yesteryear the walls is at nowadays designated the Old Town , in addition to contains all of the city’s historic landmarks including the Gothic cathedral , the Convent of Santo Tomás , containing the tombs of Tomás de Torquemada , who was the get-go grand inquisitor of Kingdom of Spain , in addition to of Don Juan , the exclusively boy of Ferdinand in addition to Isabella , in addition to several Romanesque churches.

Today it is possible to walk upon the walls for roughly one-half their circumference. At black the entire circumference of the wall is lit upward yesteryear yellow-orange element of group VII lights , making it “the largest fully illuminated monument inwards the globe ,”

The Old Town of Avila was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site inwards 1985.

avila-walls-3