by Paul Craig Roberts, Paul Craig Roberts: Twenty years and three months ago I wrote an article on the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education. This was the US Supreme Court decision that racially integrated public schools in America. Liberal elites saw the decision as a hallmark ruling for racial integration. More importantly, […]

from Tim Truth: TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/

  Despite being one of Europe’s youngest cities, St. Petersburg has a rich history, including assassinations, revolution, and war. Founded in 1703 as Russia’s “window to Europe,” St. Petersburg served as the capital of Russia from 1712 until 1918. In 1924, the city was renamed Leningrad and endured Soviet repression as well as a brutal WWII siege. The collapse of communism in the early 1990s brought a new dawn, but the city’s hopes for liberal democracy are being undermined during the presidency of its native son Vladimir Putin.   Window to Europe Peter the Great by Jean-Marc Nattier, 1717. Source: State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg   On May 27, 1703, Tsar Peter the Great of Russia landed on Hare Island at the mouth of the River Neva near the Baltic, marked a cross on the ground, and declared, “Here will be a city.” He then determined the locations of the first two structures: a cathedral and a humble log cabin for himself. The following month, Peter renamed the site Sankt-Petersburg.   The reality of the founding of Saint Petersburg was more prosaic, and the selection of the site was more down to chance than intention. As a boy, Peter had been fascinated by ships. He learned about the commercial potential of maritime trade in Moscow’s foreign quarter and hoped to build his own fleet.   In 1697-98, Tsar Peter embarked on a European tour and spent several months learning and observing shipbuilding techniques in Dutch and British shipyards. However, Russia’s only ports at the time were in the Arctic, frozen for most of the year. In order to achieve his ambitions, he first needed a warm water port.   Peter had initially intended to build a fleet at Taganrog on the Black Sea, but access to the Mediterranean was controlled by the Ottoman Empire, Russia’s rival to the south. In 1700, the tsar formed an alliance with Denmark and Poland and attacked Sweden, launching the Great Northern War. Though the coalition suffered several defeats in quick succession, Peter fought back, capturing the Swedish fortress of Nyenskans on the Neva in May 1703, opening up Russia’s “window to Europe.”   Growing Pains Peter and Paul Cathedral, photograph by Jimmy Chen, 2015. Source: Courtesy of the author   As the Swedes still controlled the northern bank of the Neva, Peter’s priority was to protect the settlement by building a star fort on Hare Island, the Peter and Paul Fortress. Thousands of peasants and prisoners of war were conscripted for the task, which took five months to complete under the supervision of Peter’s advisor, Alexander Menshikov, who was appointed governor-general. The death of many laborers in the swampy conditions inspired St. Petersburg’s grim nickname, the City Built on Bones.   The nascent city was not secure until 1709 when Peter defeated Charles XII at the Battle of Poltava in Ukraine. Although Russia remained at war with Sweden until 1721, Poltava was the turning point that saw Russia replace Sweden as the leading power in northern Europe. In 1712, St. Petersburg officially became the capital of Russia.   While the Swedish threat diminished, St. Petersburg remained at the mercy of the elements. There have been over 300 documented floods during the city’s history, the first of which took place within a few months of its foundation. A flash flood in September 1706 saw the water level rise by 2.62 meters, but the deadliest flood in the city’s history struck in 1824, claiming hundreds of lives.   The initial plans for the city were developed by the Swiss architect Domenico Trezzini, who began work on the Peter and Paul Cathedral in 1712. Under Trezzini’s plans, the city center was to be on Vasilevsky Island on the northern bank of the Neva. Prominent buildings on the island include the Twelve Collegia, intended to house the government ministries, and the Menshikov Palace, which was grander than any of the tsar’s residences.   Jewel of the Baltic Admiralty Building, St Petersburg, photograph by Jimmy Chen, 2019. Source: Courtesy of the author   As St. Petersburg continued to expand, by the late 1730s, a new city center was conceived on the south bank of the river, with the Admiralty Building opposite the Twelve Collegia at the head of three major avenues. The easternmost branch, Nevsky Prospekt, led to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, the monastery established by Peter the Great on the supposed site of the medieval Russian prince’s victory over the Swedes at the Battle of the Neva in 1240.   Over the course of the 18th century, Nevsky Prospekt would become the most fashionable street in the whole of St. Petersburg, hosting aristocratic palaces and cultural institutions. Other aristocratic palaces could be found on the Moika and Fontanka Rivers or the extensive system of canals that earned Petersburg the nickname of the “Amsterdam of the North.”   Some of the city’s most famous buildings were built during the reign of Empress Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great, who ruled between 1741 and 1762. Elizabeth, a woman with extravagant artistic tastes, commissioned the Italian Baroque architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli to build the Winter Palace on the southern bank of the Neva opposite Hare Island. Rastrelli was also responsible for building the opulent Catherine Palace at Tsarskoe Selo, the imperial family’s summer retreat 15 miles south of the capital.   Imperial Splendor Equestrian Statue of Peter the Great (the Bronze Horseman), photograph by Jimmy Chen, 2015. Source: Courtesy of the author   In 1762, Catherine II of Russia (Catherine the Great) took the throne after deposing her husband, Peter III. As a German princess without a drop of Russian blood in her veins, she sought to legitimize her rule by commissioning a monument of Peter the Great from French sculptor Étienne-Maurice Falconet. Nicknamed the “Bronze Horseman,” the tsar is seated on a rearing horse facing the Neva, which stands on a pedestal made from a 1,500-ton rock transported from the Gulf of Finland.   Catherine’s son and successor, Paul I, an eccentric individual inspired by tales of medieval European chivalry, built the imposing Mikhailovsky Castle on the left bank of the Fontanka River. He moved into the residence in early 1801 while the castle was still unfinished and was killed in a palace coup in March.   Paul had commissioned Andrey Voronikhin to build Kazan Cathedral, whose semicircular colonnade facing Nevsky Prospekt is reminiscent of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The cathedral was completed in 1811 and served as a depository for trophies of war captured from Napoleon in 1812. Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov was buried there in 1813, and statues of Kutuzov and Mikhail Barclay de Tolly were placed in front of the cathedral in the 1830s.   