ZARAGOZA

Zaragoza, also called Saragossa in English (650.000 inhabitants), it is one of the most important cities in Spain, capital of the Aragon. Zaragoza is found to half way between Madrid and Barcelona from which lies at around 300 kms, the city is situated to 200 meters high and is crossed by the river Ebro.  

The name of the city derives from its ancient Roman origin, in fact the city was founded by the Romans with the name of Colony Caesaraugusta in the 15 DC. The Roman Zaragoza had its period of maximum shine, in the 1st and 2nd centuries of the Christian era, in this period were built in fact important public works, some of which visible still today, among which the Foro, the river port, the thermal baths, the theater and the amphitheater. After the fall of the Roman empire, in 714 the city was conquered by the Arabs, that called it Saraqostas, initially it belonged to the Califate of Córdoba, then, between 1018 and 1110, it became capital of the independent kingdom know as Taifa de Saraqusta, also this period was a period of shine for the city, in 1110 it was conquered by the Almoravidis and finally in 1118 it was regained from the christian troops of the king Alfonso I el Batallador and it became the capital of the kingdom of Aragon, one of the most important of the Spanish history. 

Zaragoza main attractions: The richest area in historical monuments is the old city, to which is entered crossing the Bridge de Santiago along the Ebro River, rich of monuments of all the styles and all the epoches there are buildings of the Roman, Arab and Aragonese period. The three most important buildings of the city are: the Basilica of El Pilar, the Cathedral of El Salvador (La Seo) and the Building de la Aljafería.  

The Basilica of El Pilar, sets in one of the greatest plazas in Europe, it is the greater Baroque church of Spain, the works for its construction began in 1681, on project of the architect real Francisco de Herrera. Its dimensions are 130 meters length for 67 meters width, the basilica is crowned from 11 domes, ten lanterns and four towers. The church is to three aisles, the central one is separated from the altar major, sets under the central dome, under the other two elliptic domes of the central aisle they are found the Santa Capilla de la Virgen del Pilar, the choir and the organ. The inside of a lot of domes is frescoed with paintings of Goya and Francisco Bayeu. In the basilica the Santa Columna lies a small image of the virgin carved in wood.  

The Cathedral of El Salvador (La Seo), built in the 12th century above the rests of the Mosque, it was in the following centuries widened and modified, up to reach the actual aspect, introduces an alternate of various styles, he goes in fact from the Romanesque one, to the Gothic one, to the mudéjar until to reach the Baroque one. Among the mudéjar art to be signalled part of the apse, the parroquieta de San Miguel and the cimborio. Magnificent the polyptych (retablo) of the most greater altar, in alabaster realized by Pere Johan and Hans de Suabia, considered one of the most important works of the European Gothic.  

The Palacio de la Aljafería is an Arabic construction of the 11th century, that was the building of the king of the Taifa of Saraqusta, Al-Muqtadir. The building is the only testimony preserved of a great building of the Islamic architecture of the kingdoms of Taifas (11th century). After the reconquista, it became the residence of the kings of Aragon, it was then center of the inquisition and today it is headquarters of the Cortes in Aragon.  

In 2001, within the architecture Mudejar in the Aragon, the Unesco has declared world patrimony of the humanity the rests of the building de the Aljafería; the apse, the cimborio and the parroquieta de San Miguel de la Seo (Cathedral); the Tower and the parish church of St. Pablo, all in Zaragoza.  

Other attractions of the city are the old Roman Wall and the Roman Theater; among the churches in style mudéjar of the 14th century we can quote the church of St. Pablo, the church of St. Gil Abad, the church of San Miguel de los Navarros and the Parish church of Santa María Magdalena; of the medieval period are then the Torreón de la Zuda, the arc and the house of the Deán, the Puente de Piedra, the Convent of the Santo Sepulcro, the Bañoses judíos, the Torreón de Fortea and the remains of the ancient medieval town-walls. Among the Renaissance works not to be missed the visit to the Lonja, the ancient Stock Market built between 1541 and 1551; the Palacio de los Condes de Morata, the Palacio de los Luna, the House palacio de los condes de Sástago, the House palacio de los marqueses de Montemuzo, the basilica de Santa Engracia, the Patio de la Infanta, the Building Armijo and the House Aguilar, that entertains a collection of the works of the Aragonese painter Goya. In the city there are then interesting baroque and neoclassic buildings.  

The new city, is the most vital and most animated part in the town, among the Plaza de Espana, the Paseo de Indipendencia and the Plaza de Aragon, heart of the modern city, crowds the principal commercial activities. Next to Plaza de Aragon is found the Patio de la Infanta, that entertains works of Goya. Not far away lies one of the most beautiful places of Saragozza, the Park Primo de Rivera. 

Among the museums of the Roman Zaragoza there are the Museum of the Foro, the Museum of the puerto fluvial and the Museum de las termas públicas. For the lovers of the kind not to miss, the Museum de Tapices de La Seo (cathedral), with an exceptional collection of tapestry of the centuries 15th-18th, it's one of the most important collections of this kind of Europe. It's also in Zaragoza an historical university, founded in 1474. In 2008, from on June 14 to September 14, Zaragoza will be the center of the Expo Zaragoza 2008, the International exposure. Among the destinations around Saragozza, you can visit the Cincos Villas, to north of the city; Calatayud, to the south-west; Huesca, the second city of the Aragon; Fuendetodos, city native of Goya; and the desert territory of the west Monegros.