Original subtitles

(OPENING SEQUENCE)

(INTRO MUSIC)

- Our journey begins at the Ancient

and Historic City of Toledo.

From there we head East,

across high arid plateau, to arrive at the

beautiful royal palace of Aranjuez.

To the North is the capital of Spain, Madrid.

A city of medieval mansions and enormous royal palace,

beautiful open spaces and world class museums.

Heading West, we reach the Medieval Wall City of Avila.

Which has been described as the the most 16th Century

looking city in Spain.

To the North, is Coca Castle.

Considered to be one the finest examples

of Spanish Military Architecture.

Flying South, take us to Segovia.

A city full of historic buildings, including one the

finest Roman aqueducts in existence.

Our final location is one of Spain's

most magnificent treasures.

The Royal Palace Gardens of La Granja.

On the plains of Castilla- La Mancha

is the ancient city of Toledo.

Which has a history stretching back to the Roman Era.

In 1986 the wall part of the city was made a

UNESCO World Heritage site for its extensive

monumental and cultural heritage.

Toledo is one of Spain's most superb cities.

Especially given its position above

a long bend in the river Tagus,

where the fast flowing river has carved out a deep gorge.

Toledo's city walls have been rebuilt several times.

Beginning with the Romans, then the Visigoths,

followed by the Muslims and finally

during the Christian Reconquest in the 11th Century.

Two ancient bridges provide access to the city.

This is the St. Martins bridge on the West side.

Built in the 14th Century and heavily fortified.

The bridge features and impressive arch of 40 meters.

Which at that time very few bridges

in the world had achieved.

(soft guitar music)

In the Middle Ages, Toledo was known

as the city of three cultures.

Because it was said that within its densely packed streets

there was a period where Christian, Muslim and Jewish

communities were able to coexist in relative peace.

This cultural mixture has given the city a fusion

of visual styles, which modern visitors find captivating.

Horseshoe Arch Mosques, Sephardic Synagogues

and one of Spain's finest Gothic Cathedrals

are all jammed packed into this ancient city.

And Toledo can also claim to be artistically significant,

as this is were the great 16th Century painter El Greco

made his home for nearly 40 years.

From above it's easy to see one of the finest buildings

in the city,

the Cathedral of Saint Mary of Toledo.

One of three 13th Century High Gothic Cathedrals in Spain.

This in the opinion of many authorities is the finest.

It was begun in 1226 and actually built on top

of the Muslim Central Mosque, following the Moorish defeat

during the Christian Reconquest of Spain.

This enormous church is 120 meters long

and 60 meter wide.

Inside, 88 columns support the structure.

The artist El Greco was commissioned

to paint alter pieces and several paintings.

Other artists whose work decorate the Cathedral

include Goya, Raphael and Tissot.

Visitors enter this magnificent building through

the massive West doors and step back in time

as they walk through centuries of history.

Standing on the highest point of the city

is the Alcazar of Toledo.

A stone fortification, originally a Roman Palace

of a 3rd Century it was restored in the the 1540s.

However, what we see today was largely rebuilt

after the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s.

When 800 Nationalists, serving under

the dictator General Franco, held out

against a larger Republican Army of 8,000 for two months.

Until relief came in the form of a large Nationalist force.

By then the building had been severely damaged.

Today the fortress is a library

and a museum of the Spanish Army.

In the center of the high arid plateau of Castilla-La Mancha

is a green oasis and the remarkable

Royal Palace of Aranjuez.

The first house on this site was a Summer Residence

built in the 14th Century for a Nobleman.

But a 100 years later, it had become a Royal Residence.

It was King Philip II who began the first palace

in the late 16th Century.

The materials used, were white stone and brown brick,

giving a two tone effect.

After Philip's death in 1598, the building work was

still in progress, but an economic and political crisis

in Spain resulted in the project being abandoned.

In 1700, under Philip V

worked resumed with the intention of making

the palace a rival to Versailles in France.