Russia’s victory over Napoleon was further commemorated by the triumphal arch of the General Staff Building opposite the Winter Palace. The neoclassical edifice was built by Italian architect Carlo Rossi in the 1820s and housed the General Staff of the Russian Army, the Finance Ministry, and the Foreign Ministry. In 1834, the 47.5-meter-tall (156 feet) Alexander Column was unveiled in Palace Square in honor of Tsar Alexander I and his role in Napoleon’s defeat.   Poets & Rebels Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, photograph by Jimmy Chen, 2017. Source: Courtesy of the author   In December 1825, following the unexpected death of Alexander I at Taganrog, some 3,000 Russian soldiers assembled around the Bronze Horseman at Senate Square to protest against Tsar Nicholas I, who had taken the throne after his elder brother Constantine secretly declined the succession. The officers who led the demonstration supported liberal constitutional reforms and used the confusion over the succession to issue their demands. After a tense stand-off, St. Petersburg governor General Mikhail Miloradovich was killed, and Nicholas ordered his artillery to fire on the rebels.   The Decembrist ringleaders were incarcerated in the Peter and Paul Fortress, and five prominent leaders were executed on the grounds. The famous Russian poet Alexander Pushkin was investigated for his links to the Decembrists but was cleared after Tsar Nicholas offered to be his personal censor. In 1837, as rumors circulated around the city that Pushkin’s wife was having an affair with her brother-in-law Georges-Charles D’Anthes, Pushkin challenged him to a duel in the fields to the north of the city and was mortally wounded. He was taken to his apartment on the River Moika, where he died the following day.   The second half of the 19th century saw increasingly radical opposition to the tsarist regime, and the reforming Tsar Alexander II had survived several assassination attempts until March 1881, when he succumbed to a bomb thrown at his carriage at the Catherine Canal, where his son Alexander III would build the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood.   War & Revolution Palace Square, St Petersburg, photograph by Jimmy Chen, 2015. Source: Courtesy of the author   Political violence in St. Petersburg intensified at the turn of the 20th century. In January 1905, a mass demonstration petitioning Tsar Nicholas II for constitutional reform was ruthlessly put down by Cossacks in Palace Square. The incident sparked the Revolution of 1905, throwing the empire into political turmoil for a whole year.   In October 1905, as part of an effort to end the revolution, Nicholas II issued a manifesto promising an elected representative assembly or State Duma, which opened in April 1906 and met at the Tauride Palace in the east of St. Petersburg. The Duma initially proved too radical for the tsar, and it was only in 1907, after restricting the franchise, that the tsar enjoyed better relations with the assembly.   Following Russia’s entry into WWI in 1914, the city of St. Petersburg was renamed Petrograd to make it sound less German. Military setbacks at the front and economic crises at home combined to push the empire toward revolution. Both radicals and conservatives were appalled by the influence of Grigory Rasputin, the holy man who gained the imperial family’s confidence through his supposed ability to cure the hemophiliac Tsarevich Alexei. In December 1916, Rasputin was murdered by Prince Felix Yusupov at the Yusupov Palace by the River Moika.   In February-March 1917, Tsar Nicholas was overthrown by the liberal Provisional Government. In October-November, the Provisional Government fell to Vladimir Lenin’s Bolsheviks after the Red Guards stormed the Winter Palace on November 7th. With German armies approaching Petrograd, Lenin moved the capital to Moscow in March 1918.   The Blockade Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad, photograph by Vsevolod Tarasevich, 1981. Source: Wikimedia Commons (RIA Novosti Archive)   In 1924, Petrograd was renamed Leningrad following Lenin’s death in January. While General Secretary Joseph Stalin was consolidating his power as leader of the Soviet Union, he appointed his ally Sergei Kirov as Leningrad party boss in 1926. Kirov’s assassination in December 1934 was a catalyst for Stalin’s purge of senior party officials in the mid-1930s, and it is widely suspected that Stalin ordered the assassination to create a pretext for a purge and to rid himself of a potential rival in the process.   In June 1941, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. On September 8, Germany’s Army Group North cut off access to Leningrad and began a brutal siege that would last for almost 900 days, leading to mass starvation and the death of over one million civilians. Leningrad remained defiant, and the composer Dmitry Shostakovich, who worked as a firefighter during the war, composed his epic 7th Symphony, nicknamed the Leningrad Symphony, honoring the city’s resistance to the invaders.   While the Soviets managed to resupply Leningrad via an ice road across the frozen Lake Ladoga during winter, it was not until January 1943 that the Soviet army’s Operation Iskra broke the encirclement and opened a narrow road to resupply Leningrad. It took a further year before the blockade was fully lifted on January 27, 1944. During their retreat from Leningrad, the Germans burned the imperial palaces outside the city. The palaces were rebuilt by the Soviet authorities over several decades.   Back to the Future Photograph of Lakhta Center. Source: Gorproject (Russian construction company leading the project)   Following the war, construction work resumed on the Leningrad Metro, completed in 1955. During the following decades, large numbers of apartment blocks sprang up in the city’s suburbs, leading to many of the city’s inhabitants moving out of the communal apartments in the city center.   On June 12, 1991, Leningrad held a mayoral election won by the liberal reformer Anatoly Sobchak, whose ally Boris Yeltsin was elected President of Russia on the same day. The same day, a referendum was passed that would see the city revert to the name of St. Petersburg.   Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Sobchak chaired the constitutional assembly that led to the adoption of the Constitution of the Russian Federation in 1993. During Sobchak’s tenure, the day-to-day administration of St. Petersburg was left to the deputy mayors, among whom was his protégé, Vladimir Putin. In 1999, Putin was appointed prime minister by Yeltsin and succeeded the latter as president the following year.   While St. Petersburg’s city center has remained largely unchanged since it was designated a World Heritage site in 1990, in 2006, the energy company Gazprom proposed building a 400-meter-tall (1,312 feet) skyscraper in the city center. Following the intervention of President Dmitry Medvedev in 2010, the project was moved out of the city center to the Lakhta district. Completed in 2019, the Lakhta Center is the tallest building in Europe and has served as Gazprom’s headquarters since 2021.

