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The Tierra de Caballeros route. |
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18km further on you'll find Daimiel, originally considered a small town until the beginning of the 19th century when the Queen Regente Maria Cristina conceded to renaming it a city. There is a wealth of historic monuments here to enjoy such as the 14th century Gothic church of Santa Maria la Mayor, which houses El Cristo de la Expiración, the 16th century parish church of San Pedro Apóstol, the 17th century Baroque church of Nuestra Señora de la Paz, the 17th century
church / convent of Las Minimas, the 16th century hermitage San Roque whose interior houses an interesting array of Mudejar craft works, or the 18th century Cristo de la Luz hermitage. In the surrounding areas we can visit the Virgen de las Cruces sanctuary, the interesting bronze age archaeological site of La Motilla del Azuer and the beautiful Las Tablas de Daimiel national park, with its large Manchego marshlands supporting a diverse range of flora and fauna as well as the many different bird species that live here. We continue on the N-420 until we arrive at the famous town of Cuidad Real, originally founded by Alfonso X El Sabio ( the wise ) in 1255 and ruled by the Order of Calatrava. In honour of the founder a statue was erected in Plaza Mayor in 1976. Here we can enjoy visiting the Santiago Church, the ancient Jewish Synagogue which houses many interesting pieces of Mudejar art and frescos which represent the apocalyptic seven headed dragon, the Puerta De Toledo, the ancient medieval wall, the Neo- Classic Diputación Provincial palace where we can enjoy some of Ángel Andrade paintings or the bust of Sancho Panza sculptured by Felipe Coronado, the Santa Maria del Prado cathedral with its large renaissance altarpiece, the interesting Ciudad Real museum with its interesting collection of archaeological deposits, paintings and Manchego sculptures from the different eras. We then carry on the CM-412 until Almagro, the headquarters of the Orden de Calatrava since the 8th century. We can also visit buildings such as the National Theatre Museum which has preserved documentation relating to the theatres activities since the 18th century, the open air Corral de las Comedias - the only one of its kind, the Baroque church of San Agustin, the 17th century San Bartolomé church with an abundance of Rococo decoration, the Gothic - Renaissance church of La Madre de Dios, the La Encarnación convent and the 16th century Asunción de Calatrava, which has an interesting renaissance cloister, the Valdeparaiso palace which is now the head office of tourism.mo. Taking the N-IV we carry on to Vadelpeñas, a town famous for the Vadelpeñas Denominación de Origen wine. The town originally belonged to the Order of Calatrava until becoming the dominion of Marques de Santa Cruz. Here we find monuments such as the Gothic church of the Asunción, the San José hermitage and the Trinitarios convent , with its selection of interesting frescos, the Cristo parish church , the lovely wine museum constructed in an old bodega ( wine cellar ), the municipal museum with a range of modern and contemporary paintings and the Gregrio Prieto foundation. In the middle of Campo de Montiel you'll find Villanueva de los Infantes, originally belonging to the Order of Santiago. The town has a wealth of historic monuments from the renaissance era as well as the 16th century Baroque style Manchego parish church dedicated to san Andrés, whose interior houses the chapel of Los Bustos, the 17th century Arco house, the Menor college and the old 16th century students house, the ancient Dominican convent where Francisco de Quevado died, the Rebuelta palace, the impressive 16th century busts, the former palace of the Marquez de Melgarejo and the famous Caballero del Verde Gabán house mentioned by Cervantes in his renowned works - El Quijote. |
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