Almost nineteen centuries ago the Romans raised a granite aqueduct in Segovia whose stones stand without a drop of mortar, and it is still standing. In December 1474, in this same city, Isabella of Castile had herself proclaimed queen without waiting for her husband. Twelve stops between the arches of the Azoguejo, the stairway up to the water channel, the house covered in granite points, the square of the rebel Juan Bravo, the synagogue turned into a church, the square of the proclamation, the last great Gothic cathedral, the Jewish quarter and its gate, the Alcázar on its rock, the tower and halls rebuilt after the fire, the monastery of the monk who repaired the aqueduct and the twelve-sided church facing the city. Approximate audio duration: 23 minutes.
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Segovia: el acueducto que se sostiene sin argamasa y la plaza donde Isabel se coronó sola
Hace casi diecinueve siglos, los romanos levantaron en Segovia un acueducto de granito cuyas piedras se sostienen sin una gota de argamasa, y todavía está en pie. En diciembre de 1474, en esta misma ciudad, Isabel de Castilla se hizo proclamar reina sin esperar a su marido. Doce paradas entre los arcos del Azoguejo, la escalera que sube hasta el canal, la casa cubierta de puntas de granito, la plaza del comunero Juan Bravo, la sinagoga convertida en iglesia, la plaza de la proclamación, la última gran catedral gótica, la judería y su puerta, el Alcázar sobre la roca, la torre y las salas que reconstruyeron tras el incendio, el monasterio del monje que reparó el acueducto y la iglesia de doce lados frente a la ciudad. Duración aproximada de audio: 23 minutos.
Tour stops
12 stops · ~23 min of audio · 3.21 km on foot (~50 min walking) · about 1 h 15 min in total
You are standing in the Plaza del Azoguejo, beneath the highest point of the aqueduct. Look up: about twenty-eight metres of granite, in two tiers of arches.
Look at the joints between the blocks. There is nothing there. No lime, no cement, no mortar. More than twenty thousand stones stand only through their own weight and the exact way they were cut and set.
The Romans built it at the end of the first century or the beginning of the second century AD. The exact date is unknown. So it has been standing for almost nineteen centuries.
Its job was very practical: to bring water to the city fro…
2
The Devil, the Water Girl and the Monk
You have climbed the stairway that runs up beside the aqueduct towards the city wall. From here you see the arches side on, and almost at eye level appears the top: the channel where the water ran.
Now for the legend. They say a girl who was tired of carrying water jars uphill promised her soul to the devil if he would bring the water to her door before dawn.
The devil worked all night. But when the cock crowed, he still had a single stone left to place. The girl kept her soul, and Segovia kept the aqueduct. It is only a legend, but Segovians still tell it.
The real story has another hero. …
3
A Façade Full of Points
You are on Calle Juan Bravo, in front of a façade unlike any other in Segovia. It is completely covered in granite points, like the skin of a hedgehog.
This is the Casa de los Picos, the House of Points. It was built in the fifteenth century, when Segovia was one of the richest cities in Castile. The de la Hoz family had it decorated with these stones carved like diamonds.
The fashion for pointed façades came from Italy and reached several Spanish cities. It was a way to show off wealth: every point had to be carved by hand, in one of the hardest stones there is.
Think about what Segovia me…
4
The Rebel of the Square
You have reached the Plaza de San Martín. Look at the church: it is wrapped in colonnaded galleries, as if held in a stone embrace. It is Romanesque, from the twelfth century.
These porticoed galleries are typical of Segovia. They served as a meeting place for the parish. Under these arches people talked about business, lawsuits and neighbourhood affairs.
Now look at the statue in the middle of the square. This is Juan Bravo, a Segovian nobleman who in 1520 led the city in the revolt of the Comuneros of Castile.
The Castilian cities rose against the young King Charles, newly arrived from Fl…
5
The Synagogue That Became a Church
You are in front of a discreet entrance, almost hidden between the houses. Behind it is the church of Corpus Christi. But if you go inside, you will see horseshoe arches and columns that do not look like a church.
That is because it was not one. This building was Segovia's main synagogue. In the Middle Ages the city had a large Jewish community, with doctors, craftsmen, merchants and tax collectors.
Its style is very close to that of the Santa María la Blanca synagogue in Toledo. Aisles divided by white pillars, horseshoe arches and capitals decorated with pine cones.
In 1410 the Jews of Se…
6
The Queen Who Did Not Wait for the King
You are in Segovia's Plaza Mayor. Look around: arcades, balconies, the bandstand in the centre and, above the rooftops, the golden mass of the cathedral.
Now picture this square in December 1474. On the eleventh of that month King Henry IV died in Madrid. The news reached Segovia, where his half-sister Isabella was staying.
Isabella was twenty-three and married to Ferdinand, heir to Aragon. But Ferdinand was far away, in Aragonese lands. And the succession was disputed: many nobles backed Juana, Henry's daughter.