But in 1748, the palace caught fire

and was largely destroyed.

It was King Ferdinand VI and Charles III,

who in the late 18th Century

created what we largely see today.

The new and large, but rock style palace

used the same two-tone effect

of white stone and brown brick.

The Gardens at Aranjuez

are among the most important in Spain.

They were first created by Philip II

in the late 16th Century.

And their continued development was made possible

by the plentiful supply of water from the river Tagus.

In the early 18th Century,

Philip V added to this work, making the fine Baroque Garden,

with its radiating rides that we see today.

The Palace of Aranjuez is 50 miles

from Spain's capital,

Madrid.

The first sign of the capital is one of the many

motor ways feeding into Madrid from the rest of the country.

It's the largest city in Spain, with an urban population

of well over 6 million people.

But, as the light fades we need to land for the night

at Cuatro Vientos airport,

before exploring the city in the morning.

As the day breaks, we find Madrid

under a torrential rainstorm.

But as the bad weather gradually clears away to the North

a beautiful rainbow seems to embrace the city

and here we see a glorious backdrop of medieval mansions,

royal palaces,

innumerable churches,

public squares,

beautiful gardens

and of course

museums.

Madrid is a city famous for its great art collections.

Including world famous Spanish painters

such as Goya, Velazquez,

Picasso, Dali and Miro.

The city itself is close the geographical center of Spain

and its a hub for road and rail networks.

It stand 660 meters above sea level

and as a result can be cold in winter months.

But in the summer can get extremely hot,

with temperatures over 30 degrees celsius being common.

The present location of Madrid was established in 1083,

under King Alfonso I.

During the following centuries the city gradually

grew in size and importance.

Such that in 1561 King Philip II

moved his court from Toledo to Madrid

and a new capital was created.

Today, Madrid's financial center is still thriving,

even though Spain's influence in the world has diminished.

In the 16th Century wealth poured into city

from the vast Spanish Empire,

which at the time spread from Italy to Northern Europe

as well as the Philippines

and the new world in the Americas.

The Royal Palace is one the major tourist attractions

in Madrid.

Although, it is the official residence of the Monarch.

Today it is only used for state occasions.

As the royal family lives in a smaller residence

on the outskirts of the city.

The Royal Palace was built during

the late 18th and 19th Centuries

and as we can see, it is enormous

with well over 3000 rooms.

The present palace replaced the former medieval Alcazar,

which was burnt to the ground on Christmas Eve in 1734.

It was inspired by sketches made for the construction

of the Louvre in Paris and it's built in the form

of a square looking out over a large courtyard,

with galleries and a parade ground.

The decoration of the palace's rooms and their layout

has gradually changed over the years

as the building has been adapted to suit the needs

of succeeding generations.

It was only in 1879 that construction began

on the Almudena Cathedral.

Worked stopped during the Civil War and World War II,

but restarted in 1950 with a new architect

who matched the gray and white baroque facade

of the Royal Palace opposite.

Why did it take so long

for Spain's capital to have a cathedral?

The answer was the cost of building

and maintaining the Spanish Empire,

which took priority over everything.

Building Madrid's cathedral would have to wait.

Even though, 40 cities in the empire

already had magnificent cathedrals.

The Almudena Cathedral

was not finally completed until 1993,

when it was consecrated by Pope John Paul II.

One of the great architectural sites in Madrid

is the Plaza Mayor.

Construction began in 1617,

it is rectangular in shape and surrounded

by three story residential houses,

with 237 balconies overlooking the plaza.

However, what we see today is from the 18th Century

as it had to be rebuilt after a series of devastating fires.

200 years earlier the plaza was a place

for very a different type of fire,

as this was were the Spanish Inquisition

burned to death or garotted supposed heretics.

Today it is one of the most beautiful open spaces in Spain,

which hosts markets and a variety of cultural events.

Of the many art galleries in the city

one stands head and shoulders above the others.

