Sarmiento Castle, Fuentes de Valdepero, Spain

15th century castle in Sarmiento belonged to the important Sarmiento family. Its last owner was the House of Alba. Acquired by the Provincial Council of Palencia, we can visit the tower, its rooms and its ramparts. It hosts an exhibition entitled PlastiHistoria, showing various scenes made in clay on the history of Palencia. Its keep has a height of 22 meters and the thickness of its walls is the largest of the Spanish castles, reaching 11 meters thick in some places

References:

all-spain.es

User Reviews

Justiniano de Campos (2 years ago)
Impecable restauracion y puesta en valor. Al lado de Palencia y barato el acceso. Recomendable si pasas por la zona

Francisco Javier (2 years ago)
Sencillo. Muy sucia la azotea de excrementos de las palomas. En la planta superior suele tener alguna exposición. Entrada quizás algo cara para lo que realmente se ve en su interior, pero aceptable si pensamos que es una contribución para mantener el patrimonio.

Juan C (2 years ago)
Bonito castillo y curiosa historia perfectamente narrada por las dos chicas que hacen la visita guiada, quienes con su expresión impregnan sensaciones y captan la emoción de hasta los más pequeños. ¡Enhorabuena chicas!

Susana Vegas (2 years ago)
Fantástica la visita guiada... mis hijos y yo misma salimos encantados... lo recomiendo a todo el mundo, merece la pena!!

mat_ bmeijer (4 years ago)
Is actually closed during the week, only open on the weekends. As such, you can olny see it from the outside

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Honza Soukup

Historic Site of the week

Angelokastro

Angelokastro is a Byzantine castle on the island of Corfu. It is located at the top of the highest peak of the island"s shoreline in the northwest coast near Palaiokastritsa and built on particularly precipitous and rocky terrain. It stands 305 m on a steep cliff above the sea and surveys the City of Corfu and the mountains of mainland Greece to the southeast and a wide area of Corfu toward the northeast and northwest.

Angelokastro is one of the most important fortified complexes of Corfu. It was an acropolis which surveyed the region all the way to the southern Adriatic and presented a formidable strategic vantage point to the occupant of the castle.

Angelokastro formed a defensive triangle with the castles of Gardiki and Kassiopi, which covered Corfu"s defences to the south, northwest and northeast.

The castle never fell, despite frequent sieges and attempts at conquering it through the centuries, and played a decisive role in defending the island against pirate incursions and during three sieges of Corfu by the Ottomans, significantly contributing to their defeat.

During invasions it helped shelter the local peasant population. The villagers also fought against the invaders playing an active role in the defence of the castle.

The exact period of the building of the castle is not known, but it has often been attributed to the reigns of Michael I Komnenos and his son Michael II Komnenos. The first documentary evidence for the fortress dates to 1272, when Giordano di San Felice took possession of it for Charles of Anjou, who had seized Corfu from Manfred, King of Sicily in 1267.

From 1387 to the end of the 16th century, Angelokastro was the official capital of Corfu and the seat of the Provveditore Generale del Levante, governor of the Ionian islands and commander of the Venetian fleet, which was stationed in Corfu.

The governor of the castle (the castellan) was normally appointed by the City council of Corfu and was chosen amongst the noblemen of the island.

Angelokastro is considered one of the most imposing architectural remains in the Ionian Islands.

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