  Scholars like David Gilmour and Jeremy Black have pointed out that a comprehensive history of Italy since ancient times consists of a mosaic of more or less different histories, as each region and even cities within regions have a complex story to tell. However, by focusing on a group of monuments, we can understand the Italian peninsula’s evolution and the origins of today’s Italy. Many more sites can help explain critical stories from Italy’s history. These 13 entries offer a concise yet layered history of the Italian peninsula.   1. Etruscan Tombs: Cerveteri & Tarquinia  Interior of an Etruscan Tomb at Cerveteri. Source: Wikimedia Commons   When we think about the ancient history of the Italian peninsula, all roads lead to Rome. But Rome was not the first civilization to flourish in Italy. For example, the Etruscans were the most powerful civilization in pre-Roman Italy. The Etruscans lived in central and western Italy in the regions of Tuscany and Lazio between the ninth and sixth centuries BCE.   By the sixth century BCE, the Etruscans had been absorbed by Rome. As a result, much of Etruscan civilization either fused with Roman customs or was lost.   Now UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Etruscan necropolises of Cerveteri and Tarquinia are in the region of Lazio. These sites provide a snapshot of the Etruscan civilization’s urban and funerary architectural elements. Moreover, through paintings and other objects, it is possible to get a sense of Etruscan life, death, and religious beliefs.   2. Neapolis Archaeological Park, Syracuse, Sicily  Aerial view of Neapolis Archaeological Park, Siracusa, Italy. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Before the rise of Rome in southern Italy, Greek settlers established prosperous commercial colonies, especially in the vicinity of the Bay of Naples and Sicily.   The archaeological park of Neapolis in Syracuse (Siracusa), Sicily, is one of the largest in the Mediterranean. Greek settlers from Corinth founded Syracuse in 734 BCE. By the fifth century BCE, Syracuse was arguably the most powerful Greek city-state in the Mediterranean.   The ruins of Neapolis reflect the height of the city’s power. Its main attraction is the Teatro Greco or Greek Theater. In this massive amphitheater, audiences viewed early performances of legendary tragedies like Aeschylus’ The Persians.   Moreover, Jeremy Black explains that Syracuse is an example of how Italian cities evolved by building upon different layers of their respective pasts. For instance, Syracuse’s cathedral (Duomo) was built in the seventh century CE upon the ruins of an ancient Greek temple.   3. The Roman Forum, Rome  View of the Roman Forum. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Part marketplace, part civic center, and part religious complex, the Roman Forum was the city’s nerve center for centuries. However, even a grand site like this had humble origins. In fact, even though it came to house impressive temples, monuments, basilicas, and public spaces, the Roman Forum was originally a marshy burial ground until the seventh century BCE.   This space, though, became a bustling hub of social, political, and economic activity throughout the history of the Roman Republic. Senators, for instance, discussed state business in the Curia. The forum also housed Rome’s treasury in the Temple of Saturn. It also came to house important monuments like triumphal arches.   Historian David Gilmour points out that Rome was a Mediterranean superpower by the first century BCE. However, military successes and territorial expansion also fanned the flames of rivalry in the political realm. Indeed, a series of civil wars eventually led to the Roman Republic’s fall and the establishment of the Roman Empire.   4. Pompeii, Pompei Photograph of Via degli Augustali, Pompeii. Source: Wikipedia Commons   Pompeii was once a thriving Roman city near the coast of the Bay of Naples. The city was founded between the seventh and sixth centuries BCE.   All this changed in 79 CE with the eruption of nearby Mount Vesuvius. The volcanic eruption buried Pompeii and thousands of inhabitants around the area in lapilli (burning fragments of pumice stone) or mud.   Although Pompeii’s remains were first discovered in the late sixteenth century, systematic excavation did not begin until the mid-eighteenth century.   Together with the nearby remains of Herculaneum, Pompeii gives us a sense of how Roman cities operated and insight into daily life. Moreover, these sites are enduring and chilling reminders of the devastation caused by natural disasters.   5. The Colosseum, Rome Exterior View of the Colosseum. Source: Wikimedia Commons   The Colosseum is an enduring monument of imperial Rome and arguably history’s most famous arena, at least for the last two millennia.   Construction began during the reign of Emperor Vespasian in 72 CE, and the Colosseum opened in 80 CE. It was inaugurated by Vespasian’s successor, Emperor Titus.   While we know this arena as the Colosseum, it was called the Flavian Amphitheater in its heyday. The arena was a showpiece of the Roman Empire’s might. Although the most legendary or infamous spectacles held at the Colosseum involved gladiatorial combat and wild animals, other events were staged. For example, at times, mock naval battles took place.   6. St. Peter’s Basilica & The Vatican Museums, Vatican City Façade of St. Peter’s Basilica. Source: Wikimedia Commons   St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican City are the spiritual and administrative heart of the Roman Catholic Church. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 CE, Rome became Christendom’s spiritual and political center. For instance, historian Norman Davies explains that in 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Holy Roman Emperor in Rome.   Although the empire sought to continue the legacy of imperial Rome, Charlemagne did not spend much time in the city. Instead, Davies notes, Aachen in present-day Germany was the true center of Charlemagne’s empire. Moreover, Charlemagne’s successors and popes competed for influence.   Despite the rivalry with Holy Roman Emperors and challenges to the Church’s authority like the Protestant Reformation, papal power remained evident through impressive building projects like St. Peter’s Basilica.   Consecrated after 120 years of construction in 1626, St. Peter’s Basilica is the largest church in Italy. It contains three of Italy’s finest artistic and architectural masterpieces: Michelangelo’s dome, the marble sculpture La Madonna della Pietà, and Bernini’s baldachin over the papal altar.   The Vatican Museums date to the papacy of Julius II in the early sixteenth century. Over the centuries, this papal art collection became one of the largest and most impressive in the world. However, the museums’ most famous holding is Michelangelo’s ceiling frescoes adorning the Sistine Chapel, completed between 1508 and 1541.   Before 1870, popes often resided at the Quirinal Palace in Rome. In fact, more than thirty popes lived in the palace. Later inhabitants include Italian monarchs and current presidents of the Italian Republic. The 1929 Lateran Pacts between the Italian government led by Benito Mussolini and the Holy See established the Vatican City as an independent state. This ended the conflict known as the “Roman Question” between the papacy and the Italian state created as a result of the Risorgimento.   7. Renaissance Florence: The Duomo Exterior View of the Duomo and Brunelleschi’s Dome. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Unlike during the height of the Roman Empire or the modern Italian state, the Italy of the medieval and early modern periods consisted of a patchwork of often rival territories. While the papacy and princely or ducal families controlled many areas, some cities were also republics. Moreover, Jeremy Black points out that vast swaths of Italy sometimes belonged to different (and frequently antagonistic) empires like Spain and Austria.   At the same time, this fragmentation also produced continual tension between clashing political camps. For the most part, as David Gilmour explains, the battle lines concentrated on supporting either the Holy Roman Emperors or the papacy.   Florence in Tuscany emerged as one of the wealthiest and most influential cities in this era of fragmentation at the dawn of the Renaissance. Over the centuries, various churches stood on the site of Florence’s future cathedral or Duomo. But Florence’s prosperous leaders were forced into action to build a grand cathedral in the 1290s after seeing similar projects in Pisa and Siena.   