City Walls

Salamanca has some remnants of its medieval walls, evidence for the endemic violence of the medieval period. The large scale violence of the Christian conquest of the high middle ages, or the Reconquista, gave way to factional violence between the various political entities of Iberian Peninsula. The walls are only extant in a few places. There are probably a variety of reasons for this. Part may have been tied to the destruction of the Alcazar (city fortress) when the city chose the wrong side in a factional battle in the sixteenth century. Part is due to the inconvenience of a big stone wall when there is no need for it anymore. Part is the re-use of those stones in new construction. But like many medieval cities, from York to Granada, you can find and walk along some of the old walls from the middle ages. Some of the walls of Salamanca are built directly on bedrock, where the city sat on the stone cliffs above the Rio Tormes.

The walls of Segovia are in better repair than Salamanca, in part because the medieval aspect of the city is a reason for tourism. Between the Alcazar and the cathedral, plus the association with the coronation of Queen Isabella, Segovia draws a medieval crowd. It also has the amazing Roman aqueduct, so masonry is an important part of Segovia's material heritage. The walls, which are remarkable intact, or at least repaired and renovated, can be found surrounding most of the old city.

The streets of the Juderia in Segovia seems narrower, and at least some of the houses seem taller and narrower than elsewhere in the old city. I used this distinction in my story when Diego goes and visits the armor maker, which also served to give me some ideas about the characters who lived in that area.

I loved the towers of Salamanca. Here is a picture of the tower at the Convent of St Ursula, taken in the evening.