Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Segovia
Situated on the Castilian plain some 50
miles northwest of M ADRID , Segovia was in
earlier days a royal residence and more
recently has become a favorite place of
excursion for those who reside in or have
come to visit the modern marvels of the
present-day capital. A strategic outpost of
the Roman Empire, it preserves the aque-
duct built by the former masters of Hispania
in the first century A . D . The size and ele-
gance of construction of this monument of
antiquity have made it one of Spain's
national icons. Segovia fell to the Moors in
the early eighth century and by the begin-
ning of the 13th century had succumbed to
(August 4, 1578). Sebastian was presum-
ably killed in this encounter and his uncle
Henrique was proclaimed king. After the
latter's death in 1580, the H OUSE OF A VIZ
became extinct, and P HILIP II of Spain took
the Portuguese throne.
Sebastian was periodically reported to
have escaped death at Alcazarquivir, and
pretenders claiming to be the lost king
appeared at intervals over many decades.
This identification of the lost monarch with
Portuguese aspirations for freedom from
Spanish rule and the recovery of national
dignity persisted as the cult of “Sebastian-
ism” over several centuries and was even
transferred to late 19th-century Brazil.
The Alcazar of Segovia (Library of Congress)
 
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