Coca Tourist Attractions
|
|
The little town of Coca lies amid extensive pine forests at the junction of the Río Eresma and Río Voltoya. It was originally a settlement of an Iberian tribe, the Vaccaei, and was known to the Romans as Cauca. It was the birthplace in A.D. 347 of Theodosius I, who became East Roman Emperor in 379 and in 394 reunited the Empire and made Christianity the state religion. In its magnificent Castillo de Fonseca the town has a unique example of a castle in Mudéjar style.
Castillo de Fonseca
The castle, on a square plan, was erected by Moorish builders in the 15th century for Bishop Alfonso Fonseca. It is built entirely of brick, the material characteristic of the Mudéjar style, laid in decorative patterns. A bridge over the moat leads through the imposing main gateway, the Arco de la Villa, just inside the first defensive wall. At the corners of the walls, round which visitors can walk on the top, are massive polygonal towers, which in turn have defensive turrets. Between the battlements and through the countless cruciform loopholes there are views down into the moat far below. The central structure of the castle, which also has tall polygonal corner towers and round towers along the sides, is dominated by the keep to the right of the main gate, a massive square tower with battlemented turrets at the corners and two smaller turrets on the sides. To the right of the keep is the entrance to the castle courtyard. The castle is now occupied by an agricultural college.
Santa María
The only feature of interest in the little town of Coca itself is the principal church, dedicated to Santa María, which has four handsome Gothic tombs belonging to members of the Fonseca family.
Coca Pictures