The Padro Museum.

This is the main Spanish National Art Gallery

and apart from containing the best collection of Spanish art

it's widely considered to have one of the worlds

finest collections of European art.

From the 12th to the early 20th Centuries,

which is largely based

on the former Spanish Royal Collection.

The Prado

is truly one of the greatest Art Museums in the world.

Bull fighting has been part of Spain's culture

since the first recorded event, well over 2000 years ago.

In the early part of the 20th Century,

bull fighting had become extremely popular

and Madrid needed a new arena,

known as Las Ventas.

Construction began in 1929

and can seat around 24,000 people.

It has since become one of Spain's most famous buildings.

Ticket prices vary in the usual way

depending on their position,

but also whether or not they are in the sun.

Seats or boxes in the shade attract a high premium.

The arena also hosts many other events

from rock concerts to tennis matches

and on some occasions Las Ventas

is transformed into an open air theater.

But for many local residents

this is perhaps the greatest building in Spain,

if not it in Europe

the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

It is been the home of Real Madrid

since it was built in 1947

and it's one of the worlds most famous football venues.

It is hosted the European Cup Final on four occasions

and the 1982 FIFA World Cup Final.

The Bernabeu Stadium has a major five year upgrade in 2001,

increasing its seating capacity to just over 80,000.

In 2017, plans were unveiled for a retractable roof.

Leaving Madrid to the Northwest,

we head towards the region of Castile and Leon

and the City of Avila.

Which has been described as the most 16th Century

looking city in Spain.

The city is known for its monumental city walls,

built between the 11th and 14th Centuries.

(harp music)

Around the two and a half thousand meter perimeter

are eight heavily defended gates and 88 watch towers.

The walls are three meters wide

and around 12 meters high.

It is one the best preserved medieval bastions in Spain.

Within the walls are a number of churches

and renaissance palaces that bear witness

to the past wealth of the towns textile trade.

The largest building in the city

is the iron gray granite Gothic cathedral.

where construction is said to have begun in 1107.

Now other historians think building started a century later,

whichever date is correct

it is still one of the oldest

Gothic cathedrals in Spain.

It was planned as a cathedral fortress as the eastern alps

forms part of the town walls

and acts as one of the watch towers.

It was built using colonial granite,

a striking red and white blood colored stone.

Avila

is known as the City of Saints and Stones

and it's an outstanding example of a fortified city

from the Middle Ages.

As a result,

it was made a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1985.

(harp music ends)

To reach our next location,

we must climb above a bank of low cloud

for about 30 kilometers.

Giving a wonderful view as we fly low across the tops.

(peaceful silence)

As the clouds begin to thin

we can carefully descent through them

as we approach the town of Coca

and its magnificent castle.

(intense music)

Coca Castle,

lies in a flat and wooded landscape

on the edge of the town,

which was the birthplace of the Roman Emperor Theodosius.

The castle was built in the 15th Century

by Alonso de Fonseca,

the archbishop of Seville.

It's made up of two square baileys separated by a passageway

and a tower on each corner,

with a shaded courtyard in the middle.

(intense music)

The double walls are two and a half meters thick

and surrounded by deep dry mote.

It's considered to be one of the greatest examples

brick military architecture in Spain.

A great deal of the decoration is in the mudejar style.

Mudejar is the architectural style of Islamic craftsman,

who stayed on in Spain

following the Christian Reconquest of the country.

Due to its great splendor it was used more

as a palace then as a fortress

and the lavish exterior still has it's mudejar decoration.

It is been restored numerous times,

serious damage was done to the castle

during the French Napoleonic invasion

in the early 19th Century.

The castle is privately owned

and part of it now serves

as a training center for foresters.

And magnificent battlements

are open for visitors to walk around

and other parts of the castle

can be visited with a guided tour.

(intense music ends)

50 kilometers to the South,

across the hot summer plains of Castile and Leon

is the wondrous City of Segovia

a UNESCO World Heritage City.

