Segovia is a wonderful Spanish city to visit full of culture, history and treasures of traveling. Segovia is located in north western central Spain, in the autonomous region of Castile and Leon. Segovia’s most famous landmark is the Roman aqueduct that runs through the city. This aqueduct is one of the most well preserved in Europe and is a stunning sight to see in this charming Spanish city.
Aqueduct of Segovia (Acueducto de Segovia)
If you plan on visiting Segovia, the aqueduct is the first thing you will want to see in the city and will be one of the first as it is so large. It has become the symbol of Segovia and it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985, along with the Old City of Segovia. The Aqueduct of Segovia is a Roman structure that remains standing after 2,000 years. Talk about great engineering and skilled construction workers!
The Romans were some of the greatest builders of the world’s history with their great achievements of architecture. During Roman rule, Segovia was located on the main road between two important roman towns. Due to the lack of freshwater in the town and the growing population, an aqueduct was created to bring water to Segovia from the Rio Frío.
Facts about the Aqueduct of Segovia
When exploring a new city or destination, I always love learning interesting facts about it so here are a few facts you may also find interesting. The aqueduct was built around 112 AD so that makes it almost 2,000 years old. It was built under the orders from Roman Emperors Domitian, Trajan, and Nerva, that ruled during the first century. I still can’t believe it has survived and mostly remained intact. It was used until the mid 19th century.
Distance of Aqueduct of Segovia
This Roman aqueduct is over 93 feet tall (28.5 meters high) at its highest point and runs about a half a mile (818 meters) in total distance. The actual waterway system of the Segovia aqueduct spans a distance of over 10.6 miles (around 7 kilometers). It carried freshwater from the Rio Frío, located in the mountains of Sierra de Guadarrama all the way to Segovia. The city of Segovia sits on top of a ridge surrounded by two rivers so when the water channel arrived to the city, they had to transport the water over the valley into the city of Segovia so an aqueduct was constructed. They bridged this gap by creating a two story network of 167 stone arches with the waterway located on top. The aqueduct bridge, which is so famous today, is actually only about 5% of the entire waterway.
Construction of Aqueduct of Segovia
To construct the aqueduct of Segovia they used around 25,000 granite blocks from the local quarry about 3.1 miles (5 kilometers) away. It might be hard to believe, but the aqueduct was originally constructed without any mortar or cement. The granite blocks are simply put one on top of the other and the science of weight and gravity, keep the arches in place. Over the years, there has been some repairs to preserve the aqueduct so cement and mortar have now been used, but not during its original construction.
Visiting the Aqueduct of Segovia
Segovia and its Roman Aqueduct is a huge tourist attraction so during certain times of the day it can be extremely busy. Therefore the best time to visit the aqueduct and take photos without the crowds, would be early in the morning as the sun is rising. For centuries traffic would travel beneath the arches of the aqueduct, but to preserve the structures of the arches, the town of Segovia decided to close all vehicular traffic from traveling below the aqueduct. You can still walk underneath and look up to behold the beautiful Roman structure. The best place to view the aqueduct, besides directly underneath it, is the Plaza del Azoguejo, as this is where the aqueduct is at its highest with the double arches.
The Legend of the Aqueduct of Segovia
The Segovia Aqueduct is such an impressive structure that when many people saw it for the first time, they didn’t understand how it was constructed. To explain how it was built, a local legend was born. The legend states that the aqueduct was built by the Devil because a young girl was carrying water all the way up to the city and was getting tired so she made a pact with the Devil and offered him her soul if the water would be carried home before dawn. Therefore the Devil worked hard to build the aqueduct and if you look carefully at the stones, you’ll see the claws of the devil that has put holes in the majority of the stones. Legends are always fun stories to have, but we all know the painstaking work the Romans had to go through to build this architectural masterpiece.
Roman Mythology
Close to the aqueduct, in its shadows you can find a replica of the bronze sculpture of the Loba Capitoline, the she-wolf that in ancient Roman mythology suckled and raised the founders of Rome, Romulus and Remulus. You can see this statue in the Plaza Oriental
Traveling to Segovia
You can travel to Segovia from Madrid in a car, on a bus or by taking the train. I would suggest the train as it is the fastest. It takes about an hour and 20 minutes in a car or bus, but using the high speed train from Madrid to Segovia takes only 28 minutes and costs around 20 Euros for a round trip ticket. It’s a great value and is the quickest way to get to Segovia from Madrid.
Aqueduct of Segovia Withstanding the Test of Time
The Aqueduct of Segovia will stand out from around many parts of the city because of its size. It’s part of the Segovia landscape and is an incredible creation from the Romans. It has become an important symbol of Segovia and is a part of the city’s coat of arms. This is just one of the many treasures of traveling in Segovia that you must visit and I’m sure will inspire you to learn more about the history of our beautiful world.
There are many treasures of traveling to visit in Segovia like the Alcazar and the Cathedral. Segovia has many things to offer any tourist and is filled with a few of the amazing treasures that Spain has to offer. There are also many other wonderful Spanish cities to discover like Madrid, San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Granada and Seville, just to name a few.
Check out the map below to see where Madrid is located at!
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