Medinaceli...a once-affluent city in ruins now under renovation

After another day of la corrida de toros, it was time to head back to Madrid…you guessed it, not before an additional stop—this time in Medinaceli, Spain. Medinaceli is a precious town located in the province of Soria. Medinaceli presents a picture of what it must have been like to live in Spain during the 16th & 17th Century, when Spain was Europe’s chief power. Very important people of the aristocracy lived in Medinaceli. Every house (really small castles) had a coat of arms and pertained to people of an aristocratic family. It is obvious that Spain was number one during that day and age. Medinaceli symbolizes what happened to Spain—an incredible empire that fell apart. After the Spanish-American war of 1898—in particular, after the loss of Cuba—it was obvious that Spain was not the empire that it once was. Medinaceli illustrates the beginning and the end—what was once Imperial Spain became an extinct town. Celestino gave us a fantastic, informative tour of the city. I learned a lot and we read a poem by Antonio Machado, one of the writers from the Generation of 98. Machado’s words express his deep grief and love for Spain.

¡Soria fría, Soria pura,

cabeza de Extremadura,

con su castillo guerrero

arruinado, sobre el Duero;

con sus murallas roídas

y sus casas denegridas!

¡Muerta ciudad de señores,

soldados o cazadores;

de portales con escudos

de cien linajes hidalgos,

de galgos flacos y agudos,

y de famélicos galgos,

que pululan

por las sórdidas callejas,

y a la medianoche ululan,

cuando graznan las cornejas!

¡Soria fría! La campana

de la Audiencia da la una.

Soria, ciudad castellana

¡tan bella! bajo la luna.

-Antonio Machado