Ávila, Spain
| Ávila Ávila de los Caballeros Ávila del Rey Ávila de los leales |
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| Motto: Una ciudad para todos... (Spanish for "A city for everyone...") |
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  Ávila
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Spain | ||
| Autonomous Community | Castile and León | ||
| Province | Ávila | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Miguel Ángel García Nieto (PP) | ||
| Area | |||
| - Land | 231.9 km2 (89.5 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 1,182 m (3,665 ft) | ||
| Population (2009) | |||
| - Total | 59,272 | ||
| - Density | 226.87/km2 (587.6/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Postal code | 05001 - 05006 | ||
| Area code(s) | 34 (Spain) + 920 (Ávila) | ||
| Website | http://www.avila.es (Spanish) | ||
Ávila, sometimes called Ávila de los Caballeros or Ávila del Rey (Latin: Abila and Óbila) is the capital of the province of the same name, now part of the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain.
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Geography
The city is 1131 meters (3665 feet) above sea level, the highest provincial capital in Spain. It is built on the flat summit of a rocky hill, which rises abruptly in the midst of a veritable wilderness: a brown, arid, treeless table-land, strewn with immense grey boulders, and shut in by lofty mountains. This results in an extreme climate, with very hard and long winters, and short summers.
History
In pre-Roman times (5th century BC), it was inhabited by the Vettones, who called it Obila ("High Mountain") and had here one of their strongest fortresses.
Ávila may have been the ancient town known as Abula, mentioned by Ptolemy in his Geographia (II 6, 60) as being located in the Iberian region of Bastetania.[1] Abula is mentioned as one of the first cities in Hispania that was Christianized, specifically by Saint Secundus (San Segundo).[1] However, Abula may have been the town of Abla.[1] After the conquest by the Romans, it was called Abila or Abela. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Ávila was a stronghold of the Visigoths. Conquered by the Arabs (who called it Ābila, آبلة), it was repeatedly attacked by the northern Iberian Christian kingdoms, after which it remained virtually uninhabited. It was repopulated in the 11th century, after the definitive capture of the area by the Christians, under Raymond of Burgundy.
The city lived a period of prosperity under the Catholic Kings (early 16th century) and their successors Charles V and Philip II of Spain, but decayed again starting from the 18th century, when it reduced to just 4,000 inhabitants.
Main sights
Ávila is most known for the medieval city walls[2], that were constructed of brown granite in 1090: surmounted by a breastwork, with eighty-eight towers and nine gateways, they are still in excellent repair, but a large part of the city lies beyond their perimeter.
The Gothic cathedral is integrated into the city's defences. It was built between the 12th and 14th centuries, and has the appearance of a fortress, with embattled walls and two solid towers. It contains many interesting sculptures and paintings, besides one especially fine silver pyx, the work of Juán de Arfe, dating from 1571.
The churches of San Vicente, San Pedro and San Segundo are, in their main features, Romanesque of the 12th century. The Don Diego del Águila date to the 16th century.
In the Gothic Monastery of Santo Tomás, erected by the Catholic Queen Isabella in 1482, is especially noteworthy the marble monument, carved by the 15th-century Florentine sculptor Domenico Fancelli, over the tomb of Prince John, the only son of Ferdinand and Isabella.
Food
Typical food in Ávila includes roast lamb, suckling pig, and veal steak. Ávila is also famous for its yemas de Santa Teresa - egg yolk candies named after the patron saint.
Characteristic dishes include Beans Avila del Barco, Avila-bone steak, potatoes and yolks revolconas St. Teresa. Also worth mentioning hornazo, bread roll stuffed with sausage, bacon, tenderloin and eggs, veal sweetbreads or suckling pig, cuchifrito in the capital and baked in Arevalo.
The Santa Teresa yolks are sweet typical of the city, manufactured in the traditional pastry "La Flor de Castilla". The rest of bakeries in the city but also manufactured under the name "Egg of Avila," or simply "buds", is produced as the name suggests from the yolk.
| Old Town of Ávila with its Extra-Muros Churches* | |
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| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
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| State Party |  Spain |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | iii, iv |
| Reference | 348 |
| Region** | Europe and North America |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 1985 (9th Session) |
| * Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. ** Region as classified by UNESCO. |
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Town twinning
Vilanuèva d'Olt, France- Rueil-Malmaison, France
Teramo, Italy
See also
- List of people from Ávila, Spain
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Avitiano (December 23, 2008). "Abulenses". Centro de estudios abulenses. http://centrodeestudiosabulenses.blogia.com/temas/abulenses.php. Retrieved February 20, 2009.
- ↑ Avila World Heritage Sites in Spain at travelinginspain.com.
External links
- Avila's City Hall
- Avila's Tourist Guide
- Convent of St. Teresa, Avila
- Photos of Avila
- Satellite picture by Google Maps
- Hazlitt, Classical Gazetteer "Abila"
- Citizens' association for the defence of heritage of Avila - Photos of Avila
"Avila" in the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia.
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (Eleventh ed.). Cambridge University Press.