On a cold, rainy day the walls of
Avila stand against the dark gloomy grey sky. It feels a bit
mysterious to live in a town that is almost completely walled in.
The walls, built in the Middle Ages, are virtually the town’s
symbol and are visible from almost any part of it.
Their surface tinged with a shade
of ochre, the walls are interrupted by a series of semi-circular
turrets, which add a geometric pattern. Standing 12 metres (39
feet) tall, these brown walls are punctuated with nine gates built
across their total length of 2.5 km, with 88 towers that give the
city its stony countenance.
Avila, however, has had a
war-torn history prior to the construction of its impregnable
walls. It was the home of the Celtic tribes known as “Vettones”
around the 5th-7th centuries BC and was later invaded by the Romans
around the First Century. During the Middle Ages (between the 7th
and 11th centuries) there were frequent wars between the Islamic
Moors and the Christian kingdoms and the walls were built to
protect the town from further attack....
Avila shows me her true colours.
Huddled below are several pink, white and red houses looking petite
as the walls wrap them in their folds. There are several routes and
I begin at the Puerta Del Carmen, or the Gate of Carmen, that takes
its name from a Carmelite convent attached to the walls. Looking
down we see palaces and cathedrals dot the landscape. The
Cathedral, built in medieval times, is.
Avila also has a mystical side.
It was home to several saints, including St Theresa of Jesus, the
16th century patron saint of Avila who had reformed the Carmelite
Order across Spain. Almost every lane here leads you to palaces,
monasteries, chapels and churches
17th century convent, which was
once the home of St Theresa, the saint and writer who travelled
from Avila to all over Spain reforming the Carmelite order. Built
after her canonisation, the convent is closed to the public, but
tourists can visit the chapel located inside the Baroque
church
St Theresa’s relics amidst the
rosary and other personal effects. It is a fragile finger with a
ring placed there as well. It is believed to be the finger from her
right hand. But it is not just the relics. The silence in the
chapel draws me like a magnet as I sit there for a while inside a
reconstructed version of a cell where she prayed
The tomb of Don Juan in
Avila.
As the sun sets the city glows in a
spectacular display of lights. I walk along the tiny cobbled lanes
running into statues of saints. Bells greet me in every corner. And
every lane leads to the walls.
Santo Thomas Royal Monastery,
built in the 15th century in a Gothic style. With three elegant
cloisters, built across two storeys, the monastery holds the tomb
of Prince Don Juan, the crown prince of King Ferdinand and Queen
Isabella, who are best known for sponsoring Christopher Columbus’
voyage.