Thus, by 1418, the Duomo had been under construction for over a century. But by that date, all but the dome had been completed. A clockmaker and goldsmith named Filippo Brunelleschi won a competition to complete the dome. Now honing his architectural skills, Brunelleschi won with a bold plan to create a massive eight-sided brick dome.   Many doubted Brunelleschi could pull it off. Inspired by the design of Rome’s Pantheon, Brunelleschi successfully fused ancient style and new engineering techniques to create the largest masonry dome in the world. This combination of concepts from the ancient world and modern knowledge exemplifies the age of the Renaissance.   8. Doge’s Palace, Venice Façade of the Doge’s Palace (Palazzo Ducale), Venice. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Venice emerged as the capital of an impressive eastern Mediterranean empire by the fifteenth century. The city was also a republic that came to be nicknamed La Serenissima (The Most Serene). The city’s ruler was the Doge (leader or duke), a title first held back in 697 CE. Elections for the office were lengthy and complicated, and over time, doges established hereditary dynasties.   The Doge’s Palace (Palazzo Ducale) reflects key elements of Venice’s Mediterranean empire and local traditions. Initially constructed over the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the palace underwent several enlargements. However, it retained its signature Gothic architectural character.   The palace was more of a government complex than a personal residence for the city’s ruler. For instance, it housed the seat of government, courts, and even a prison!   During the height of the French Revolutionary Wars in the 1790s, Napoleon dissolved the Republic of Venice.   9. The Vittoriano, Rome The Vittoriano and Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Napoleon and the forces of the French Revolution did more than sweep away former powers in Italy, such as imperial Venice. In fact, the French presence in Italy fueled the rise of Italian nationalism and a desire to unite the Italian peninsula into a single nation-state. The nationalist drive to unite the peninsula became known as the Risorgimento.   After several decades of disastrous attempts to create a united Italy, nationalists at least partially realized their dream with the birth of the Kingdom of Italy in March 1861. In September 1870, Italian troops seized Rome and ended the papacy’s temporal power. Rome soon became the capital of the Italian state.   Also known as the Altar of the Fatherland, the Vittoriano is a massive marble memorial to Italy’s first monarch, King Vittorio Emmanuele II. Construction began in 1885, and the monument was dedicated as part of the country’s celebration of 50 years of unification in 1911.   In 1921, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was dedicated under the statue of the goddess Roma. The Vittoriano was finally completed in 1935 with the opening of Rome’s Risorgimento Museum.   10. The Mole Antonelliana, Turin Exterior view of the Mole Antonelliana, Torino. Source: Wikimedia Commons   The Mole Antonelliana dominates the skyline of Turin (Torino). Original construction plans in the early 1860s designated the building as a synagogue. However, the municipality acquired the project in the mid-1870s and desired it to symbolize national unity like the Vittoriano in Rome. As a result, the project was dedicated as a memorial to King Vittorio Emmanuele II.   Vittorio Emmanuele II was born not far from the site of the Mole Antonelliana in the Palazzo Carignano. This palace was a royal residence of Vittorio Emmanuele’s family, the House of Savoy. The future Italian royal family long ruled the island of Sardinia and the region of Piedmont, where Turin is located. Thus, although he became Italy’s first monarch, Vittorio Emmanuele maintained his dynastic title of Vittorio Emmanuele II.   At the time of its dedication in April 1889, it was the largest brick building in Europe. The building’s name comes from its architect, Alessandro Antonelli.   Today, it houses the National Museum of Cinema and offers outstanding views of the city and surrounding area.   11. The Ara Pacis Augustae & Piazza Augusto Imperatore, Rome   Photograph of the Ara Pacis Augustae, Rome. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Benito Mussolini and his Fascist Party seized power in October 1922 after the March on Rome.   Once installed in power, the Fascist regime attempted to create links to different eras of Italy’s past. While various projects were designed to link the Fascists to Risorgimento and Renaissance heroes, the Roman Empire attracted the most attention.   Indeed, Aristotle Kallis points out that the Fascists encouraged the myth of Romanità (Romanness). Essentially, propagandists sought to promote Mussolini’s regime as the successor to Roman imperial power, especially military prowess.   Marla Stone notes that Mussolini prioritized commemorating the 2000th anniversary of Emperor Augustus’ birth in 1937-1938. In 1937, Mussolini inaugurated an exhibition in Rome dedicated to Augustus and the Roman Empire.   Commemorations closed with the opening of a new museum in 1938 to showcase the restored Ara Pacis Augustae, a large altar dedicated initially in 9 BCE to commemorate Augustus’ victories in France and Spain. The monument was moved near the Mausoleum of Augustus and exhibited to the public in 1938 as part of Mussolini’s efforts to link his regime to ancient Rome.   Indeed, during the Fascist regime, this area was extensively renovated to exhibit both monuments. For instance, a number of buildings were demolished in the 1930s to create Piazza Augusto Imperatore (Emperor Augustus Square) in 1937. A new museum designed to exhibit the Ara Pacis was completed at the same site in 2006.   Fascist Italy entered the Second World War alongside Nazi Germany in June 1940. Heading the alliance known as the Axis Powers, Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy’s so-called Rome-Berlin axis came under serious strain by 1943-1944.   12. Abbey of Monte Cassino  External View of the Reconstructed Abbey of Monte Cassino. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Italy had long been important in key areas of Christian activity like monasticism. One sign of this was the prominence of Benedictine monasteries like Monte Cassino or Montecassino. St. Benedict founded the abbey in 529 CE. Jeremy Black says Montecassino enjoyed its “golden age” under the abbot Desiderius of Benevento in the 1060s and 1070s. Desiderius became Pope Victor III in 1086.   However, the abbey of Monte Cassino is also well-known for being the site of a major battle of the Second World War. Between January and May 1944, American and British armies attacked entrenched German forces blocking the Allied path to Rome.   American and British leaders mistakenly believed that German troops used the abbey for military purposes. As a result, their bombers destroyed the abbey and much of the local community in February 1944. Following this assault, German troops used the historic abbey ruins as a critical component of their defensive positions against Allied assaults.   Finally, in mid-May 1944, soldiers from the Polish II Corps attached to the British forces launched one of the decisive attacks on German lines.   Most scholars believe the battle to be a Pyrrhic victory for the Allies. Nevertheless, Rome soon fell to the Allies on June 4, 1944, just two days before the D-Day Landings at Normandy.   The abbey was rebuilt after the war.   13. San Siro/Giuseppe Meazza Stadium, Milan Postcard of San Siro Stadium Milan, c. 1950s. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Calcio (football, soccer) is practically a secular religion in Italy. Few stadiums can claim to be a cathedral for the sport, quite like Milan’s San Siro or Giuseppe Meazza Stadium. The stadium is home to Milan’s two top-tier clubs and fierce rivals, AC Milan and Inter Milan.   Today, the stadium’s seating capacity of over 80,000 makes it the largest in Italy and one of the largest in Europe. It first opened in 1926 and hosted games for the 1934 World Cup as well as many other major tournaments. It is scheduled to host the 2026 Winter Olympic Games opening ceremony.   Moreover, the stadium’s renovations and expansion beginning in the 1950s reflect the growth of Milan into a powerhouse city of post-WWII Italy. While there have long been discussions about replacing the stadium, it remains a significant landmark for Milan and the country.

