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Points of interest in Ayllón

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Medieval arch

The medieval arch that gives access to the center of the town is one of the most representative elements of Ayllón. After the Christian reconquest in 1085, the walled enclosure was extended beyond the Muslim fortification of the hill, bordering all that is known today as the historic center and erecting three beautiful arches that allowed transit. Of these only the front remains, since the other two known as "the door of San Juan" and "the door of Languilla" were destroyed more than 200 years ago in order to facilitate the passage. The coats of arms that crown this entrance to the town were built around the middle of the 16th century by Don Diego II López Pacheco and Doña Luisa Cabrera de Bobadilla, the famous Marquises of Villena. These were very notable in the locality, being able to appreciate this being able to appreciate this when finding in equal way their shields in the House of the City council and in the convent of the Conceptionist Mothers. Although the work of control and defense that the Arch fulfilled is nowadays extinct, it is still standing as a trace of the history of the town, welcoming everyone who comes to Ayllón in search of knowing all its background.

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Contreras Palace

We find this striking house-palace just after crossing El Arco de Ayllón. Its Elizabethan façade stands out, as well as its ashlar façade with a Franciscan cord and three coats of arms tilted to the left, belonging to the Contreras family. In Gothic script, on the façade, it reads: "REIGNED IN CASTILLA AND ARAGON THE VERY HIGH PRINCE DON FERNANDO AND DOÑA ISABEL ESTA / HOUSE MANDO HACER EL MUY VIRTUOSO FIJODALGO: JUAN DE CONTRERAS EL AÑO DE MCCCCXCVII" (THE VERY HIGH PRINCE DON FERNANDO AND DOÑA ISABEL THIS / HOUSE MADE BY THE VERY VIRTUOSO FIJODALGO: JUAN DE CONTRERAS THE YEAR OF MCCCCCCXCVII). This fact also gives us a very curious historical fact and is that, contrary to popular belief, it is not known for sure that it belonged at the time to the famous Constable of Castile Don Alvaro de Luna, as there is no data indicating who had possession of the two houses that Juan de Contreras ordered to rebuild in 1497 to give rise to the palace. that we know today and that, in addition to the Contreras family, also belonged, and in the seventeenth century, to the Marquises of Villena. It was declared a national monument and of cultural interest in 1969 and houses in its interior several wooden coffered ceilings, a chapel, a beautiful dining room and many other objects of great artistic and cultural value. However, it is not possible to visit it at present, since it is private property. As a curiosity, this building has its replica in "El Poble Espanyol" in Barcelona.

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Plaza Mayor

Of an enormous beauty, the neuralgic center of the town conserves the old arcades with the peculiar and showy posts. These are a sign of identity of the town, to such an extent that they have ended up giving the characteristic nickname of "arrascapostes" to the people of Ayllon. In the center of this square is the fountain with four spouts, built in 1892, in a romantic style. It is said that on the IV centenary of the discovery of America, when Antonio Cánovas del Castillo was head of government, it was agreed to celebrate this event only in those towns and cities that had had a close relationship with the Discovery. Ayllon was one of those chosen because of the presence of the sailor Juan de Ayllon in that first expedition to the Americas, being the fountain the element that was finally built in commemoration. The Town Hall and the church of San Miguel, which together with the fountain and the belfry of Santa María la Mayor in the background, form a unique image.

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City Hall

Located in the Plaza Mayor, this palace was built in the XVI century and it is believed that it was the first residence that the Marquises of Villena had in the town, before yielding it in the year 1620 to the Council of Ayllón and transferring their occasional residence to the Palace of the Contreras. It was completely refurbished in 1804, although shortly afterwards, in the midst of the war of independence, the French troops sacked and burned it, losing part of the archive. However, this damage would not be as serious as that caused by the fire of 1945, which burned the entire municipal archive and the Town Hall except for the facade. Also lost were two coffered ceilings and a beautiful wood carving of the coat of arms of Ayllon. Of course, the main façade stands out, with arched galleries and a central courtyard, where the coats of arms of the Marquises of Villena shine on both sides, which can be seen in different parts of the municipality.

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Church of Santa María la Mayor

Of neoclassical style, this church was built at the beginning of the 18th century with elements from parishes of the town already extinct: the church of San Millán, which occupied the current location of Santa María; and Santa María del Castillo, which is understood to have been a small church because it was moved next to San Millán a few years ago. Its main characteristic is the way it is located: a Latin cross, in addition to having a superb 40-meter high bell tower topped by a belfry. It is also worth mentioning that the main chapel was the first part to be built, since it is there where the oldest stones can be seen. Its main door of fluted columns and carved pedestals holds a niche with an image of the Virgin with a cross in the center. This figure, as well as the rest of the main chapel, is believed to have belonged to the church of Santa María del Castillo, while the images in the corners come from San Millán. The interior of the temple is distributed in three levels: the body of the church, the nave of the transept and the presbytery. The main altarpiece stands out, coming from the disappeared convent of San Francisco. Of an astonishing majesty, until recently presided over the image of the Virgin of the Steppe, being currently the Christ of Santiago, of the disappeared hermitage, who takes this work.

