Aranda de Duero

They say, of the inhabitants of this wonderful Castilian city, located approximately one hundred and fifty kilometers from Madrid and about eighty from Burgos capital, that they descend from those same Pelendones - part of those Celtic tribes that invaded the Iberian Peninsula in centuries before the birth of Christ - who also spread across the arid plains of Soria and defended with scrupulous honor the unfortunate city of Numancia, devastated by the legions of the Roman general, Scipio Africanus, whose ruins can be visited in the municipality of Garray, located a dozen kilometers from Soria capital.

A city, of course, much larger and more monumental than the neighboring town of Peñaranda, located just over twenty kilometers away, which, also close to the fertile banks of that metaphorical vital serpent that pours its scaly waters into the Portuguese Atlantic coasts, the Duero River, has deserved fame for the excellence of its wines and the notable quality of its gastronomy, among whose main dishes is, as it could not be otherwise, the famous lamb.

We also have in Aranda de Duero, an important part of that history, high medieval, which witnessed the rise and fall of the Visigoth empire and saw the birth, after the holocaust of its last king, Don Rodrigo, of the first rebellious counts. and the first Judges of Castile, whose exploits were fully immortalized in that set of beautiful epic chronicles, which is, without a doubt, a Romancero that collects the most florid of our medieval literature.

Logically, and given that time does not pass in vain, as the popular proverb rightly says, Aranda de Duero has also been subjected to the needs and imperious demands of the times and fashions, growing, around its glorious old town, another parallel city, modern and lacking the romanticism of other times, which, however, indicates a flourishing, understood as growth, that makes it one of the most welcoming and expanding cities of Old Castile.

This apparent duality between the past and the present also induces us to see in it, introducing us to the tourist aspect, an eminently comfortable place, in which the visitor, in his cultural adventure, will see all his vital needs more than fulfilled, with the incentive of being able to enjoy, without having to make long trips, a superb cultural heritage, where the artistic and the traditional come together, generously, to offer you an experience worth telling.

This can begin by crossing that vital artery, which is its Main Street, in which, leading to the small square where that metaphorical jewel in the crown is located, which is its prodigious Gothic church of Santa María la Real, the visitor, leaving carried away by the appeal of a period architecture, in which that assault of modern renovation is also present, which, in some way, will make you feel like those medieval pilgrims, who arrived in the city on their way to Santiago de Compostela, begins a journey through time, which will make you delight in its peculiar monumentality.

Possibly, the most attractive part of this cultural tour is found in one of the most notable works of Gothic Art in Castile, such as the monumental doorway of the church of Santa María la Real, attributed to Simón de Colonia, a member of that prolific family of German artists who contributed so much and so well to making a legend in the Castilian artistic heritage, also working on such relevant sacred constructions, such as the Cathedral of Santa María, located, as it could not be otherwise, in the very heart from Burgos.

Above this, although less prolific in details and currently converted into a Sacred Museum, the church of San Juan, after a recommendable visit to its interior, invites you to get lost in the maze of the old streets that swirl around it and even descend, on a pleasant walk, to the bank and let yourself be carried away by the whisper of the melancholic waters of the old river, perched on the heights of the no less old medieval bridge, which, for centuries, has risen above them.

From there, in the shade of the willows and avoiding the inevitable passage of road traffic, you can return again towards the old town and continue your journey through a notable monumentality, which will make you end up, always attracting the old taverns and the modern ones. places of restoration, even a Main Square, which, as is usual in this type of architectural conceptions, will seem remarkably sovereign and, of course, worthy of admiration.

In it, you will not only share those moments of free conversation, pleasantly sitting on any of its numerous terraces, but you will also be able to enjoy, together with the family, a pleasant expansion space, where everyone, from the smallest to the larger, they will have numerous attractions with which to entertain themselves, especially, from that time onwards, around midday, when they will be able to join in that ritual, always related to a very Spanish tradition, such as the aperitif.

Recommended, to regain strength and continue exploring with some determination the countless nooks and crannies of this city, the experience of eating in any of its countless traditional inns and then continuing, doing any of the numerous tourist tours, visiting the numerous underground wineries, which of course, they offer another service of cultural quality, of which not all cities can boast.

In short: visiting and experiencing a Castilian city of the category of Aranda de Duero is always a delicious experience, which leaves the visitor with an irrepressible desire to return.

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NOTICE: Both the text, the accompanying photographs, as well as the video that illustrates it, are my exclusive intellectual property and are therefore subject to my Copyright.

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