Almonacid Castle is a castle located in the Spanish municipality of Almonacid de Toledo, in the province of Toledo in Castilla-La Mancha. It is approximately 20 km from the capital, Toledo along the Autovía de los Viñedos and lies on a hill dominating the village of Almuncid below, and can be seen from kilometers away.
According to legend its name is derived from a Spanish word meaning “The battlements of El Cid”. El Cid is a very famous Spanish knight who played a great role during the Reconquest. More probably the name is derived from a Latin word; “almonaster”, meaning monastery as the castle was called “ribat” (Moorish for monastery) by the Moors.
Description and characteristics
The castle is polygonal in shape and its inner defensive wall has remnants of 2 square and 3 round towers. It features high exterior walls that are completely surrounded by a narrow moat along with an interior enclosure, and a central turret. It is constructed of stone masonry and adobe brick, offering well worked ashlars in some corners of the wall and in the central tower, where almost all the stones were extracted.
The walls of the interior enclosure are thick adobe and the domes of the towers are of brick. Inside, only the keep remains, located in the center of a large enclosure. It consists of a tower that has three floors with brick vaults. There are remains of two cisterns, a silo and some rooms. Its triple embrasures are also notable.
A report from the architect Don Pedro Gumiel, in the 16th century, tells us that the castle had, at the time in which he was planning reforms, various water deposits, bakery, silos and even a great room with a chimney of seventy square meters.
History of the Castle
This castle was most probably built by the Moors. Its first mention was in 848 and is of Muslim origin, when it served as a strategic surveillance point for an ancient road to La Mancha and in 854 it was the scene of a great battle between the troops of the Emir of Córdoba and rebels from Toledo.
In the 11th century it became the property of King Alfonso VI of León and Castilla as part of the dowry of his wife princess Zaida, a Muslim princess and daughter of the Moorish king. He donated it to the Cathedral of Santa María de Toledo, and it was reformed in the 14th century by order of the Archbishop of Toledo.
Later the pretender to the Portuguese throne Don Alfonso Enríquez, count of Gijón and Noreña and bastard son of Enrique II of Castile, was arrested and imprisoned in the castle by order of his brother Juan I of Castile for over 8 years.
Battle of Independence
In the 18th century it served as a refuge for the troops of General Venegas, the commanding officer of the Spanish troops in the fight against the French at the battle of Almonacid during the Napoleonic Wars.
The battle was won by French troops, commanded by General Sebastiani but at the cost of 4000 men on the Spanish side and over 2000 men on the French side. The French took the castle, destroying part of it when they left. It is in memory of this victory that the name Almonacid appears on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
Did you know that!
In 1839, the municipality’s city council, faced with the economic needs that existed, allowed residents to take bricks from the fortress to put them up for sale, which led to a great deterioration of the structure. It is said that the castle will be sold by the municipality’s city council for one euro cent to anyone who undertakes to completely restore it.
According to legend, Kyoto’s long history began at Seiryuden Temple, located at the top of Mount Higashiyama in the east of the city. Known as Shogunzuka Mound (将軍塚, Shōgunzuka), due to its location it has a large viewpoint with unparalleled panoramic views.
Kyoto was once the capital of Japan, is a city on the island of Honshu and is famous for its numerous Buddhist temples, gardens, imperial palaces, Shinto shrines and traditional wooden houses. It’s also known for formal traditions such as kaiseki dining, consisting of multiple courses of precise dishes, and geisha, female entertainers often found in the Gion district.
It is said that In the mid-8th century, Emperor Kammu chose this spot to survey the area before deciding whether or not to establish the nation’s new capital here. Satisfied with what he saw, he ordered the construction of Kyoto in 794.
This Seiryuden Temple is dedicated to Fudo Myo-o, a revered but fearsome Buddhist deity depicted against a background of flames. It houses an ancient silk painting of this deity that has been declared a National Treasure.
The actual Shogunzuka Mound is said to contain a two and a half meter high clay statue of a general fully adorned in battle armor with a sword and an iron bow and arrow. The statue serves as a guardian talisman for the city and legend has it that the entire mound rumbles when the city is in danger.
Next to the mound stands the Seiryuden temple hall which houses a painting of the fearsome Buddhist deity Fudo Myoo, who is depicted holding a sword and rope, surrounded by flames. The painting is an important object of worship of Shorenin Temple and a national treasure. A reproduction is on display inside the hall.
Keeping with this tradition, Shogunzuka is perhaps best known these days for its observation decks which offer spectacular views out over the city below. The area is part of Shorenin Temple whose main buildings stand at the base of the mountain.
