Palermo
is the
capital of the autonomous region of Sicily. It is over 2,700 years
old. Palermo is located on the northern coast of the island. The
city was founded in 734 BC by the Phoenicians.
The
basin was named the Conca d'Oro by the Arabs in the 9th century. From
831 to 1072 the city was under Arab rule and for more than two
hundred years Palermo was the capital of a flourishing emirate. Palermo
became the capital of a new kingdom (from 1130
to 1816), the
Kingdom of Sicily, ran
by the Normans. In the same period Sicilian parliament was created;
It is considered the oldest parliament in the world. The first king
was Roger II. The
Cathedral of Palermo, the Cathedral of Monreale and the cathedral of
Cefalù together with the Zisa Castle, the royal Palace, St. John of
the Hermits Church etc., can be traced back to this period. Today,
all these structures are part of "The UNESCO World Heritage".
What
to see in Alcala de Henares? Visit Alcala in one day
Are you
coming to visit Alcala de Henares for the first time and you don’t
know where to start? Friends are coming and you need information to
show them around the town? This is a proposal for a tour that goes
through the most important and beautiful places in Alcalá. Are you
interested?
What to
see in Alcala in just one day? It is not an easy task. Alcala may
seem a small city, but it has huge heritage and a long history. There
are plenty of beautiful places to visit, while it may be confusing to
know what to visit when you are coming to Alcalá for just one day.
That is why we have designed this tour, which goes over the most
important buildings, charming streets and ancients quares.
My experience about Digital classroom starts in Alcala de Henares, near Madrid. First of all, let's start presenting the city, a world heritage since 1992.
In
this post we talk about the history of Alcalá de Henares, we tell
you briefly the most important facts that you should know about our
city. Aren’t you curious of its origins and how it developed?The
historical importance of the city of Alcalá de Henares
was born possibly as a result of its geographical location. Alcalá
is set in the Valley of the River Henares, a fertile land where
people had to pass through in order to travel from the South Plateau
to the Valley of the River Ebro.
First
settlements in Alcala de Henares
Even
though we don’t know precisely the origin of the first human
settlements in Alcalá, archaeological remains tell us the exact
locations of the Neolithic population and that of the Bronze Age.
They were located in the south hills of the present-day town.
In
one of these hills (San Juan del Viso) we can find signs of what
could have been a Celtiberian city called Iplacea.This
Celtiberian settlement was probably the embryo of a future Roman
city.
Remains
belonging to Roman times suggest that a Roman urban center had been
placed here. Its location had defensive functions: it was easily
accessible from one side and quite rugged to the North. Besides, it
had control of the country plain around it. Different situtations of
Alcala in the past
History
of Alcala during Roman Times
Alcalá
was already an important city which even appeared on Roman road maps
and Administrative Areas of the Iberian Peninsula.
Complutum,
as Alcalá was called in this time, is a name that it’s believed
that it came from ‘compluvium’, a latin word which means ‘place
where water converge’ since there are many streams meeting in here:
Camarmilla and Torote merge with River Henares.
During
the First Century BC, the population from the hills moved to the
valley where it was possible to develop a growing city and was closer
to the Roman road that connected Caesaraugusta (Zaragoza) with
Emerita Augusta (Mérida).
Plenty
of archaeological remains prove this fact: including the city itself
and plenty of houses and discoveries that have been found over the
years. ‘Casa
Hippolytus’
is nowadays a museum where you can see some Roman remains and close
to it there is the archeological site where the forum
of Complutum
used to be. You
can visit
both of them.
Los Santos Niños’
Cathedral – Engraving painting of Francisco Javier Parcerisa
(1803-1875)
In
spite of this, the most influential heritage from Roman times is the
martyrdom of Justo and Pastor, also known as ‘Los Santos Niños’
(the Holy Children). They were two schoolboys who were killed for
their faith during the persecution of Christians by the Roman Emperor
Diocletian.
These
children mean a lot to the city of Alcalá. During the Visigothic
times, when the relics of Justo and Pastor were discovered, the
Archbishop of Toledo, Asturio Azulino Serrano, commanded that a
chapel be built here.
This
chapel would be the center of the new settlement (neo-Complutum)
where the archbishop decided to have a residence (what nowadays is
the Palacio Arzobispal).
History
of Alcala during Muslim era
Alcalá
didn’t change its location during Muslim times, even though a small
military fort, known as Qal’at
Abd al-Sälam,
was built during the ninth century in the outskirts, near the hill
Ecce Homo. To this location came some inhabitants seeking
mainly protection.
In
front of the chapel Nuestra Señora del Val some vestiges of the
tower and traces of human settlement can be seen nowadays.
History
of Alcala in the Middle Age
The
archbishop of Toledo conquered Alkal’a
Nahar
in 1118. The archbishopric of Toledo would control Alcalá and its
land beginning in 1126, when the King Alfonso VII allowed it.The
intervention
of archbishops of Toledo
in Alcalá was clearly visible for the population:
Gonzalo
Petrez created a General Studies School in 1223
Gil
de Albornoz developed a urban planning of Alcalá
Pedro
Tenorio enlarged and reconstructed the archbishop residence, remade
the bridge over the river Henares and built the Chapel of el Val
Alonso
Carrillo expanded the area of the villa
A
long list of actions took place that made Alcalá well-known and one
of the most important towns of the Kingdom of Castile.
Alcalá
de Henares in 1565 – Painting of Anton van der Wyngaerde (1525 –
1572)
History
of Alcala from the sixteenth to eighteenth century
In
1497, Cardinal Cisneros was promoted to Archbishop of Toledo. He
fostered the construction of the Cathedral of Santos Niños, as well
as several monasteries in the city and the Complutense
University,
his main project.
College
of San Ildefonso. Source: Fotografía
científica UAH.
The
University Complutense meant a lot to Alcalá.
Cisneros designed not only an University but an organized Renaissance
city. The College of San Ildefonso was the nucleus of a urban
development along the streets Colegios and Libreros, where another 12
schools and a hospital for students were built, too.
It
led to religious orders setting in this town that opened schools and
convents for members of their institutions, and it also led to lots
of personalities being in Alcalá, as students or teachers, for
instance Miguel
de Cervantes.
The
University was gradually losing its functional character, and in 1767
the Jesuits were expelled, so that the university was forced to make
a reform.
Alcalá
in 1667 – Watercolor of Pier María Baldi (Laurentian Library in
Florence)
History
of Alcala from the nineteenth century to the present
The
Nineteenth century is a time of disasters. There was the Peninsular
War (1808-1814), Ecclesiastical Confiscations and the Complutense
University moved to Madrid
because a lack of students. Every building ever belonging to the
university changed its activity, serving as barracks or other
military uses.
Puerta de Madrid.
Source: Fotografía
científica UAH.
The
Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) was a disaster for cultural artistic
goods and treasures of Alcalá. These disastrous consequences lasted
until the 70s, when the industrialization of Spain and Alcalá
started. It brought money to the inhabitants of Alcalá, and it
brought back social life and urban development.
Luckily
a new law was made just in time to protect the most important urban
heritages of Alcalá (but not all), and so the city center wasn’t
demolish to build new ugly housing.
The
XXth century brings a new growing touristic interest in Alcalá. It
has brought back the University (even though it is not the University
Complutense anymore but the University
of Alcalá)
and the old confiscated buildings have been reoccupied and restored.
The
college environment that was lost for a long time but that has always
been the spirit of Alcalá has been reemerging.
Do
you want to learn more things about Alcala de Henares? In this
link
we have more post about the History of Alcala.
