Spain
Over the next three centuries, Spain became the most important colonial power in the world, establishing a vast empire in the Americas and western Pacific. However, Spain became involved in court intrigue in other European countries, finding itself in numerous wars that led to economic ruin.
The English defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, and the war that continued until 1604 nearly destroyed the national treasury of Spain.
The little one studies the view of the valley below the Monastery of Suso. The Monastery of Suso in La Rioja, Spain is said to be the birthplace of Castillian (Spanish) language. The building of the monastery started with a crack in the rock where many caves open up, and were inhabited by a community of hermits who practiced a contemplative life. Years later, San Millán would come to live here. Millán was a shepherd who lived between the fifth and sixth centuries and died at 101 years old. His life, the search for spirituality, was the origin of the monastic life. He was sanctified in 1030. Judged Best of Photography in 2015 Shelby County Arts Council 6th annual Juried Art Show.
Barcelona Living—Barcelona, Spain
According to legend, Barcelona was founded either by Hercules or Hamilcar Barca, Hannibal’s father, in 3BC. Around 15BC, the Romans took over the town as a castrum, a military defensive position. In the fifth century, Barcelona was conquered by the Visigoths, and then by the Arabs in 711AD. In 801AD, Charlemagne's son, Louis, reconquered the city and made Barcelona a buffer zone between the Christian kingdoms of the North and the independent Muslim states, which held the rest of the Iberian peninsula until the Treaty of Granada in 1492.
Walking Home—Hondarribia, Spain
Hondarribia, a town in northern Spain’s Basque Country, is also known by its Basque language name as Fuenterrabía which means “sand ford”. The border town sits on a promontory facing Hendaye, France over the Txingudi bay. The first mention of the town are in documents dated 1150. City walls surround the town and in the old quarter is a 10th century castle built by the King of Navarre, Sancho Abarca, during the early days of the Christian Reconquista. During the wars between Spain and France, Napoleon stayed at the castle for quite some time. Today, the medieval fortress is a hotel, with just thirty-six elegant rooms, providing splendid views of French coastline.
The wine barrels of the famous wine of La Rioja, one of Spain’s major wine-producing regions, are stacked at Haro’s City Hall waiting for the annual Battle of Wine. The Battle of Wine, La Battalla del Vino in Spanish, begins on the morning of St. Peter’s Feast day, June 29th. A procession, headed by the mayor who is on horseback, leads the citizens of Haro to a mountain chapel a short distance away where morning mass is held. Everyone dresses in white with red scarfs, and carries jugs, bottles, wine bags, or any number of other wine filled containers. At the end of mass, everybody starts to squirt wine on each other until everyone is soaked. Then, they all return to the town plaza to dance traditional dances.
Pants and Pots—Hondarribia, Spain
Hondarribia, a town in northern Spain’s Basque Country, is also known by its Basque language name as Fuenterrabía which means “sand ford”. The border town sits on a promontory facing Hendaye, France over the Txingudi bay. The first mention of the town are in documents dated 1150. City walls surround the town and in the old quarter is a 10th century castle built by the King of Navarre, Sancho Abarca, during the early days of the Christian Reconquista. During the wars between Spain and France, Napoleon stayed at the castle for quite some time. Today, the medieval fortress is a hotel, with just thirty-six elegant rooms, providing splendid views of French coastline.
Through The Portal—Girona, Spain
Girona is a city in northeastern Spain on the Costa Brava, which is near the French border. The Romans originally built Girona and its original city walls survived until the late 19th century when the walls were demolished, allowing for city expansion. Girona’s history includes twenty-five sieges, during which it was captured seven times. In May of 1809, thirty-five thousand French Napolenoic troops besieged the town, which held out until December 12, 1809 when it was forced to capitulate because of disease and famine.
The Iglesia de Santo Tomás church main entrance was designed by Felipe Vigarny, a French born sculptor and architect considered one of the masters of Spanish Renaissance.The baroque tower was made by Juan de Raón in 1671, the first of its kind in the Spanish region of La Rioja. The Catholic Parish Church of St. Thomas the Apostle sits on the second highest mountain in Haro, called La Mota or The Watchtower, making the church visible from many parts of the village and from almost anywhere on the outskirts of Haro.
