GOYA IN ARAGON : Calatayud and Goya
86 km. from Zaragoza, on the road linking the Aragonese capital and Madrid. The roots of this town date back to the times previous to the Roman domination. This is certified by the remains of the Celtiberian and Roman settlement of Bílbilis, that would be the birthplace of the Latin poet Martial (40-104 A.D.). However, tradition relates the foundation of Calatayud to the existence of the Ayub castle, which, linked by walls to other four fortresses, made the town become an important military site from the second half of the 9th century.
The legacy of the cohabitation of Muslim, Jewish and Christian people has given Calatayud the category of Historic-Artistic Ensemble. Among the many treasures of this ancient heritage the abundant presence of Mudejar monuments is remarkable, as well as the excellent examples of Aragonese civil architecture.
Just to mention two of the most significant examples, it is highly advisable to visit the Collegiate church of Saint Mary, built on the site where the old mosque stood and crowned with a beautiful Mudejar octagonal tower. Equally interesting is the church of San Pedro de los Francos, in which the organ and the Mudejar pulpit are remarkable.
GOYA'S ART IN CALATAYUD
The church of San Juan el Real, whose decoration with bulky plasterwork is one of the most exuberant Baroque interiors in Aragon, conserves as well an example of the painting of Francisco de Goya.
Around 1766, the artist decorated the pendentives of the dome covering the crossing with The Fathers of the Church. This is an iconography used for the first time by Goya in this temple, though he will take it up again in Muel and Remolinos with some variations. It is a youth work, whose pale tones remind us of Italian rococo.
ADMISSION TIMES: Tuesday, from 10 to 13. From Wednesday to Saturday, from 10 to 13 and from 16 to 19. Sunday, from 10 to 13.
ADDRESS: San Juan el Real avenue. Phone: (976) 886322.
SOME SUGGESTIONS
Apart from a careful visit to Calatayud, which adds an excellent series of facilities to its historic and artistic attractions, the visitor can also know some spots and interesting places in the surroundings.
From Calatayud it is worth going to Nuevalos, a town that offers an impressive panorama. Nuevalos has become an important tourist centre because of the many visitors that are attracted by the Tranquera reservoir, a priviledged place to practise water sports, or by the renown Piedra Monastery.
This is a beautiful Romanesque ensemble founded by Cistercian monks in 1195. The monastery owns its fame as well to its magnificent natural setting, which offers a spectacular ensemble of waterfalls, lakes and fountains along which the river Piedra flows. Hotel facilities are available as well: a hotel has been built using parts of the historic ensemble.
Water, in another of its varied manifestations, constitutes one more focus of interest in the area of Calatayud. Its thermal richness is appreciated from Roman times. In this area the highest density of thermal resorts of Aragon is concentrated, with eight spas with a nineteenth-century touch, distributed in three towns: Alhama de Aragón, Jaraba and Paracuellos de Jiloca. Their waters are advisable for the treatments of problems in the respiratory and urinary systems, as well as for skin problems and rheumatism.
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Tourist Routes in Aragon
Ample your information on Aragon
If you want to extend your information on Aragon you can begin crossing another interesting route is the Mudejar, Patrimony of the Humanity, also you can extend your cultural knowledge on Aragon examining its municipal and institutional heraldry without forgetting, of course, some of its emblematics figures as Saint George Pattern of Aragon also book of Aragon.
Also Aragon enjoys a diverse and varied Nature where passing by plants, animals or landscapes we can arrive at a fantastic bestiario that lives in its monuments.
The information will not be complete without a stroll by its three provinces: Zaragoza, Teruel and Huesca and his shines, with shutdown in some of its spectacular landscapes like Ordesa, the Moncayo or by opposition the Ebro.
Also you can dedicarte to the intangible ones: from the legend compilation that also does to universal Aragon you can persecute the presence of del Santo Grial in Aragon.