  On the western edge of the Mediterranean lies the tiny peninsula of Gibraltar. Dominating this peninsula is the Rock of Gibraltar, symbolizing the point where the Mediterranean and the Atlantic meet. Its strategic value is so significant that, throughout history, Gibraltar has been besieged at least 14 times!   A rocky outcrop of just 2.6 square miles, Gibraltar is of vital strategic importance and has a history that spans thousands of years, from the ancient Phoenicians to the British who own it today.   Gibraltar in Prehistory Neanderthal Gibraltar by José Emilio Toro Pareja. Source: torografic.com   The story of Gibraltar doesn’t start with the Phoenicians, Greeks, or even the Romans. In fact, it doesn’t even start with Homo sapiens at all! It begins with our cousins, the Neanderthals, who made the Rock of Gibraltar their homes there many tens or even hundreds of thousands of years ago. When exactly they started living there is unknown.   Making their homes in the caves around the Rock, Neanderthals lived there on a diet rich in seafood. The water around the Rock was much shallower during this era, and the Neanderthals would have been able to source food from the many rock pools surrounding the area.   The most recent evidence points to Neanderthals living there as recently as 28,000 to 24,000 years ago, long after they went extinct in the rest of Europe. It is posited that Gibraltar represents the last place inhabited by Neanderthals before they went completely extinct.   Ancient History Sunrise over the Rock. Source: Mark Freeth/Wikimedia Commons   The Rock of Gibraltar held religious value for the ancient Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, and Romans.   The Greeks referred to the Rock as one of the two Pillars of Hercules, and, like the other ancient civilizations around the Mediterranean, Gibraltar represented the farthest reaches of the known world. It was there that the Mediterranean ended, and the vast expanse of the Atlantic began. There are few notable features on the African side of the Strait of Gibraltar, and the identity of the southern pillar is debated but, ultimately, unknown.   The Romans called the Rock Mons Calpe, which is suggested to be derived from the Phoenician word Kalph, meaning “hollowed out.” The Roman name likely references the abundance of caves found in the limestone cliffs surrounding Gibraltar.   Caves along the Rock of Gibraltar. Source: visitgibraltar.gi   Oftentimes, sailors traversing the dangerous waters in the Strait of Gibraltar would place offerings such as pottery and jewelry to the gods in order to secure safe passage. At its narrowest point, this strait is just eight miles from north to south, with Europe on the northern point and Africa in the south.   While the Rock and its immediate surroundings were not considered hospitable for any settlement, the Phoenicians did found the settlement of Carteia at the northern end of the Bay of Gibraltar in 950 BCE. After several hundred years, the town fell under the control of the Carthaginians and then the Romans, who vanquished the Carthaginians in the Second Punic War. It was eventually sacked by the Vandals in 409 CE, after which it was abandoned. The area, however, was subsequently controlled by the Visigoths.   Gibraltar in the Middle Ages The Tower of Homage built during the Moorish era of Gibraltar’s history. Source: Wikimedia Commons   While Visigothic rule in the Iberian Peninsula descended into a state of civil war, the Umayyad Caliphate took advantage of the situation. An army of Berbers under the command of Tariq ibn Ziyad crossed the strait from Africa and landed somewhere near the Bay of Gibraltar. The following invasion would bring virtually all of the Iberian Peninsula under Muslim rule.   In honor of the commanding general, the Rock of Gibraltar was named Jebel Tariq (Mount Tariq), a name that would evolve over time into “Gibraltar.”   Around 1160, Gibraltar became fully fortified. In that year, Abdu al-Mu’min crossed the Strait of Gibraltar. He landed at the Rock and renamed it Djebel-al-Fath (Mount of Victory), but the name did not stick. Its former name proved to be far too popular. He ordered the construction of a fortified city, which he named Medina-al-Fath (City of Victory).   For several hundred years, the Muslims ruled Spain, fighting off Christian attempts to reassert control. In 1309, Gibraltar came under siege for what is believed to be the first time in its history. The armies of Castile and Aragon launched a campaign against the Emirate of Granada, which held possession of Gibraltar.   Gibraltar fell to the Castilians under the leadership of Ferdinand IV after a month-long siege. Understanding the strategic importance of his prize, Ferdinand ordered more defenses to be built, including a keep and a dockyard, and he encouraged Christians to settle there.   Alfonso XI de Castilla y León by José María Rodríguez de Losada, c. 1893. Source: Wikipedia   Six years later, Gibraltar would survive being besieged by the Nasrid Moors, but in 1333, Gibraltar was again besieged by Muslim forces. Before the Castilian King Alfonso Alfonso XI could send a relief force, the Gibraltarian inhabitants surrendered to the Moors of Fez. The relief force that did arrive attempted to lay siege to Gibraltar briefly before a truce was called.   Alfonso XI attempted to lay siege to the city again in 1349, but his efforts were dashed by the arrival of the Black Death, which decimated Europe’s population. Thus ended the Fifth Siege of Gibraltar.   In 1374, the Marinid Moors of Fez handed Gibraltar over to the Nasrid Moors of Granada. In 1410, the Gibraltar garrison rebelled but was beaten by the Nasrids after a short siege.   In 1436, Enrique Pérez de Guzmán y de Castilla, 2nd Count of Niebla, commanding a force of Castilians, laid siege to Gibraltar. However, the Seventh Siege of Gibraltar was a complete failure, and Enrique de Guzmán drowned while trying to escape.   The era of Muslim rule over Gibraltar finally came to an end in 1462 when the Castilians, under the command of Alonso de Arcos, launched a surprise attack on Gibraltar and returned it to Christian control.   Spanish Rule The original coat of arms of Gibraltar. Source: Wikimedia Commons   From 1466 to 1467, Gibraltar came under siege once again as forces under the command of Juan Alonso de Guzmán, the 1st Duke of Medina Sidonia, sought to wrest control of the Rock. They were ultimately successful, but unlike in previous centuries, when the fight for Gibraltar was between Spanish and Moorish factions, this contest for Gibraltar was between rival Castilian forces.   This era of Spanish rule was also characterized by religious fervor. Muslims and Jews were hounded and expelled as Christians, following up on their Reconquista, sought to rid Spain of religious elements deemed foreign to Spanish culture.   Map of Spanish kingdoms in the early 16th century. Source: University of Texas   Despite all the effort that had been put into capturing it, Gibraltar fell into disrepair. As the Moorish threat receded, so did the Rock’s strategic value, and Gibraltar became just another rocky promontory on the Spanish coast.   