During the 12th century, a Jewish community thrived in Girona, with one of the most important Kabbalistic schools in all of Europe. The Kabbalah teachings intend to explain the relationship between the Creator, mortals and the universe. The Kabblah scriptures are not included as a part of the traditional Jewish scriptures. Kabbalah doctrine is accepted by some Jews and rejected by other Jews as heretical and conflicting with Judaism. The term Kabbalah is now the main descriptive term for Jewish esoteric knowledge.
Wine Country
Wine Cemetery—At the foot of the Canabrian Mountains in Northern Spain
Vineyards in Spain maintain a wine cemetery where “dead” wines are stored for posterity. (In most of Europe, it is called the wine library.) The wine cemetery is a vault containing the last bottles of a vintage. In some wineries, the bottles resting in the cemetery can date back as far as the late 19th century.
Facing Chairs—Hondarribia, Spain
Situated on the banks of the Bidasoa estuary, is a 10th century castle built by the King of Navarre, Sancho Abarca, during the early days of the Christian Reconquista. A powerful Caliph, Al-Mansur, was a threat to the area at that time, but the King and his castle at Hondarribia were spared because the King gave one of his daughters in marriage to the Caliph. Emperor Charles the Fifth remodeled the castle during the 16th century. During the wars between Spain and France, Napoleon stayed at the castle for quite some time. Today, the medieval fortress is a hotel, with just thirty-six elegant rooms, providing splendid views of the estuary and the French coastline.
Becoming Wine—At the foot of the Canabrian Mountains in Northern Spain
In the month of January, when the malolactic fermentation process is completed (breaking down malic acid into lactic acid), the vats are selected. A tasting committee determines the characteristics of the wines, separating the wines which have come from young vines destined for sale in bulk. The area is well protected from prevailing winds and frost. It is where the the Nuestra Señora de Remelluri estate and vineyared is located. Of the 380 acres of chalky clay soil, 260 are used for the vineyard. This unusual land is what gives the wine personality. It is poor, stony ground, with layers of clay which retain freshness and moisture. All of this allows the fruit to ripen with subtlety and balance.
Lean To—Labastida in Rioja Alavesa
In this area of modern Spain, one can find traces of prehistoric, Roman, Visigoth, Moorish and medieval villages—all of which provide evidence of agricultural activity since ancient times. Old wine presses carved out of surrounding rock represent the oldest traces of wine making in La Rioja. During the 14th century, Hieronymite monks built a sanctuary farm belonging to the Toloño monastery on the summit of a mountain by the same name. In the 15th century, the monks left and the sanctuary was maintained by hermits who worshipped there until the 19th century when the monastery was destroyed by Liberal troops in the first Spanish civil war.
Bright Corner—Barcelona, Spain
According to legend, Barcelona was founded either by Hercules or Hamilcar Barca, Hannibal’s father, in 3BC. Around 15BC, the Romans took over the town as a castrum, a military defensive position. In the 5th century, Barcelona was conquered by the Visigoths, and then by the Arabs in 711AD. In 801AD, Charlemagne's son Louis reconquered the city and made Barcelona a buffer zone between the Christian kingdoms of the North and the independent Muslim states, which held the rest of the Iberian peninsula until the Treaty of Granada in 1492.
Ornate Ceiling—Barcelona, Spain
According to legend, Barcelona was founded either by Hercules or Hamilcar Barca, Hannibal’s father, in 3BC. Around 15BC, the Romans took over the town as a castrum, a military defensive position. In the 5th century, Barcelona was conquered by the Visigoths, and then by the Arabs in 711AD. In 801AD, Charlemagne's son, Louis, reconquered the city and made Barcelona a buffer zone between the Christian kingdoms of the North and the independent Muslim states, which held the rest of the Iberian peninsula until the Treaty of Granada in 1492.
Located in the northwest La Rioja province in northern Spain, the town of Haro is know for its fine red wine. Its other claim to fame is that Haro was the first town in Spain to have electric street lighting. The first mention of Haro was in the year 1040, in a document of the King of Navarre, who ruled a kingdom occupying lands on either side of the Pyrenees mountains that today forms a natural border border between France and Spain. Haro has an important architectural heritage, which includes the work of Felipe Vigarny who designed the main entrance of the the Santo Tomás Church. The old town section of Haro was declared a Historic Artistic Site in 1975.
