Medinaceli is really old town. As far as history goes, “Medina” (as the locals call is) has had it all – Romans, Celtiberians, Arabs, etc. I am sure I could be a lot more detailed than that if I wanted. (In fact, the local city government has a nice web page all about the villa – in Spanish only.) But honestly, Medinaceli for me is a lot more than its ancient history. This is the town where the DH spent his summers as a kid. His grandmother had a house there – a really old house right on the main Plaza Mayor. His Aunt & Uncle still summer there and every winter his cousins and brother get together to celebrate the “Toro Jubilo,” a fiesta where a bull’s horns are covered with paper and tar and lit on fire while townsfolk chase it around (nice). Medinaceli is where the DH’s grandmother is buried and where he received first communion and where he won singing contests as a boy.
Up the windy road to Medinaceli Villa
Remains of Arab castle – now the cemetery. The villa is also surrounded by Arab walls.
Medinaceli is located at the top of a mesa and is reached via a windy road. The kind of road the DH loves and I cringe at. About two-thirds up the road there is a fresh water fountain built into the side of the hill. We almost always stop at this fountain so the DH can have a drink. The fountain, too, is very old and has been providing the villa with fresh water for far longer than anyone can remember.
Not a lot of people live in Medinaceli. The villa atop the hill only supports about 150 people – more in the summer, less in the winter. There is also a small village at the base of the hill, where about 350 people live. Medina in the winter is a barren, cold & windy place. The summers are hot and windy, too. No wonder the hills all around are covered in windmills!
Windmills cover Spain
The villa itself is made up of stone buildings and winding little paved roads, some too small for cars to pass. Everything seems old and even the new houses are built to look this way. Some years ago, renovations to the Plaza Mayor revealed an enormous Roman mosaic covering most of the plaza. It was dug up and put in storage. Recently a museum has been created to display the mosaics. One of the main buildings on the plaza is the Duke’s house. (Officially Ducal Palace) There still are Dukes in Medinaceli. Royalty and the nobility are still going strong in Spain. (Just consult Hola! or Hello! magazines.) The Duke’s house on the Plaza Mayor, unfortunately, has seen better days and is waiting for its facelift.
Plaza Mayor, looking away from the Duke’s Palace. The house in the middle, right hand side was the DH’s family’s house, where his Aunt & Uncle now live.
Left hand side of Ducal Palace in the Plaza Mayor
Another building on the Plaza Mayor, with the villa’s church tower behind
Colegiata de Santa María de la Asunción – where the DH celebrated his first communion. Don’t ask me what a Colegiata is – it is a kind of Catholic church, something like a cathedral.
**Update – The DH informs me that this not the church where he received first communion. That took place at what he refers to as “the Sisters church”, or the local convent church, a few minutes walk from the Colegiata. The nuns still live in Medinaceli and are cloistered.**
Arab door in the city walls
Modern house, built to look old
La Ermita – a small chapel located down the hill from Medinaceli. Those clouds only got worse!
Good-Bye Medina!
Medinaceli is located in the region of Castilla & León, in the Province of Soria. Scattered liberally across Castilla & León, (and many other regions of Spain), are the remains of castles, fortresses and palatial homes. Some have been rebuilt and others lie in ruins. It is amazing to me to drive down a highway and see these monuments on the side of the road. To a Spanish person, they are part of life. To an American, it is like history come alive.
Castle being rebuilt – somewhere between Guadalajara & Medinaceli