It was, however, still a target for the dukes of Medina-Sidonia. In 1506, Juan Alfonso de Guzmán, third Duke of Medina Sidonia, laid siege to Gibraltar after the death of the Spanish monarch, Queen Isabella. This attempt failed, and Gibraltar remained under the control of the Spanish crown.   In 1502, Queen Isabella granted Gibraltar its coat of arms. The coat of arms features a three-towered castle under which is depicted a golden key.   Enemies at the Gates A Sea Fight with Barbary Corsairs by Laureys a Castro. Source: Wikimedia Commons Gibraltar in the 17th century was a dangerous place to be. Barbary pirates raided the coast, and many Gibraltarians were enslaved. To add to the danger, rebellious Dutch forces became a significant enemy of Spain and sought control over Gibraltar.   In 1607, a significant naval action was fought off the coast during the Eighty Years’ War. The Battle of Gibraltar was a major Dutch victory that forced the Spaniards to call a truce. War, however, resumed a few years later, and in 1621, the Spanish won the Second Battle of Gibraltar.   Meanwhile, Barbary pirates continued to plague the area. In 1620, the Spanish allowed the English to establish a presence in Gibraltar as a base to operate against the pirates.   British Control The Siege of Gibraltar in 1727 by unknown artist. Source: Wikimedia Commons   In 1704, Gibraltar changed hands once again. This time, it was the British who captured the peninsula as a result of action during the War of Spanish Succession. The effort was led by Admiral Sir George Rooke and Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt, who, in command of an Anglo-Dutch fleet, subjected the Spanish positions to a heavy bombardment before landing troops and raising the British flag.   In 1713, British ownership of Gibraltar was made official by the signing of the Treaty of Utrecht, which ended the War of Spanish Succession. The treaty stipulated that Gibraltar was a British possession in perpetuity. The Treaty of Paris in 1763 and the Treaty of Versailles in 1783 renewed this agreement.   Treaties such as these, however, were ignored in times of war, and the political situation in Europe was always extremely complex. During the Anglo-Spanish War from 1727 to 1729, Gibraltar became a target for Spanish conquest. After five months of besieging Gibraltar, the Spanish gave up and ended the thirteenth siege of Gibraltar.   The Sortie Made by the Garrison of Gibraltar by John Trumbull, 1789. Source: Wikimedia Commons   From 1779 to 1783, Gibraltar’s defenses were again tested in what was known as the Great Siege of Gibraltar. This action was part of Spain and France’s conflict with the British during the American Revolutionary War. British forces numbered 7,500 soldiers and 12 gunboats, while the Spanish and French forces numbered 65,000 soldiers with almost 100 ships, including 47 ships of the line.   In terms of the size of the forces involved, the Great Siege can be considered to be the largest battle of the American Revolutionary War. For three years, seven months, and two weeks, the British garrison held firm, although it was by no means easy. Food was rationed, and the threat of starvation was ever-present. General George Eliot, commanding the British garrison, lived on just four ounces of rice per day as an example to his men.   It was also during this battle that Lieutenant Henry Shrapnel invented ammunition with extra bits of metal attached to increase the effectiveness in killing and wounding enemy soldiers.   Map of the Western Mediterranean showing the position of Gibraltar. Source: mapsland.com   During the Napoleonic Wars, Gibraltar was a vital naval base for the British fleet. The Battle of Trafalgar was fought nearby, and after his death, Admiral Lord Nelson’s body was brought to Gibraltar on board the HMS before being transported back to England.   In 1830, Gibraltar was given the status of a crown colony. This came with civil liberties and a charter of justice for the Gibraltarian people. It also marked the founding of the Gibraltar Police Force, one of the oldest police forces in the world.   In the decades that followed, Britain gained control over India. Vital trade routes via the seas prompted the reinforcement of British possessions along the way. Gibraltar and the Suez Canal became critical strategic locations for Britain to keep its trade routes safe.   Into the Modern Era Searchlights over Gibraltar during an air-raid drill in 1942. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Throughout the decades and centuries that followed, Gibraltar performed its vital function as a strategic British asset. From there, they could monitor all traffic going through the Straits of Gibraltar, into and out of the Mediterranean Sea.   By the beginning of the 20th century, much had been invested in making Gibraltar a major naval base. A torpedo-proof harbor was built, along with three dry docks, one of which was extended to accommodate the HMS Dreadnought, the largest battleship in the world.   During the First World War, Gibraltar fulfilled its function of supplying and maintaining convoys while at the same time keeping watch for German U-boats. On November 9, just two days before the end of the war, the pre-dreadnought HMS Britannia was torpedoed and sunk near Gibraltar by a German U-boat. This happened just two days before the Armistice came into effect, and the war ended. Fifty men perished, and 712 were rescued.   In the Second World War, Churchill ensured Gibraltar was well-stocked. Most of the civilian population was evacuated, and the base controlled the flow of naval traffic, offering support to the Allied assets in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. It served as a staging point for the North African landings conducted by the British and Americans.   Referendums The Rock of Gibraltar. Source: cc via needpix.com   In modern times, the status of Gibraltar’s ownership has continued to be disputed, with Spain asserting that the peninsula belongs to them. The British have conducted several referendums to add credence to their claim. In 1968 and again in 2002, referendums were held to determine the fate of Gibraltar.   In 1968, 12,762 Gibraltarians voted to remain British, while only 44 voted to become part of Spain. A similar result occurred in 2002, with 17,900 votes against just 187.   The issue of Gibraltar has strained relations between the UK and Spain in the past, and from 1969 to 1985, the border between Spain and Gibraltar was closed. However, despite the debate over ownership, Spain and the UK have cordial relations.   Coat of arms of Gibraltar. Source: Wikimedia Commons   The history of Gibraltar is indeed long and storied. Full of war and strife, much suffering and triumph have taken place under the steep cliffs of the Rock. Its legacy is enduring, and like the limestone cliffs that make up its façade, it will last.

