Montealegre de Campos Castle, Montealegre de Campos, Spain

The castle of Montealegre, built in the 12th century, was mentioned for the first time in 1173, when Rodrígo Gutiérrez was appointed lord of Montealegre; together with the castles of Ampudia, Belmonte, Torremormojón, Medina de Rioseco, Mucientes and Trigueros, it formed the defence line of the southern border of the Kingdom of León. The castle was revamped in 1297 by Alfonso Tello Pérez de Meneses, appointed lord of Montealegre by King Alfonso VIII.

In the 13th century, the domain was transferred to the Order of Saint James, which granted a charter to the village in 1219. Further owners of Montealegre were the Albuquerque (14th century), who defended the castle against King of Castile Peter the Cruel in 1354, and the Manuel (15th-17th centuries). The Manuel family maintained in the town one of the most significant Jewish communities in the province. In 1626, Montealegre became a Marquisate, granted by King Philip IV to Martín de Rojas y Guzmán.

The present castle, with its austere and strong appearance, has a slightly trapezial groundplan, with four strong towers at its corners. Three of them are rectangular and the fourth is pentagonal and served as the keep. In the middle of its curtain walls it is fitted with slender circular towers. The height of its walls range from 18 to 24 meters with a thickness of 4 meters. With its functional and horizontal impression it represents an adoption of a Mediterranean-Arab castle, a style known in Europe from the 13th century.

References:

fotw.info

Argos Theater

The ancient Argos Theater was built in 320 BC. and is located in Argos, Greece against Larissa Hill. Nearby from this site is Agora, Roman Odeon, and the Baths of Argos. The theater is one of the largest architectural developments in Greece and was renovated in ca 120 AD.

The Hellenistic theater at Argos is cut into the hillside of the Larisa, with 90 steps up a steep incline, forming a narrow rectilinear cavea. Among the largest theaters in Greece, it held about 20,000 spectators and is divided by two landings into three horizontal sections. Staircases further divide the cavea into four cunei, corresponding to the tribes of Argos A high wall was erected to prevent unauthorized access into the theatron and may have helped the acoustics, but it is said the sound quality is still very good today.

Around 120 CE, both theaters were renovated in the Roman style.

Miguel Nieto Fernández (7 months ago)
Amazing castle, never breached. It is a pity the top of the towers were dismantled to use the stone for building roads, otherwise it would be much taller.

Toni Padilla (9 months ago)
Relax

ej rideout (3 years ago)
Really cool castillo limited availability to enter. Beautiful countryside

james penalver (5 years ago)
A truly special place. Many international tourists should see Montealegre Castle. It's amazing.

James Penalver (5 years ago)
Most beautiful and peaceful place. A truly unique and amazing Spanish castle.

Montealegre de Campos Castle

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