Overview
The Castilian city of Avila, situated in the shadow of the Sierra de Gredos, is the finest example in Europe of a medieval walled town in a state of perfect preservation. According to the Greek Ptolemy the original inhabitants of the region were the Vetoni, whose principal settlement was known as Obila, from which the modern Avila derives. In the first century AD Christianity was introduced to Roman Obila by San Segundo, but despite the Visigothic adoption of the faith in 589 it did not flourish until the Castilian King Alfonso VI officially declared the city part of his domains in 1085. Thereafter it was settled by knights from across Christian Spain, and its religious loyalties were never again in doubt. Avila became renowned for its associations with some of the most important figures of Spanish Catholicism.
The great walls were built between 1090 and 1099 by Casandro and Florin de Pituenga under the direction of Don Raimundo de Borgona, son-in-law of Alfonso VI. They stand approximately 12 metres high and 3 metres thick, with 86 towers (some claim 90) and nine gates. So imposing and stout are these that the city was virtually impregnable, resisting many sieges throughout medieval Castile. In the 20th century, when Hollywood embraced Spain for “epic” filmmaking, the movie El Cid was partially filmed in and around Avila. Thus the city walls have become one of the most potent symbols of the Spanish Middle Ages.
A prosperous and favoured city in those days, Avila is well endowed with heritage. Its architecture contains some of the finest examples of the Romanesque in Castile; the Cathedral and the church of San Vicente both demonstrate the enduring qualities of this style, although the Cathedral was later continued in Gothic. All of historic Avila is built of the same honey-coloured sandstone used in the Segovia cathedral.
Perhaps the most celebrated figure from Avila was Santa Teresa. Born into an aristocratic family in 1515, she became a Carmelite nun in 1536. About twenty years later she began experiencing visions and mystical phenomena, including—according to tradition—levitation. Around 1550, inspired by these experiences, Teresa undertook the reform of the Carmelite order, which like many medieval religious communities had developed lax habits. Her new reformed branch became known as Las Descalzas and maintains a renowned convent in the heart of Madrid. She is said to have founded seventeen new convents. One of her endearing qualities was her humour, and her oft-quoted request that God deliver her from “sullen saints.”
Santa Teresa is considered the leading religious figure of 16th-century Spain, and her major work, La Vida de Santa Teresa, remains central reading for those studying for the priesthood. The convent bearing her name stands on the site of the house where she was born, while in Paseo de la Encarnación there is a museum dedicated to her life. The convent of San José — her first foundation — is also a museum.
No visit to Avila is complete without tasting the local sweetmeats, the famous Yemas de Avila, which like turrón and mazapán are believed to have originated in the region’s Arabic/Moorish heritage. As H.V. Morton once wrote, in the city of Santa Teresa they may be considered “converted.”
Prince Juan, son of the Catholic Monarchs, is buried in the convent of Santo Tomás. He died in Salamanca in 1497.
At around 4,000 feet above sea level, Avila is the highest city in Spain.