  In this article, we will look at some of the finest Spanish castles that are open to visitors. This heritage ranges from stark frontier outposts to royal palaces that housed generations of monarchs and volumes of history. They all go back to a time when Hispania was a disparate collection of Christian kingdoms, with Islamic Andalusia in the south. Moving from castle to castle, we will trace the slow process of a nation taking shape over the course of hundreds of years, culminating with the 15th-century union of Ferdinand and Isabella.   1. Loarre Castle Castle of Loarre, photo by Juanedc. Source: Wikimedia Commons   A fine starting point is Spain’s most intact Romanesque stronghold. Loarre Castle commands the Hoya de Huesca, an immense sweep of sun-bleached farmland, from a high spur in the foothills of the Pyrenees. The setting is breathtaking, and the complex is guarded by massive limestone outcrops with edges smoothed off by the wind.   At the time of construction in the early 11th century modern Huesca was on the frontier between Christian and Muslim lands. It is easy to feel this sense of transition at the place where the mountains meet the plain. The panorama at Loarre Castle is vast, and it is interesting to ponder the notion that when it was built the various towns visible on the horizon were under Islamic control.   Loarre Castle, by Ashitaka San. Source: Flickr   The main construction phase took place at the turn of the 12th century when it became a fortified Augustinian monastery. The bulky perimeter wall was erected much later towards the end of the 13th century. That outer curtain encloses an area of almost 2.5 acres, defended by semicircular towers up to three stories tall. Entering the castle proper, visitors pass through a grand Romanesque portal, with capitals that retain their dainty vegetal carvings.   Beyond the portal is an impressive staircase and barrel vault. A doorway here leads to one of the castle’s standout features, the gloomy Crypt of Santa Quintería. The apse’s round-arched windows (two blind) retain their Romanesque capitals and are linked by two parallel bands of geometric checkerboard moldings.   Two tight stairways lead up to the extraordinary Church of San Pedro, which provides a surprising sense of scale. Its dome rises more than 80 feet above the nave, and it is intriguing to see how the vault configurations vary to adapt to the irregular topography of the castle’s outcrop. In the blind arches of the apse are more carved capitals, several of which are carved with Biblical scenes.   2. Miravet Castle Miravet Castle, by City Clock Magazine. Source: Flickr   The blufftop location of this Knights Templar convent castle is what makes it so extraordinary. Miravet Castle sits more than 300 feet above a wide bend in the Ebro River, in a craggy, semi-mountainous landscape of pine scrub, hazel, and olive groves. The Ebro is the second-longest river on the Iberian Peninsula, and not far downstream it feeds one of the largest wetland systems in the Western Mediterranean.   Looking up from the riverside, the castle still transmits a sense of insurmountability almost 900 years after it was built in the 12th century. This Templar stronghold sprang from the remnants of a Moorish fortress, visible in what is left of the defensive wall swooping down the precipitous slope.   The property was given to the order by Ramon Berenguer IV (c. 1114-1162), whose conquest of these lands unified all of the territory that makes up modern Catalonia. On marrying Petronilla of Aragon, he founded a line of succession that eventually led to a dynastically unified Spain, under Isabella and Ferdinand.   Miravet makes a strong impression with its square walls and towering perch. The Templars used clean-carved white ashlar blocks, many of which have hardly weathered at all. One hint of the castle’s importance in the late 12th century lies in the name of the Torre del Tresor (the Treasure Tower). On the north side of the compound, this structure held an administrative archive and depository for Knights Templar’s wealth, accrued across Aragon and Catalonia.   Ascending the inner enclosure, the interpretive trail takes in spaces like the refectory, chapterhouse, and pantry, before reaching the atmospheric Romanesque convent church with a semi-circular apse and barrel vault. From here visitors face a harrowing climb up a steep and narrow spiral staircase to the roof, and a far-off view of the river and mountains.   3. Bellver Castle Bellver Castle, by Cristian Bortes. Source: Flickr   Unusual for its circular footprint, Majorca’s Bellver Castle was built by James II of Majorca (1243-1311), who was a great-great-grandson of Ramon Berenguer IV. This monument is posted inland from the Bay of Palma, in the pine-covered hills a mile or two from the heart of Majorca’s capital.   Bellver Castle was designed for a mix of defense and comfort, and that sense of refinement still characterizes the keep. The inner courtyard is the castle’s standout feature, enclosed by grand arcades on two stories.   The arcade has round arches below, while the first floor features Gothic arches with Y-tracery, which was in style at the turn of the 14th century. At the center of the courtyard, you can see the opening to a large cistern, encompassing the entire area of the courtyard underground.   Interior of Bellver Castle, by Patrick Baum. Source: Unsplash   The castle was built to house James II’s court, with apartments facing inward on the stately courtyards. However, as the 14th century progressed the keep’s enclosed layout made it an ideal prison. Important inmates included Violante of Vilaragut, the wife of James II’s grandson, James III. He was killed trying to retake the island from the Crown of Aragon at the Battle of Llucmajor (1349).   The castle has faced three sieges and continued to hold captives until as recently as the Spanish Civil War when it was a makeshift Francoist prison. From 1936 until as late as 1939, some 800 Republican prisoners faced brutal conditions here. A large portion were executed, and others were transferred to concentration camps, while yet more were supposedly released but never heard from again.   