The best views from the Shogunzuka can be enjoyed from the more elegant North Observation Deck from where visitors can look out over northern Kyoto all the way to Mount Hieizan. The spacious wooden deck seems to float above the trees and offers a mostly unobstructed line of sight from nearly 220 meters above the city.
Did you know
While you can get there by bus or taxi, there are also amazing hiking trails that lead up the mountain to the Shogunzuka Mound. One trail starts around the corner from Shorenin Temple near the former Awata Sanso Restaurant while another leads up the mountain from a trailhead behind Chionin Temple and Maruyama Park. The hike up through the forest to the mound is quite steep and takes about 30-45 minutes.
The Bronze Horse, or “Le Cheval de Bronze” is a monument to King Louis XIV dating back to 1825 that is located in the center of Lyons, France. It consists of a bronze statue of King Louis riding a horse, on top of a large pedestal that has 2 additional sculptures on either side of it.
The royal architect Robert de Cotte specified that the statue should be placed on a pedestal facing north, so that it could be seen by the high numbers of people passing between the bridges across the Rhône and the Saône.
The statue was built by François-Frédéric Lemot in Paris, It is 5.70 m high and weighs 15 tonnes, and was transported to Lyon in 1825 by 24 horses. It replaced an original statue done by Martin Desjardin that was destroyed and melted down during the French Revolution to create cannons in 1713.
Legend has it that when Lemot realised he had forgotten to include stirrups on the statue, he committed suicide. This is completely untrue, however, as Louis XIV is represented in Roman style, riding bareback and so has no saddle or stirrups.
The two allegories on the Rhône and Saône at its base were created by Guillaume and Nicolas Coustou in 1714. The Rhone is represented by a bearded old man crowned with vine branches on a reclining lion and the Saone by a female figure on a reclining lion, her left arm resting on a trunk.
Interesting Facts
On July 27, 1966 work was being done for the construction of an underground car park and a box was unearthed underneath the statue, something usually done to mark the installation of the first stone of the new monument. The box contained gold coins, medals, a medallion bearing the effigy of Louis XVIII, and the commemorative plaque for the re-erection of the statue.
During a restoration done in 2023, a small wooden box was found in one of the horse’s legs containing a tube sealed with lead containing a copy of the text of the inauguration speech given by the mayor of the time.
Big Red Nude is a statue done in the contemporary style by artist and sculptor Damian Ramis from Mallorca, Spain. Enjoy our virtual recreation set deep in the heart of an ancient Roman temple in the Metaverse.
contemporaryart #damianramis #soulbank #metaverse
La Torre de Ladrones, or the Thieves Tower is the tallest watchtower located on the coast of Malaga in the south of Spain and features an amazing field of view. It is located on a sandy hill near the boundary between Marbella and Mijas in the area of the Artola Dunes, next to the Port of Cabopino.
The watchtower is made of bricks and is shaped like a prism with dimensions of 3.65 m. on each side, and a height of 14.60 meters. It has a square base that is reinforced with a ravelin and does not offer any external openings featuring ornamental “fascias” instead. Internally it is distributed over three floors, with a roof that can also be used as a terrace.
It’s curious name, Thieves Tower, is due to the numerous loopholes located on the floors of its high overhangs, called “ladroneras”.
The watchtower served as both an observation and attack post used to spot approaching enemies along the Andalusian Mediterranean coast. It was also used to help control the Mudejars (Muslims raiders who remained on the Spanish coast in the late medieval period following the Christian reconquest).
In the Nasrid era, it linked the towns of Marbella and Fuengirola, and it was still used for coastal defense up until the 18th century, although due to its deteriorating condition it was unable to house artillery. As of today it has been fully restored.
Gato is a sculpture done in the contemporary style by artist and sculptor Damian Ramis from Mallorca, Spain. It is made of plaster and paint in a bright yellow finish and is a part of the My Friends collection which was launched in 2017 at Rialto Living in Palma de Mallorca.
“Along with the dog sculpture, this work was one of the first in the “My Friends” series. For this work I started from several photographs of an old cat that we have at home, and I developed it by pushing the expressive power of fillings and color to the limit.”
Damian Ramirez
My Friends collection
After several months of experimentation with a new technique, in which I combined dehydrated vegetables, special plasters and glue, I developed this collection of animals “My friends”, in which each animal became a pretext for each sculpture to be a new expressive challenge.
On the initial structure of each piece, I worked intensely on the material, without the possibility of correction, and thus give the sculptures the necessary strength and expression.
