Cuenca:A visual presentation by Class I A

The city known as the Eagles nest because of its position high on a hill, is easily accessed by means of the N430/ N320 highways and has a good infrastructure within the city. The city is separated from the nearby rock face by deep ravines in the which the rivers Jucar and Huecar run.

Castilla La Mancha

Capital ToledoOfficial language(s) SpanishArea – Total – % of Spain

Ranked 3rd79,463 km² 15.7%

Population – Total (2005) – % of Spain – Density

Ranked 9th 1,894,667 4.3% 23.84/km²

Demonym – English – Spanish

Castilian-Manchego castellano-manchego

Statute of Autonomy August 16, 1982 Parliamentaryrepresentation – Congress seats – Senate seats

20 2

President José María Barreda Fontes (PSOE)

By Massimiliano Formato

The province of Cuenca is one of five provinces within the region of Castilla-La-Mancha, the other four being Guadalajara, Toledo, Albacete and Ciudad Real. The whole area has some of the most historic and beautiful lands within the whole of Spain. Remains of burial grounds dating from the Iron Age have been discovered has well has some major Roman settlements such as those at Saelices and Valeria.

Castile-La Mancha (Spanish Castilla-La Mancha) is an autonomous community of Spain.Castile-La Mancha is bordered by Castile and León, Madrid, Aragon, Valencia, Murcia, Andalusia, and Extremadura. It is one of the most sparsely populated of Spain's autonomous communities.The capital of Castile-La Mancha is Toledo.Castile-La Mancha was formerly grouped with the province of Madrid into New Castile ("Castilla la Nueva"), but with the advent of the modern Spanish system of semi-autonomous regions (las autonomías), it was separated due to great economic disparity between the capital and the remaining New-Castilian provinces.

It is in this province where the famous Spanish novel Don Quixote by Cervantes takes place. Although La Mancha is a windswept, battered plateau (manxa means parched earth in Arabic; hence La Mancha is not definitively related to the Spanish word mancha, or stain, which is derived from Latin macula) it remains a symbol of the Spanish culture with its sunflowers, windmills, Manchego cheese and, of course, El Quijote.

La Mancha's history has been tumultuous. Going as far back as the Muslim domination of the Iberian peninsula, La Mancha was the center of many battles between Christian and Muslim forces. Moreover, this region saw a lot of struggle in the 14th and 15th century with the unification of Castile and Aragon in 1492 under Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand.

By Giovanni Onesti

How to get to Cuenca!!!

By Bruno - Formato - Forgione

The city is clearly divided into two parts; the old and modern. The modern half offers very little history, mainly consisting of modern residences, tower blocks and apartments. The old part is one of the most wonderful cities in Spain and is worthy of several days exploration.

By Polvere - Carbone

The Cathedral

The cathedral, pictured left, located in Plaza Mayor dates from 1177 and showes architecture over several periods. The interior houses many works of art. there are several chapels located whithin; each very different. The Palacio Episcopal dating from the 13th century is also worthy of a visit.

Within many of the cobbled streets of old Cuenca you will find rows of tall , town house , painted in vivid pastel colours such as those pictures left. This particular street is found trough the arch of the town hall, heading down the hill. There are few shops in the old town other than the odd tourist shop. For shopping you need to head to the modern part of Cuenca. You will however find a great shop near the town hall that sells all manner of local craft items.

By Mastronunzio - Morelli

The Town Hall

The town hall dating from the 18th century is located near the cathedral. Close to this you will find several street cafes where you can enjoy the afternoon sun. There are several car parks close but don‘t be tempted to park in the Plaza Mayor. Pictured left is the Plaza Mayor and Town Hall, looking from the cathedral steps.

By Polvere

Walk past the cathedral, up the hill to the castle for splendid panoramic views. There is a walk from the castle , heading even higher that gives you the best views. A little past the castle you will find a tourist ample parking at the top so taking a car through the town is not really a problem. This is also the place to be if you are walker. There are several planned routes giving the best sights.