Until Madrid became the capital of Spain

this was one of the most important cities in the country.

There was a settlement here

over two and a half thousand years ago.

In 80 B.C. it was captured by the Romans,

in the 8th Century the Moors took the city

and it was finally reconquered by the Christians in 1079.

During the Medieval Period the city was an important

trading center for war and textiles.

And brought sufficient wealth into the city

to build a number of fine buildings.

Perhaps the greatest structure

is the much earlier Roman aqueduct.

This is one of the greatest examples still in existence

and a spectacular legacy of the Roman Empire in Spain.

It's made up of a 166 arches,

spanning more than 17 kilometers

and used no mortar in its construction

just relying on natural forces.

It brought water to the city

and continue to do so for close to 2,000 years,

until the mid 19th Century when water pollution

was causing the stone to erode.

Built at the highest point of the city

its the cathedral of Segovia.

It was begun in the 16th Century

but not finished until 1768

and it it the last Gothic cathedral to be built in Spain.

The style is a transition from the old gothic

to the renaissance style that was spreading across Europe.

King Charles V ordered the construction

of this new cathedral in 1525.

To replace an earlier one,

which had been destroyed during a revolt against the king.

It fronts the historic Plaza Mayor

and stands on the spot where Isabella I

was proclaimed Queen of Castile.

Inside there are more than 20 small chapels,

on the southern transit is a door opening

into the late gothic cloister,

which actually predates the cathedral itself.

As it survived the destruction of the original cathedral

and was taken down

and reassemble here to stand along side

this magnificent new building with its towers and turrets.

Standing out on a sparrow of rock

between the junction of two rivers

is Segovia's most dramatic building.

The Alcazar of Segovia.

(spanish music)

The fist documented record of the fortress

dates back to Christian writings in the 12th Century.

The word alcazar means a type of Moorish castle,

built during the Muslim rule of Spain.

Though the term continues to be used

after the Christian Reconquest.

Its position is a testament to its original military purpose

though it was also used as a royal residence.

The fortress has a number of secret passageways

that lead to the river,

as well as connecting to several other buildings

in the city.

It was in the 13th Century that the building began

to take on the elegant gothic style we see today.

Over the following centuries,

further additions were made.

Giving the fortress this fairy tale appearance.

(spanish music)

When the Royal Court eventually moved to Madrid in 1561,

the Alcazar served as a state prison

for almost two centuries.

Before it became the home

of the Royal Artillery School in 1762.

A 100 years later a fire destroyed most the roofs,

it was then painstakingly restore

thanks to the existence of engravings made before the fire.

Today the Alcazar of Segovia

is a museum and military archive.

(spanish music)

The fortress also has a claim to fame

in the land of make believe.

Because its fairytale appearance

is said to have helped inspire

Walt Disney's Cinderella's Castle in Disneyland.

(spanish music ends)

Our final location is about 12 kilometers to the South

in the foothills of the Guadalajara Mountains

and one of Spain's most opulent treasures

the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso.

More commonly called La Granja.

In 1719, the King of Spain Philip V

bought the site to build a new palace,

as his old one near by had burnt down.

With his French background,

he was the grandson of Louis XIV of France.

He decided to model the new palace after Versailles

and as with Versailles the gardens were heavily influenced

by the French formal style.

Extending to well over six square kilometers

they surround the palace

and are one of the best examples

of an 18th Century European Formal Garden in Spain.

The French designer,

he used the natural slope of the site

to enhance the visual perspectives

and provide sufficient pressure for water to shoot up

from the 26 sculptural fountains.

The original water works and piping are still functional

and the fountains rely purely on gravity to power them

from a secluded reservoir at the highest point of the park.

Because of the need to conserve water

and preserve the original plumbing system,

the display only operates twice a year.

But even without it

the gardens are still a delight to explore

and a perfect place

to end this journey.

(END CREDITS)