Segovia, built on a craggy limestone escarpment at a height of over 1,000 metres above sea level, stands out against the bright blue of the Castilian sky, drawing a suggestive silhouette. Since the 16th century, when Garci Ruiz de Castro, Segovia"s first historian, first made the comparison, this silhouette has been likened to a ship made of rock waiting for the two rivers, the Eresma and the Clamores, which meet at its feet, to flood the valley so that it may set sail, plying the wide sea of cornfields on the plateau.

It is a city to be visited at a leisurely pace and one to return to. Since we have opened up to the idea of conservation in modern times, Segovia has received all the official acknowledgements for its artistic richness and wealth of monuments, for the transparency of its light, for the crystal clear atmosphere which surrounds it, and for the leafy woodland which encircles it, distinguishing Segovia as an oasis of green in strong contrast with the ochre hues of its dry fields.

A Royal Decree issued long ago on 11th October 1884 declared the Aqueduct an Artistic Historical Monument, a title which was later conferred on other buildings such as the Tower of San Esteban, the Monastery of El Parral, the Church of La Vera Cruz and the Alcázar. In 1941 the declaration was extended to the whole of the old town of Segovia. In 1947 all of the orchards and woodland which surround it were recognised as an Aesthetic Reserve, and were placed under protection. Finally, in 1985, UNESCO brought the process to a close by declaring the City of Segovia a World Heritage Site.


In the old town, houses and the city walls, palaces and churches, graceful towers and trees combine and intertwine to form a unique web of narrow and winding streets, small secluded squares or ones which unexpectedly open out onto attractive views. In the midst of this web it is sometimes difficult to distinguish the golden stones from the vegetation which the seasons dress with the splendour of ever-changing colour.