By D'Alessio - Iollo - Cecere

Local crafts

Historical artefacts in the museums of Cuenca prove that for many centuries, the province has been well known for its craftsmanship in many mediums. Even to this day, craft activity has been injected with new techniques and new forms. The area has been noted for its crafts in ivory, glass, carpets and ironwork. Wood, ceramics and wickerwork are also still popular today. We have ceramics from Cuenca and Priego, glass from Cuenca, wax objects from Albalete and Tarancon, taxidermy from Mota and cutlery from Minglanilla, and these are just a few.

By Grasso - Formato

Because of the location of Cuenca Parador, visitors have spectacular views of Cuenca on one side, and of the Huecar River Gorge on the other.

Cuenca's beautiful Parador is in an old Sixteenth Century convent opposite Cuenca's famous "casas colgadas", the hanging houses - buildings which seem to cling precariously onto the rocky side of the gorge dividing one side of Cuenca from the other.

By De Santis - Catillo

Villages and towns of Cuenca Province: Alarcon

In the south of the province, a walled village built to a medieval plan and well preserved. The village has four “must-see” churches and a castle where Don Juan Manuel wrote most of his works. The hill where the village is situated seems to have been inhabited since prehistoric times. It was conquered by the Romans, converted into a fortress by the Arabs and conquered back by Alfonso VIII. The enclosing ramparts are one of the best known and most complete defence systems existing in Spain today. The castle was built by Alfonso VIII on the site of an earlier Arab castle.

By De Santis - Catillo

The “Hanging Houses”

The “Hanging Houses” one of which is pictured right, are possibly the most surprising and amazing freatures of the city. These four houses literally hang on the edge of the cliff, overlooking the deep ravine near San Pablo Bridge. These houses have become a symbol of Cuenca.

By Onesti - Iodice

BelmonteA monumental town of great interest with many well preserved architectural gems , not last of all its castle. It was built by Juan Pacheco in 1456-1470 on the site of an earlier castle dated 1324.It was restored at one point and point and used as a private residence. The walled precinct whose 15th-16th century ramparts and glades connect the old town with the castle is particularly well preserved. Belmonte has more than its fair share of churches, palaces and convents. The hermitage of Nuestra Senora de Gracia dated 17th century is certainly worthy of a visit.

Spain

By Caporaso - Izzo

MadridMadrid is the capital of Spain and the largest city in the Iberian peninsula. It is also the third most populous city in the European Union after London and Berlin. Its effect on and politics, as well as its major cultural influence, has ranked Madrid one of the major global cities of the world.

By Caporaso - Izzo

Madrid is also the largest city in Spain, as well as in the province and the autonomous community of the same name. It is located on the river Manzanares in the center of the country, between the autonomous communities of Castilla-León and Castilla-La Mancha.

By Caporaso - Izzo

Due to its economic output, standard of living, and market size, Madrid is considered one of the major financial centers of the Iberian Peninsula, together with Barcelona and Lisbon. As the capital city of Spain, seat of government, and residence of the Spanish monarch, Madrid is also the political center of Spain.

By Caporaso - Izzo

Madrid Madrid undergroununderground mapd map

By De Palma - Abate

The “Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias” in Valencia

The Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències (Valencian), Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias (Spanish) or City of Arts and Sciences is an ensemble of five areas in the dry river bed of the now diverted River Turia in Valencia, Spain.

By De Palma - Abate

Designed by Valencian architect Santiago Calatrava and started in July 1996, it is an impressive example of modern architecture.

By De Palma - Abate

The "city" is made up of the following, usually known by their Valencian names:

•El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía •Opera house and performing arts centre •L'Hemisfèric — Imax Cinema, Planetarium and Laserium •L'Umbracle — Walkway / Garden

By Cecere - Iollo - D'Alessio

Spanish governmentPolitics of Spain takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic constitutional monarchy, whereby the Monarch is the Head of State and the President of the Government is the head of government and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Federal legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.