Isabella did not wait. On 13 December she left the Alcázar and came here. In t…
7
The Last Great Gothic Cathedral
You are beside Segovia Cathedral. Look at the east end: a forest of pinnacles, flying buttresses and spires in golden stone. It is called the Lady of Cathedrals.
The curious thing is the date. It was begun in 1525, when the Renaissance was already triumphing in Italy. Yet it was built in Gothic style. It is one of the last great Gothic cathedrals in Europe.
Why a new cathedral? Because the old one stood elsewhere, next to the Alcázar. During the Comuneros war in 1520 and 1521 it was caught in the fighting between the rebels and the fortress's defenders, and it was badly damaged.
Charles V b…
8
The Jewish Quarter and Its Gate
You have walked down the streets of the Jewish quarter to the Puerta de San Andrés, one of the gates in the city wall. From here you can see the valley of the Clamores stream, south of the city.
Look at the wooded slope opposite. That was where the Jewish cemetery of Segovia lay, known as El Fonsario. Tombs cut into the rock still survive there.
The streets you came down were the Jewish quarter. In 1481, following laws passed by the Cortes of Toledo, the Jews of Segovia were forced to live apart from Christians, inside this closed-off area.
Eleven years later came the final blow. In 1492 th…
9
The Fortress at the City's Prow
You have reached the western tip of Segovia. In front of you rises the Alcázar, cut off from the city by a deep moat. Look at the great square tower with its turrets: it is the tower of John II.
The old town is shaped like a ship, and the Alcázar sits at its prow. It stands on a rock right where two rivers meet, the Eresma and the Clamores stream. It is a perfect place to defend.
There was already a fortification here in very early times. But the castle you see took shape between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries, when the kings of Castile used it as one of their favourite residences.
It …
10
The Fire of 1862
You are inside the Alcázar, walking through its halls. Gilded ceilings, windows over the valley, suits of armour. Everything looks medieval. But much of what you see was remade less than two centuries ago.
On 6 March 1862, while the Artillery College was housed here, a fire broke out. The flames spread through the wooden roofs for hours. When it was over, the castle had lost its roofs and a large part of its interiors.
The stone towers held, but the slate spires crowning the building and many rooms had to be rebuilt. The restoration took decades and was finished at the end of the nineteenth …
11
The Monastery of the Aqueduct Monk
You have crossed the Eresma river and are in front of the monastery of Santa María de El Parral. Look at its façade: it was never finished, with one part richly carved and another plain, as if the stonemasons had walked off halfway through.
The monastery was founded in 1447. Behind it was the future King Henry IV, Isabella's half-brother, with his favourite, Juan Pacheco, Marquis of Villena. They handed it to the Hieronymite monks.
The Hieronymites were an order closely tied to the kings of Castile. And from here came someone you already know: Brother Juan de Escobedo, the monk who between 1…
12
The Twelve-Sided Church
You are in front of the church of the Vera Cruz, outside the walls. Count its sides: there are twelve. It is neither round nor cross-shaped, like almost every church. It is a stone polygon.
An inscription inside says it was consecrated in 1208. Its shape imitates the church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the place where, according to Christian tradition, Jesus was buried.
Popular tradition credits it to the Knights Templar. But no documents prove it. Many historians think it was built by the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, whose knights guarded that church in the Holy Land.
If you go in, …
How long does the "Segovia: the Aqueduct Held Up Without Mortar and the Square Where Isabella Crowned Herself" audio tour take?
It has about 23 minutes of audio across 12 stops and a 3.21 km walking route (~50 min on foot). Plan roughly 1 h 15 min in total, or split it up: you can pause and resume anytime.
Where does the tour start?
At stop 1, "Stones That Hold Themselves Up" (coordinates 40.948, -4.1179). The app guides you from stop to stop with a map.
Is it free?
Trevurs is a free app for iOS and Android. There is also an optional Premium version, from USD 1.99, with unlimited offline downloads, access to every tour and no ads. It also helps keep an independent app alive.
Why use an audio tour instead of a guided group tour?
No group to keep up with and no guide to wait for. Start at any time of day, on your own schedule. Go at your own pace: pause, rewind or skip any stop. No need to commit 2 or 3 hours to a single tour: do one stop or the whole route. Works offline once downloaded.
What languages is this audio guide available in?
This tour is available in Spanish, English, Portuguese, French, Italian. Switch languages anytime from inside the app.
Do I need wifi to listen to this tour?
No. Download the tour over wifi before you go, then listen without any data connection.
How do I access this tour?
Download Trevurs on iPhone (App Store) or Android (Google Play), then open Segovia and pick "Segovia: the Aqueduct Held Up Without Mortar and the Square Where Isabella Crowned Herself". No account required to start.
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No wifi needed · Spanish, English, Portuguese, French, Italian
