Attraction Archives | Page 14 of 33

San Andres Gate

San Andres Gate has also been known as the Puerta de la Judería or the Puerta del Socorro, and it is located on the south side of the walls of Segovia. It has two towers, one square and one polygonal, an arch, a gallery of irregular windows, loopholes, cornices, pyramidal battlements and heraldic shields. It is located in a strategic position overlooking the Río Clamores. It has been speculated that its construction could have been carried out by the master stonemason Juan Guas.

By the end of the 19th century, the wall tower had deteriorated and part of it had collapsed, and it was still in ruins until 1947. It was later restored back to its original appearance. On 3 June 1931 it was declared a historic and artistic monument, through a decree published in the Gaceta de Madrid signed by the President of the Provisional Government of the Second Spanish Republic, Niceto Alcalá-Zamora, and the Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts, Marcelino Domingo. It is currently classified as a place of cultural interest.

Jewish Quarter Educational Centre

The home of Abraham Seneor, located in the Jewish quarter, gauged half a block. The property was surrounded by a wall, the Puerta del Sol. The home contains three separate buildings, but only one is visible, the Educational Center of the Jewish quarter, since it belongs to the City Council. The goal of the Educational Center is to convey the history of the Sephardic Jews in Segovia. With its facilities and annual activities, the Center promotes the understanding and illustration of the essence of the neighborhood that was home to the largest Jewish population of the Crown of Castile.

Hebrew Inscriptions in the Cathedral Treasure

On January 12th, 1493, Fernando the Catholic expelled the Jews from Sicily. The Cammarata synagogue on the island had to shed itself of those assets which were hard to transport. This included two worked silver Rimonim, of Gothic tradition and bearing Hebrew inscriptions. According to the historian Gabriel Llompart, these were sold by some Jews to the Majorcan merchant Francesc Puig, who in 1493, sent them as an offering to the Virgin of the cathedral of Majorca. The merchants who took part in the purchase-sale were Francesc Puig, Anthoni Serra on behalf of the Cathedral´s chapterhouse. Once on the island, some long silver bars were added, which are those which can be seen today. They were thus Christianised, becoming scepters of Primicerius or singer in certain solemn Cathedral acts. For instance, in 1634 the Rimonim that were converted into scepters, were used for the chanting of short responsories which were carried out at the end of the Little Hours and carried out by two capitulants. The Rimonim had various Hebrew inscriptions. The inscribed words include six which are precisely the six names that give psalm 18 (19) to the Law of God, in its second part: Torat, Hedut, Piqqude, Misvat, Yrhat, Mishpete. The candlestick holders of the headers bear the legend: En la sinagoga de los judíos de Cammarata / el Señor la guarde. Amén

Forteza Rey House

Situated at Marqués del Palmer Square which marks the northern limit of the Minor Call, the architectonic modernism of Casa Forteza Rey serves as a symbol of the survival of these great families of xuetas, descendants of Majorcan Jews that either were conversos (forcible converts to Christianity) or were Crypto-Jews, forced to keep their religion hidden.

Call Street – Carrer del Call

Through the streets of Can Dusai and Sant Alonso we come to Posada de Montserrat street, formerly known as calle Mayor del Call de los Judíos (Jewish call main street) and also as Sinagoga street as it was here that what was known as the second main synagogue or new synagogue was built after the confiscation of Montesión street in 1315.

El Fontan Market

Traveling through time from the years of the Inquisition and the persecution of Jew, coinciding with the foundation of the university of Oviedo, the route to Fontán street – where the current La Casina synagogue is located – starts on Ramón y Cajal street whose initial stretch as far as Riego square coincides with the layout of the former medieval defensive wall. Still outside the walls, and after leaving behind us in the square the beautiful Bernaldo Quirós palace, Los Pozos street intertwines with Rosal street which opens out on the left into Fontán street. The Zapatos arch symbolically marks the entrance to Fontán street and square, the closed market and street market which is open every day; a space for popular architecture and for the merry cider bars that splash the ground with fermented apple juice… The stone columns mark the modern character of this everlasting market where the sculptoric reference of the traditional pottery dish sellers is not lacking. Vamos al Fontán (Let´s go to Fontán) is the phrase which defines the fondness of the Oviedo residents for this space awash with colour where number 11 of this street houses the contemporary synagogue.

Arab Baths of Girona

The Paseo de la Reina Juana connects to Fernando el Católico street where there are excellent baths, popularly known since the 19th century as the Arab baths whose sumptuous apodyterium or changing room is presided over by a large Star of David. They are dated 1194, and after being closed in the 15th century, they were occupied in 1617 by a community of Capuchin nuns. In 1929, they started being managed publicly. These excellent baths are also endowed with a frigidarium (cold room), tepidarium (warm room), caldarium (hot room) and an oven.

The Four Pillars

Across the bridge in Avila and following the road as far as the shrine of the Four Pillars, seeking this intimate, magic moment in which the city is lit up, with the city wall in the foreground, and the sky of Ávila turns from blue to black in an unforgettable experience. Viewed from here, tourists can see the Cabalistic structure of Ávila, the Jerusalem of Castile as it was christened by the poet Avner Pérez, and the interior castle of Teresa de Cepeda y Ahumada.

Miguel de Mañara Palace

The Miguel de Mañara palace, situated on Levíes street, was built by the Almansa family in the 15th century on the remains of previous constructions, including a Mudejar house. The house fits in with Renaissance typology, though with slight modifications at a later date. As regards the first constructions on which the Renaissance palace was based, some plinths have been conserved its murals in one of the rooms on the ground floor, probably carried out in the second third of the 15th century. The Mañara palace conserves a collection of screens of Jewish origin. Curiously, they almost all have different designs. It is the Seville façade which best conserves these elements. Levíes street where it is located gets its name from Samuel Ha-Levi, the treasurer and main book-keeper of King Pedro I.

Carne Gate

Carne Gate, called Minjoar by the Moslems and of Almoravide origin, was the only exit to the exterior from the fenced Jewish quarter district. It was situated at the point at which the current Santa María la Blanca street meets Cano Cueto street, where the market was located. During the course of it history it has received various names such as the Perlas gate, the Jewish quarter gate, as it was the direct entry from the city to the latter, and the one that stuck, Carne (meat) gate, as there was an abattoir on the outskirts of the city constructed at the time of the Catholic Monarchs and immortalized by Cervantes in his Coloquio de los perros (Colloquy on dogs), said to be one of the three places which the King had yet to conquer in Seville and where Berganza was born, one of his characters.

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