By Cecere - Iollo - D'Alessio

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (born August 4, 1960 in Valladolid) is the President of the Government (Prime Minister) of Spain. The party he leads, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), won the general election on March 14, 2004. Controversial actions of his government have included withdrawing Spanish troops from Iraq, legalizing same-sex marriages and giving amnesty to over 700,000 illegal immigrants in Spain [6]. He also presided over the Spanish Parliament's approval of the Controversial Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia.

By Cecere - Iollo - D'Alessio

The Spanish King Juan Carlos

I, King of Spain (baptized as Juan Alfonso Carlos Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias) was born on January 5, 1938 in Rome and is the reigning King of Spain (Rey de España).

By Cecere - Iollo - D'Alessio

On 22 November 1975, two days after the death of Francisco Franco, Juan Carlos was designated King according to the law of succession promulgated by Franco. He successfully oversaw the transition of Spain to a democratic constitutional monarchy. For passing on personal power to democratize the country, he is widely revered by Spaniards.

By Cecere - Iollo - D'Alessio

Juan Carlos' titles include that of King of Jerusalem, as successor to the royal family of Naples. He is also a direct descendant of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom through his grandmother, Victoria Eugenie; of Louis XIV of France through the House of Bourbon; of the Emperor Charles V, who belonged to the Habsburg dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire; of the House of Savoy of Italy; etc.

By Cecere - Iollo - D'Alessio

His name, when rarely anglicised, is rendered as John Alphonse Charles Victor Maria of Bourbon (and Bourbon-Two Sicilies). He was given these names after his father (Juan de Borbon), grandfather (Alfonso XIII) and maternal grandfather (Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies).

Goya

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (March 30, 1746 – April 16, 1828) was a Spanish painter and printmaker.

Goya was a jester on the court. he was also a Spanish Clown and a chronicler of history. He has been regarded both as the last of the old masters and as the first of the moderns. The subversive and subjective element in his art, as well as his bold handling of paint, provided a model for the work of later generations of artists, notably Manet and Picasso.Many of Goya's works are on display in the Museo del Prado in Madrid.

By Baccari - Paradiso

Salvador Dalí

Salvador Felipe Jacinto Dalí Domènech, Marquis of Pubol or Salvador Felip Jacint Dalí Domènech (May 11, 1904 – January 23, 1989), known popularly as Salvador Dalí, was a Spanish artist and one of the most important painters of the 20th century. He was a skilled draftsman, best known for the striking, bizarre, and beautiful images in his surrealist work. His painterly skills are often attributed to the influence of Renaissance masters. His best known work, The Persistence of Memory, was completed in 1931. Salvador Dalí's artistic repertoire also included film, sculpture, and photography.

The Persistence of Memory

By Formato - Grasso

Miguel de Cervantes

Don Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra[b] (September 29, 1547 – April 23, 1616) was a Spanish novelist, poet and playwright. Cervantes is one of the most important and celebrated figures in literature and the leading figure associated with the cultural florescence of sixteenth century Spain (the Siglo de Oro).

By Formato - Grasso

His picaresque novel, Don Quixote, is considered a founding classic of Western literature and regularly figures among the best novels ever written; it has been translated into more than sixty languages, while editions continue regularly to be printed, and critical discussion of the work has unabatedly persisted since the 18th century.

By Caporaso - Izzo

Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso was born in Málaga, Spain, the first child of José Ruiz y Blasco and María Picasso y López. He was christened with the names Pablo, Diego, José, Francisco de Paula, Juan Nepomuceno, Maria de los Remedios, and Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad.Picasso's father was Jose Ruíz, a painter whose specialty was the naturalistic depiction of birds and who for most of his life was also a professor of art at the School of Crafts and a curator of a local museum. from an early age.

By Caporaso - Izzo

The young Picasso showed a passion and a skill for drawing shortening of lapiz, the Spanish word for pencil. It was from his father that Picasso had his first formal academic art training, such as figure drawing and painting in oil.