Damian Ramis
Damian Ramis started working as an artist at an early age under the tutelage of his mother, Remigia Caubet González, a famous Spanish artist and sculptor from Mallorca, Spain known for many pieces among which is the Nuredduna statue in the port of Palma. He went on to specialize in Sculpture at the Sant Jordi School of Fine Arts in Barcelona before returning to Mallorca to pursue his career.
Find out more at https://www.damianramis.com
This beautiful bronze sculpture titled “Mother and Child: Block Seat” is located in Luxembourg city, at the Place des Martyrs, opposite the Grand building of the State Savings Bank. It represents a mother and her child and was created in 1983 by British sculptor Henry Moore.
Moore regarded the subject of the mother and child as a ‘fundamental obsession’. Despite the monumental quality of the sculpture there is a tenderness in the curve of the mother’s body and arm.
This idea of a protective outer form sheltering a more vulnerable element is explored in Moore’s numerous sculptures and drawings of the internal-external form. This work is also an example of Moore’s experiments with seats, plinths and the walls as an integral part of the sculpture.
Henry Moore
Henry Spencer Moore (1898-1986) was one of the most important British artists of the twentieth century and arguably the most internationally celebrated sculptor of the period. He is renowned for his semi-abstract monumental bronzes, which can be seen all over the world. He was the first British artist to become a global star in his own lifetime. His work came to symbolise post-war modernism and can be said to have caused a British sculptural renaissance.
The Font de Santa Anna is the oldest fountain in Barcelona and one of the first to be built. It is located at the end of Portal de l’Àngel avenue, on the corner of Carrer de la Cucurulla in the center of the city’s old town.
Started in 1356, it was first a watering hole that was used by travelers who stayed at the nearby Hostal del Vallès to take care of their horses. In 1375 it was expanded with the addition of a fountain that originally had eight sides, however now there are only five sides and two faucets.
On its 5 sides it features beautiful murals created by Josep Aragay in 1918 using noucentista ceramic panels in the traditional Catalan style. The vases that crown the upper part of the fountain are replacements made in 2002 from the original molds, as the ones that adorned it before had deteriorated. In the center of the fountain you can see the shield of the city of Barcelona, sculpted in stone, and on four of the five sides there are masks through which water nozzles are extended.
The fountain is attached to the Royal Artistic Circle of Barcelona “Reial Cercle Artístic del Barcelona”, which was founded in 1881 by leading artists of the time including Joaquim Mir, Ramón Casas, Isidre Nonell and Hermenegildo Anglada Camarasa.
Did you know that
The Circle was recently remodeled and now covers part of the fountain, obscuring 3 of the 8 original sides. This has generated much discomfort among citizens who see it as a visual deterioration of the fountain apart along with the dangers it represents for its conservation.
Abstraccion was created for the Fashion Art project by renowned Venezuelan artist Pedro Sandaval, and fashion designer Manu Fernandez. Pedro’s neo-expressionist influences can be seen in this piece with its abstract and dreamlike patterns, as well as a Japanese influence from his early days as an artist.
Pedro has worked closely with leading neo-expressionist artists in Germany such as Georg Baselitz, Sigmar Polke and Anselm Kiefer, with whom he became part of what Wolfrang Becker called the ”New Savages”, a term used to identify painters who were at the forefront of the movement.
Fashion Art was created by Manuel Fernandez, it is a collaboration between visual artists and fashion designers in which their respective languages are combined to create a dress that is an authentic work of art. It is a project that is in constant evolution, where the fusion of Art and Fashion takes place in the eye of the spectator with the artists’ work taking center stage and the dress as the underlying canvas it is displayed on.
Pedro Sandaval
Pedro José Sandoval is a Spanish-Venezuelan artist based in Madrid, Spain who is closely associated with the abstract neo-expressionist movement. His artistic gifts manifested at an early age and he obtained his first recognition at six years old, when he was awarded the Young Master of the World award in the Japanese city of Osaka. Pedro’s works can be found in museums such as the Guggenheim in New York, in the contemporary art museums in Caracas, as well as in large collections such as the White House, the Museum of Vatican and the Kennedy Family.
Find out more at
https://www.instagram.com/pedrosandovalartist
Manuel Fernández
Manuel Fernández has worked in the world of fashion since 1983. His approach is avant-garde, with touches of idealism combined with a cosmopolitan flair, and he has always been committed to the internationalization of his designs. His designs are bold, daring, sensual, elegant and have a touch of humour.
Find out more at https://fashionartinstitute.org