Discover Spain in Video

El Burgo de Osma-Ciudad de Osma es un municipio de Soria, Castilla y León, que se caracteriza por su importancia histórica y estratégica, basada en su orografía y su infraestructura defensiva. Esta ciudad, ubicada en el valle del río Ucero, se encontraba en un corredor natural que facilitaba el control de los accesos a los valles de los ríos Ucero y Abión. Su ubicación elevada y escarpada proporcionaba una defensa natural, lo que permitió la construcción de fortificaciones que jugaron un papel crucial durante la Edad Media, en particular durante la Reconquista.

El castillo de Osma, una de las fortificaciones más importantes de la región, fue construido en el año 930 por orden del rey Ramiro II de León para defenderse del Califato de Córdoba liderado por Abderramán III. La fortaleza, ubicada en un cerro de difícil acceso, servía como un baluarte para la defensa de los territorios cristianos. Estaba compuesta por tres recintos amurallados adaptados a la accidentada geografía del terreno. Utilizaba materiales de la antigua ciudad de Uxama, lo que simboliza una continuidad histórica con el pasado celtibérico y romano de la región. En la cima del cerro aún se conservan restos del recinto interior, incluyendo la puerta de acceso, altos muros y dos torres, una de ellas la del homenaje.

A pesar de la solidez de su construcción, el castillo sufrió daños significativos durante la Guerra de Sucesión española en el siglo XVIII, cuando casi se vuela parte de la muralla para evitar que fuese utilizado por las tropas enemigas. Además, la fortaleza fue utilizada como cantera, lo que contribuyó a su deterioro. Aun así, la Torre del Agua, en la base del cerro junto al río Ucero, se conserva como parte del sistema defensivo exterior.

Además del castillo, El Burgo de Osma estaba protegido por murallas, construidas en 1458 por orden del obispo Pedro de Montoya. Estas murallas rodeaban el núcleo urbano y defendían la ciudad de posibles ataques. Aunque gran parte de ellas fue demolida en el siglo XVIII, aún se conservan algunos tramos, como el Arco del Cubo y un paseo paralelo a la carretera de La Rasa. Tanto las murallas como el castillo y las atalayas formaban un conjunto defensivo integral que protegía la ciudad durante las contiendas medievales.

Una parte fundamental del sistema defensivo de la ciudad eran las atalayas o torres de vigilancia. Estas torres, utilizadas durante la Reconquista, permitían la vigilancia constante del territorio y la comunicación rápida mediante señales de humo o fuego. Entre ellas destaca la atalaya de Uxama, situada en el cerro de Castro. Construida durante el periodo musulmán, su función principal era vigilar el castillo de Osma y formar parte de la extensa red defensiva del río Duero. Desde esta atalaya se pueden divisar otros puntos estratégicos, como el castillo de Gormaz y el Cañón del Río Lobos.

El Burgo de Osma fue testigo de importantes enfrentamientos durante las guerras fronterizas entre cristianos y musulmanes. Uno de los eventos clave fue la batalla de Osma o del Barranco en 939, en la que las tropas cristianas, lideradas por el rey Ramiro II de León y el conde Fernán González, derrotaron al califa Abderramán III, marcando un punto de inflexión en la guerra por el control de la frontera del Duero. Esta victoria permitió consolidar la posición cristiana en la región y reforzar las defensas de Osma.

Otra batalla importante para la región fue la legendaria batalla de Calatañazor en el año 1000, ubicada a unos 20 kilómetros de El Burgo de Osma. En esta batalla, una coalición de tropas cristianas derrotó a Almanzor, el líder musulmán, lo que marcó el comienzo del declive del Califato de Córdoba. Aunque Almanzor sobrevivió a la batalla, enfermó gravemente y murió poco después, lo que desestabilizó el Califato y facilitó la repoblación cristiana de la región.

Con la caída del poder musulmán y la muerte de Almanzor, la población de Osma comenzó a trasladarse desde el cerro del castillo hacia el llano, estableciéndose en lo que es la actual ciudad de Osma, en la orilla derecha del río Ucero. Este proceso de repoblación fue impulsado por los reyes cristianos, quienes vieron en Osma una plaza fuerte clave para asegurar el control de la región durante la consolidación de las fronteras cristianas.