Real MadridReal Madrid is a Spanish sports club best known for its football team which was three times World Champion, and also ranked as 'The 20th Century's Best Club' by FIFA. The club, which went in place of the Spanish FA, was also one of the founding members of FIFA. They play their home games at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid. Real Madrid have been European Champions a record 9 times and have also won a record 29 La Liga titles. The club also operates a reserve football team, Real Madrid Castilla, and a successful basketball team, Real Madrid Baloncesto and are in talks to sponsor a rugby team, CRC Madrid Noroeste and a Formula One team. Real Madrid is unusual in that, unlike most football clubs, it has been owned and operated solely by its members (socios) since 1902.

By Baccari - Paradiso

Antonio Banderas

•Banderas as Zorro in The Legend of Zorro •Birth name José Antonio Domínguez Banderas •Born August 10, 1960 (age 46)•Málaga, Andalusia, Spain

José Antonio Domínguez Banderas (born August 10, 1960), better known as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish film actor who has appeared in several high-profile Hollywood films including Assassins, Interview with the Vampire, Mariachi Trilogy, Philadelpia and The Mask of Zorro.

By Caroscio - Iollo

Santiago Calatrava

Santiago Calatrava Valls (born July 28, 1951) is an internationally recognized and award-winning Spanish architect and engineer whose principal office is in Zurich, Switzerland.Calatrava was born in Valencia, Spain, where he pursued undergraduate studies at the Architecture School and Arts and Crafts School. Following graduation in 1975, he enrolled in the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zürich, Switzerland for graduate work in civil engineering. In 1981, after completing his doctoral thesis, "On the Foldability of Space Frames", he started his architecture and engineering practice. Classed now among the elite designers of the world, he has offices in Zurich, Paris, New York and elsewhere.

By Caroscio - Iollo

Calatrava is currently designing the future train station - World Trade Center Transportation Hub - at Ground Zero in New York City.Calatrava’s style has been heralded as bridging the division between structural engineering and architecture. In this, he continues a tradition of Spanish modernist engineering that includes Félix Candela and Antonio Gaudí. Nonetheless, his style is very personal and derives from numerous studies he makes of the human body and the natural world.

By De Blasio

Bullfighting or tauromachyBullfighting or tauromachy is

a tradition that involves

professional performers (in

Spanish toreros or

matadores, in Portuguese

toureiros) who execute

various for mal moves with

the goal of appearing

graceful and confident, while

masterful over the bull itself.

Such manoeuvers are

performed at close range,

and conclude (in Spanish-

style bullfighting) with the

death of the bull by a well-

placed sword thrust as the

finale.

By De Blasio

Labeled as a blood sport and considered a traditional event by some, or an example of animal cruelty by others, the practice generates heated controversy in many areas of the world, including Spain where the "classic" bullfighting was born. There is contention between supporters of bullfighting — who claim it is a long held and culturally important tradition — and animal rights groups — who oppose bullfighting due to the suffering of the bull and horses during the bullfight.

By Marco Pirozzi

ETAEuskadi Ta Askatasuna or ETA (Basque for "Basque Homeland and Freedom";), is a paramilitary Basque nationalist organization.

Founded in 1959, it evolved rapidly from a group advocating traditional cultural ways to a terrorist group demanding Basque independence. Its ideology is Marxist-Leninist.

By Marco Pirozzi

All formulations of ETA's goals have centred on sovereignty and self-determination for the Basque Country. ETA's motto is Bietan jarrai ("Keep up on both"). This refers to the two figures in the ETA symbol, a snake (representing politics) wrapped around an axe (representing armed fight).

ETA has committed approximately 900 murders and dozens of kidnappings. More than 500 ETA militants are held in prison in Spain and France. On March 22, 2006 the organization declared a "permanent ceasefire." ETA broke the ceasefire with a car bomb attack on December 30, 2006 at Barajas International Airport, Madrid killing two Ecuadorian immigrants

The End!