Segovia

Segovia, city, Spain

Segovia, city (1990 pop. 55,188), capital of Segovia prov., central Spain, in Castile-León, on the Eresma River. It stands on a rocky hill (3,297 ft/1,005 m high) crowned by the cathedral and the turreted alcazar (fortified palace). Under the Moors, it was a flourishing textile center but has since declined. Agriculture is now the main industry, and tourism is important. Segovia is of ancient origin and was favored by the Romans, who built (probably 1st cent.) the aqueduct (c.900 yd/820 m long) that still carries water to the city; it is built of uncemented limestone blocks and is one of the greatest Roman monuments in Spain. The city was repeatedly taken and lost by the Moors from 714 until Alfonso VI conquered it in 1079. It was a favorite residence of the kings of Castile. Isabella I was proclaimed queen in the alcazar (begun in the 11th cent.; built mostly in the 15th cent.; restored in the 19th). The late Gothic cathedral (16th cent.) has a fine cloister. Of the many medieval churches and palaces, the Romanesque churches of San Martín and San Esteban are the most notable. Spain's artillery academy is in Segovia.

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Segovia, river, Nicaragua

Segovia, river, Nicaragua and Honduras: see Coco.

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Segovia¹

Andrés , Marquis of Salobreña. 1893--1987, Spanish classical guitarist

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Segovia²

a town in central Spain: site of a Roman aqueduct, still in use, and the fortified palace of the kings of Castile (the Alcázar). Pop.: 55 640 (2003 est.)

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Segovia 

a city in central Spain, near Madrid, in the region of Old Castile. Capital of the province of Segovia; population, 41,900 (1970). Segovia has enterprises of the chemical (fertilizer production), rubber, cement, and flour-milling industries.

In the Middle Ages, Segovia was the residence of the kings of Castile and León. The old part of the city has retained its medieval layout. Architectural monuments include Spain’s largest ancient Roman aqueduct (109 A.D.), 12th- and 13th-century Romanesque churches that have elements of the Mudejar style, a late Gothic cathedral (1522–1626, main architects J. Gil de Hontañón and R. Gil de Honta.ñón; diocesan museum in the cloister), and palaces in the plateresque style (for example, the Casa de los Picos, 16th century). The city has a provincial museum, with collections of ancient archaeology and of painting and sculpture of the Spanish school.

REFERENCE

Herrero Garcia y Guillermo, I. Monumentos de Segovia. Segovia, 1956.