A medida que la región se pacificaba y las luchas fronterizas cesaban, las estructuras defensivas de El Burgo de Osma fueron perdiendo su importancia militar. No obstante, los restos del castillo, las murallas y las atalayas aún se mantienen como testigos de su pasado estratégico y defensivo.

The ancient city of Ronda in Spain, in the province of Malaga, is one of the most visited cities in the autonomous community of Andalusia, as it stands out for its urban planning as well as for its landscape and history.

Undoubtedly, the most surprising thing about Ronda is that its urban area is divided in two by the gorge of the Tajo de Ronda, which is more than 150 meters deep. To join both sides was created the New Bridge, the symbol of the city, from where you can see the crests of the mountains of Grazalema and Las Nieves, and white villages nestled among wooded slopes. The bridge, which was completed in the late eighteenth century, took more than 40 years to build. Today it serves not only to connect the old part with the new, but also as a viewpoint. Next to it is the Parador, from where you can also get wonderful views. There are other bridges that cross the city: the Arab, which was built in the fourteenth century, and the Old Bridge, which only consists of an arch of about 10 meters in diameter.

Beyond the bridge, Ronda's old town stands out for its old quarter which, as it could not be otherwise, has been declared an Asset of Cultural Interest. Many peoples inhabited these lands, such as the Celts, Phoenicians, Romans and Arabs, although they were finally reconquered by the Catholic Monarchs. However, in this area of the city of medieval layout we still observe Arab reminiscences.

You'd be forgiven for thinking that idyllic fishing villages like Luarca and Cudillero in Asturias no longer exist in Spain: most such picturesque coastal towns have become tourist centers with souvenir stores on every corner, nary a fisherman in sight and in every nook and cranny a tourist snapping a selfie to upload to Instagram. Not so for these tiny ports, whose location in the far northern Spanish region of Asturias has preserved their seafaring spirit and kept the selfie-taking hordes at bay.

The beauty of Luarca takes the form of a large aquatic S, around which man and his initial maritime activity, now mixed, have found a millimetric accommodation, with a large influx of tourists in summer, when its native demography quintuples. It is also by its own merits the capital of a council, that of Valdés, which is one of the landscape and cultural references of western Asturias.

Luarca's fame has crossed many frontiers to become one of the most famous towns in Asturias. In part it has been for having as its most illustrious son, and buried in its beautiful cemetery overlooking the sea, Severo Ochoa, Nobel Prize for Medicine, but his fame goes beyond individualities, it has also earned it based on many other merits.

The Negro River meanders continuously in its last stretch. It is not a typical estuary. The river does join the sea, but it does not do so openly, it seems introverted, and based on detours, bends and bends, finally ends up flowing into the Cantabrian Sea in a kind of sigh.

In this town, known for its charm as the White Village of the Costa Verde, there are two clearly differentiated areas. The old town houses the oldest and most traditional neighborhoods, all of medieval origin, such as La Pescadería, La Barandilla and El Camboral, which surround the port and the church like a great amphitheater. Inland, and on both banks of the river, we find the more contemporary Luarca aesthetically speaking. Emerged in the nineteenth century, is currently the place that concentrates most of the trade. From one side of the city to the other we can cross up to seven bridges over the river. They communicate daily the two sides of an urban area that, without further clues, could be a mess but that in the end is simple, with great symmetry in its forms.

We can not pass through Luarca without feeling the traditional atmosphere that still retains its appearance. To get started in the seafood and cider is usually an ideal place, as there is a proliferation of chigres with a strong seafaring and Asturian accent. In the fishing port area we will also find some reasons to sit down to a more elaborate table, with restaurants of great culinary knowledge and the smell of the sea in every corner.

Cudillero (pop. 5,000) is the kind of fairy-tale place to conjure up after a dreary day at the office: a tranquil seaside oasis where you wake up to the distant tinkling of buoys, stroll barefoot along empty beaches and spend your afternoons in the harbor cafes. Luckily, a five-hour drive from Madrid, or three hours from Bilbao or Santiago de Compostela, you can make that fantasy come true.

With its amphitheater of colorful clifftop houses around the centrally located Plaza de la Marina, Cudillero could get by on its picture-postcard appearance alone; otherwise it might as well be on the Amalfi Coast. But the town has more than enough culture to keep you busy. Centuries of virtual isolation from inland Spain (due to the area's intractable geography) gave rise to Cudillero's peculiar Nordic-influenced dialect (legend has it that it was founded by Vikings), exuberant folk dancing, seafood-based cuisine and pagan-influenced festivals like L'Amuravela, which is held every June and culminates in the incineration of life-size papier-mâché giants, similar to Valencia's Fallas.