Today, the castle holds the municipal history museum for the city of Palma de Mallorca. One compelling exhibit goes into depth on the Asturian politician, Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos (1744-1811). A Spanish Enlightenment figure, he was imprisoned here for six years in the 1800s.   4. Castle of La Mota Castillo de la Mota Vista Exterior, photo by Fernando. Source: Wikimedia Commons   For centuries there had been a defensive complex of some kind rising over the town of Medina del Campo. Then, in the first half of the 15th century, John II of Castile (1405-1454) readied the castle for gunpowder warfare.   This was the first in a series of phases that would turn the Castle of La Mota into a reference for early artillery forts. One addition was a low outer enclosure comprising underground gun positions with innovative ventilation systems to extract gunpowder smoke. Moats lowered the profile of the complex even further, leaving only the tops of the 65-foot inner curtain walls vulnerable to fire.   Throughout the tumultuous 15th century, La Mota was caught in a bloody tug-of-war between Castille and Aragon. It repeatedly changed hands between the two powers in the decades before they were finally united by the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella in 1469.   The outer brickwork of the exposed keep (Torre del Homenaje) and inner curtain wall still bear the scars of this period, with dozens of craters caused by artillery almost 600 years ago. This damage most likely dates to 1467, when it was taken by John II’s son, Alfonso during his rebellion against his half-brother Henry IV.   The union of Castile and Aragon largely brought an end to this civil strife, and you can see their heraldic crests over the main gate and outer bastion. From this time on, the tall keep became a prison.   One noteworthy inmate, in 1506, was Cesare Borgia (1475-1507), an illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI whose exploits in Northern Italy gave Niccolò Machiavelli the inspiration for his political treatise The Prince. The story goes that he escaped the keep by climbing down a rope from a height of 131 feet.   5. Palace of the Kings of Navarre of Olite Castillo de Olite, by Mario Marti. Source: Flickr   Centered on the city of Pamplona, Navarre was once a separate state in Medieval Spain. By the 15th century, Charles III of Navarre (1361-1425) had transferred the seat of power to the picturesque city of Olite.   As opposed to the more spartan religious and military strongholds on this list, the Palace of the Kings of Navarre of Olite was purely residential. Indeed, Charles III gave his new home an unmatched level of finery and workmanship, combined with a formidable sense of scale.   Today, after centuries of decline and a fire during the Napoleonic Wars which destroyed the decoration, the dimensions and architecture can still be appreciated. The palace is an enthralling mass of castellated towers, hanging gardens, courtyards, and arcaded galleries.   Although the gilded coffered ceilings, profuse stained glass, and tapestries have been lost, there are tantalizing glimpses of the building’s fittings. The Sala Mudéjar, often closed to the public, has beautiful examples of Moorish-infused geometric plasterwork in ten panels. Other highlights include the 133-step spiral staircase climbing the keep, and the Galería del Rey (King’s Gallery), with its delicate Gothic tracery.   A stunning original space that is open to visitors is the complex’s Gothic church, which escaped real damage in the fire. The facade is exceptional, with a spectacular portal flanked by the twelve apostles in niches. The portal, centered on Mary in the tympanum, features beautifully rendered scenes from Bible stories, including the Slaughter of the Innocents and the Flight into Egypt.   The highlight inside is the altarpiece, installed in 1528 and composed of 28 painted panels as well as polychrome carved images of the Virgin and Child, and the Crucifixion.   6. The Alcázar of Segovia Alcázar of Segovia, by Ángel Sanz Andrés. Source: Wikimedia Commons   In the 13th century, the Castilian House of Trastámara turned a forbidding cliff-top fortress into a royal abode, the seat of political power, and one of Europe’s most renowned palaces. Much later, the Alcázar of Segovia was one of several European Medieval palaces that inspired Disney’s Cinderella Castle.   At the west end of Segovia’s old town, the narrow rocky outcrop towering above the Eresma Valley has been fortified for over 2,000 years. In fact, there is plenty of ancient spolia in the lower walls, including Roman funerary stelae.   Still, the Alcázar of Segovia wasn’t officially documented until 1120, when it was guarded by a wooden stockade. A cave-in took place during the reign of Alfonso X in the mid-13th century, while the king was still inside. He was unhurt, but this event sparked a renovation, which was the first of numerous improvements until the reign of Philip II of Spain in the 16th century.   During that time, the Alcázar of Segovia became home to a long succession of kings. The palace hosted the Castilian royal treasury and Spanish Parliament and witnessed some epoch-making events in the unified nation’s early history. For instance, In 1474, Isabella I of Castille took refuge within these walls after the death of her father, Henry IV. The next day she was announced as Queen of Castile and León.   Alcázar of Segovia, by Matteo del Piano. Source: Unsplash   It was here that the Concord of Segovia (1475) was signed, officially unifying Castile and Aragon. The palace was also the site of the last meeting between Ferdinand II of Aragon and Christopher Columbus, before the explorer’s death in 1506.   From the outside, together with the round watch towers with conical roofs, the most recognizable element is the Torre de Juan II (Tower of John II). This monolithic structure, erected in the mid-15th century and more than 260 feet in height, became a symbol of the Spanish monarchy’s absolute power. From the roof, the panorama of the city, Eresma Valley, and Sierra de Guadarrama mountains is not to be missed.   Touring the palace’s restored interiors, the Hall of the Galley (Sala de la Galera) catches the eye with its mudéjar coffered ceiling, resembling a ship’s hull. Further on, the Hall of the Kings (Sala de los Reyes) dates to Alfonso X’s reign in the 13th century. Henry VI ordered the spectacular frieze, with carved depictions of the various rulers of Castile and León as a statement of the crown’s political power.

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