Work on the wall began in 1090 under the direction of the builder-architects Cassandro Colonio and Florín de Pituenga, assisted by master masons brought in from Castile, León and Biscay, plus a whole army of journeymen and labourers. The termination date, albeit shrouded in some controversy, is usually thought to be 1099. Its total perimeter is about 2500 metres; it has 88 semicircular towers, 2500 merlons, three-metre thick walls and nine gates: Puerta del Alcazar, Puerta de San Vicente, Puerta del Peso de la Harina, Puerta del Mariscal, Puerta del Carmen, Puerta del Puente, Puerta de la Santa, Puerta del Rastro and Puerta de la Mala Ventura. A walk along the top of the wall from Puerta del Alcazar, the most important gate, gives us splendid views of the Iglesia de San Pedro. This church was built in about 1100, using sandstone from La Colilla. It is laid out in a Latin cross plan with three apses, nave and two aisles, lantern, uncovered atrium and vaults of a different height. This pretty much follows the plan of the twelfth-century Cluny Abbey.

Continuing along the wall-top walk northwards we come to the Puerta de San Vicente, with splendid views of the Basílica de San Vicente. The first stage of its construction, under masters from León, got underway in the last decade of the eleventh century, betraying the clear influence of León’s Basílica de San Isidoro in terms of the decorative motifs of the capitals, eaves and imposts and the general floor plan. The second stage of the construction began in the mid century and lasted until the end under Master Fruchel. The general structure is similar to that of the Latin basilicas, consisting of a Latin-cross floor plan, nave and two aisles, lantern, triforium, three apses, two towers and crypt. The construction was based on ashlar blocks brought in from La Colilla filled in with rubblework over a granite footing. Towards the north the Iglesia de San Andrés was an important church in the district where the quarrymen settled in the repopulation era. Although it is hard to pinpoint the date of its construction, it would seem to have been built before the Iglesia de San Vicente, in the early twelfth century, and its construction was partly the work of León quarrymen who had previously worked on León’s Iglesia de San Isidoro. The construction material, as in the former churches, is sandstone from the quarries of La Colilla over a footing of granite ashlar. It has a simple floor plan of nave and two aisles without a crossing, triple eastern end, a square tower added at the western end and a small sacristy. The Ermita de San Segundo stands at the west of the city near the River Adaja. At first it was called Ermita de Santa Lucía and then its name was changed to Ermita de San Sebastián until, in the sixteenth century, the supposed remains of San Segundo, the city’s patron saint, were found on the spot. In 1600 the Barefoot Carmelites took up residence in the church. The hermitage was built in the twelfth century, also from sandstone and granite.

As well as the route described above another interesting possibility is the route of Santa Teresa, which picks up on the traces of the saint’s life in the city.

© Alhena Media