Ávila

"This article is about the Spanish city. For other uses, see Avila"Infobox City
official_name = Ávila
other_name = Ávila de los Caballeros, Ávila del Rey, Ávila de los leales
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motto = _es. "Una ciudad para todos..."
(Spanish for "A city for everyone...")


imagesize = 250px
image_caption = Ávila with its famous city walls, as seen from a distance

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mapsize = 200px
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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = Spain
subdivision_type1 = Autonomous Community
subdivision_name1 = Castilla y León
subdivision_type2 = Province
subdivision_name2 = Ávila
subdivision_type3 =
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government_type =
leader_title = Mayor
leader_name = Miguel Ángel García Nieto |leader_party = PP
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area_total_km2 =
area_land_km2 = 231.9
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population_as_of = 2005
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population_total = 53,272
population_density_km2 = 226.87
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timezone = CET
utc_offset = +1
timezone_DST = CEST
utc_offset_DST = +2
latd=40 |latm=39 |lats= |latNS=N
longd=4 |longm=41 |longs= |longEW=W
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 1182
elevation_ft = 3665
postal_code_type = Postal code
postal_code = 05001 - 05005
area_code = 34 (Spain) + 92 (Ávila)
website = http://www.avila.es es icon
footnotes = Infobox World Heritage Site
WHS = Old Town of Ávila with its Extra-Muros Churches


State Party = ESP
Type = Cultural
Criteria = iii, iv
ID = 348
Region = Europe and North America
Year = 1985
Session = 9th
Link = http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/348

Ávila de los Caballeros ().

Geography

The city is 1117 meters (3665 feet) above sea level, the highest provincial capital in Spain. It is built on the flat summit of a rocky hill, which rises abruptly in the midst of a veritable wilderness: a brown, arid, treeless table-land, strewn with immense grey boulders, and shut in by lofty mountains. This results in an extreme climate, with very hard and long winters, and short summers.

History

Ávila is most known for the medieval city walls [ [http://www.travelinginspain.com/Avila.htm Avila] World Heritage Sites in Spain at travelinginspain.com.] , that were constructed of brown granite in The churches of San Vicente, San Pedro and San Segundo are, in their main features, Romanesque of the 12th century. D0nt leave out the cathedrals.

:]

In the Gothic Monastery of Santo Tomás, erected by the Catholic Queen Isabella in 1482, is especially noteworthy the marble monument, carved by the 15th-century Florentine sculptor Domenico Fancelli, over the tomb of Prince John, the only son of Ferdinand and Isabella.

Famous residents

Ávila was the birthplace of the 4th-century theologian Priscillian, the first Christian to be executed for heresy. The town is more renowned for St. Teresa of Ávila, the Carmelite reformer who lived there twelve centuries later (c. 1515-1582). A convent and church mark the supposed birthplace of Santa Teresa, but she was born in Gotarrendura in the Ávila province. Other prominent natives include Saint John of the Cross, Tomás Luis de Victoria and the Spanish-born American philosopher George Santayana. From 1482 to 1807 it was also the seat of a university.

Food

Typical food in Ávila includes roast lamb, suckling pig, and veal steak. Ávila is also famous for its "yemas de Santa Teresa" - egg yolk candies named after the patron saint.

References

External links

* [http://www.avila.es Avila's City Hall]
* [http://www.sacred-destinations.com/spain/avila-convent-of-st-teresa.htm Convent of St. Teresa, Avila]
* [http://galicias.com/avila/index.htm Photos of Avila]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=avila&ie=UTF8&ll=40.656615,-4.701977&spn=0.006642,0.021629&t=k&z=16&om=0 Satellite picture by Google Maps]
* [http://www.ancientlibrary.com/gazetteer/0004.html Hazlitt, Classical Gazetteer "Abila"]
* [http://www.patrimoniocastillayleon.org/avila/imagenes/ Citizens' association for the defence of heritage of Avila - Photos of Avila]

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