Cudillero is as vibrant as its pastel-colored facades; here we break down our favorite way to spend a weekend in one of Spain's prettiest (and most unknown) ports.

Considered one of the most beautiful villages of the entire Spanish geography, Albarracín, in the province of Teruel, immerses the traveler who visits it in a beautiful medieval framework. And in an urban ensemble declared National Monument, surrounded by the Guadalaviar river and capital of the mountain range to which it gives its name within the Iberian System.

Ibn-Racin Celts, Romans and Arabs have occupied these lands. With the Muslim invasion, a Berber group of the Ibn-Racin tribe arrived here, which gave the village its name. The disintegration of the Caliphate of Cordoba on which it depended produced its independence as a Muslim Taifa kingdom.

Initially sheltered in the shadow of the castle, which stands on a rocky outcrop, Albarracín already had a wall that enclosed it and separated it from its surroundings since the 10th century. Today some remains survive, such as the tower of the Andador, the citadel and the tower of the Water.

Albarracín, capital of the region of the same name, is one of the most visited towns in Aragon. Classified as a historic-artistic site, it is a place to stroll through its sloping streets and to approach the walls that surround it around its perimeter.

From the Muslim period it preserves most of the fortifications visible today. Its star monuments are the tower of the Andador, the citadel and the water tower.

After the failure of conquest by King James I in 1220, it was Pedro III of Aragon who incorporated it into the Crown of Aragon in 1300. As a result of its lustrous past, the beautiful Aragonese town has many monuments scattered throughout its historic center, which is located on the slopes of a mountain.

Among them are the Church of Santa María de Albarracín, the 16th century Cathedral (where you can admire the altarpiece of San Pedro, the main altarpiece and the Diocesan Museum), the Episcopal Palace, some stately mansions such as the Monterde family and a peculiar popular architecture where the Julianeta house, the house on Azagra street, the Plaza de la Comunidad and the small and evocative Plaza Mayor stand out.

If you think that sangria, paella, bullfighting, flamenco, sunshine, beaches and the siesta after lunch, are the most Spanish things there are, that these customs are national heritage and those are the only things Spain has to offer, this video is for you, as it will prove that you are quite wrong.

(And by the way, sangria is English, the word sangria comes from 'sangaree', a drink of the English living in the British West Indies and some other North American colonies back in the 17th century. Shhh...! let's keep it a secret).

Spain is the third country in the world with the most UNESCO World Heritage Sites, with a total of 47. The list includes places as diverse as the Alhambra in Granada, the buildings of Gaudí, the archaeological site of Mérida, the Altamira Caves, ... the Mudejar architecture of Aragón, Toledo, Segovia, Avila, ... the cathedral of Burgos or the Teide National Park.

Spain is the second country in the world with the most World Heritage Cities, the third in the number of natural areas declared Biosphere Reserves and the country with the most Blue Flag beaches in the entire Northern Hemisphere.

Did you know that there is much more to Cádiz (Spain) than its beaches, coastal towns, Cadiz capital and Jerez de la Frontera? There is a Cadiz very little known called “White Villages” based on the color of the facades painted with lime, which dazzle in the sun. All of them have the Arab essence stamped on the house facades, very striking from a distance, with postcard landscapes and resplendent churches, palaces, castles, and houses that sometimes defy gravity.

Stories of what used to be the daily life of Al-Andalus survive here: the layout of the streets, the artisan production of leather goods and the sweet Andalusian recipes.

But the Berber heritage is mixed in this territory with dolmens and megalithic menhirs, the Roman roads, the Christian invasions, the conquistadors of America, the arrival of the French troops, the legends of bandits or maquis and the sleepers of a train that never arrived and that today is the Greenway of the Sierra de Cadiz.

And so much history happens in a landscape declared a Biosphere Reserve by Unesco: the Sierra de Grazalema, where the highest rainfall of the Spanish Peninsula is recorded, populated by numerous caves and canyons as amazing such as the Garganta Verde.

In this first video of the White Villages, you will find Arcos de la Frontera the gateway to the route of the White Villages, Espera and Olvera in the most beautiful way possible.