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Convent of the Conceptionist Nuns

This former convent of the Franciscan Conception was founded in 1528 by Don Diego Lopez Pacheco, beginning its activity in 1546 with the entry of the Conceptionist nuns, who left it definitively in 2005. The church, of Greco-Roman plan and Romanesque style, has a vault of four sections and a two-story Romanesque cloister. The four wings of the building are built around the central cloister, being the western side where the parish church was built, while the rest of the wings are reserved for the conventual life. Access to the church is from the doorway facing Calle Parral, where there is also access to the landscaped garden protected by a stone wall. The entire exterior wall is supported by powerful buttresses, with a small brick belfry on the closing wall of the nave. The nave is covered with a profusely decorated lunette vault, with the low choir and the high choir at the back. At present, the convent is privately owned and is dedicated to the hotel and restaurant business.

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Eagle House

One of the most representative buildings of the town, yet little is known about it. Its name comes to us due to the imposing emblem that crowns its facade, an eagle of San Juan that in its chest holds an oval shield with border of eight ermine and with other four quartered: Two cauldrons, corresponding to the Guzman family An oak on waves, corresponding to the Robles family A tree with two steep goats, of the Encinas Five lises, of the Maldonado family Thanks to the type of construction of the house, it is supposed that this was raised at the beginning of the XVI century. The coat of arms was later ordered to be placed by Don Pedro Núñez de Guzmán, hijosdalgo knight of the habit of Santiago, regidor (ruler, mayor) of the town of Ayllón. One of his grandsons, Diego de Guzmán y Maldonado, Robles y Vellosillo, is known for being one of the illustrious sons of the town of Ayllón and was named knight of the Order of Santiago in the 17th century.

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San Miguel Church

Located in the Plaza Mayor next to the Town Hall, it is a Romanesque church dating from the twelfth century and whose location reveals its historical importance in the town, being in the center of town. It has a cylindrical apse with foliated capitals and corbels, supporting its braided cornice. Its door is a beauty endowed with Byzantine, ziszás and checkered rosettes. On the other hand, its belfry has two buttresses built in 1710 and its bells have been silent for a long time. The altarpieces and paintings have disappeared, but not the recumbent statues of D. Pedro Gutiérrez de César and his wife, Secretaries of the Marquises of Villena. It was the last church to join Santa María la Mayor, having been deconsecrated in 1902 and then built an exterior building that served as the parish priest's house and prevented its exterior beauty from being appreciated until the end of the last century when all the construction was removed. Nowadays, concerts, exhibitions, theatrical performances and the Tourist Office are held inside during the summer season (May-October).

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San Juan Church

The old parish church of San Juan, originally from the 12th century, is a Romanesque temple with a single nave topped by a semicircular chancel, of which the apse remains standing with three semicircular arches with three archivolts, with the presbytery facing east, this being characteristic of the style. Later, in the 16th century, it underwent an intense remodeling. Of note are the doorway at noon, with four archivolts decorated with four-petaled flowers, half spheres, taqueado and abacuses with stars; a Plateresque sepulcher with a recumbent figure that, according to the chronicler Pelayo Artigas, belonged to the illustrious Don Juan de Daza, governor of the county of San Esteban de Gormaz; and the chapel of San Sebastián, in the post-medieval Gothic style, built in 1526 on the south side of the nave. The inscription on the latter reads: "This chapel was built and endowed by the very noble and thus discreet man Pedro Gutiérrez, a native of this town, treasurer and secretary of the most illustrious lords Don Diego López Pacheco and Doña Juana Enríquez, Marquises of Villena. Year of 1526 years" Suppressed the parish in 1796, in 1821 it was already ruined. In the sixties it would be obtained by its current owners, who reformed it and installed a museum of Art Brut.

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La Martina Tower

At the top of the hill of the Castle, crowning the town, we find La Martina, whose resistance to the passage of time has consecrated it as the most emblematic image of Ayllón. This pentagonal albarrana tower was built during the eighth century during the Arab occupation of the peninsula, along with the rest of the wall and other similar towers that made up the fortification on the hill. Of the whole complex, only this watchtower and a few meters away part of the wall known as "Los Paredones" remain as remains. In reference to its initial function as a defensive tower we can appreciate a pair of symmetrical hollows in one of the faces of the vault of passage, relieving a system of wood to close the access. We can also see at the top of the same vault, above the passageway, two perforations that would have served as defense buheras (vertical defenses that allowed projectiles to be launched from a higher plane). After the Christian reconquest, the church of San Martín was built on the hill sometime between 1353 and 1587, using the old Arab tower as a bell tower and adding a belfry. This is the origin of the peculiar name 'La Martina', which we know has been in use since at least the 18th century, thanks to the writings of the parish priest Manuel Carrascal about the tower. In 1795 the parish of San Martin was suppressed, abandoned and gradually destroyed by the passage of time. La Martina remained as a bell tower and for decades, from April to September, it marked the dawn and noon for the farmers who worked in the fields.

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Bishop Vellosillo's Palace

Leaving the Plaza Mayor along the street that borders the Casa de la Torre, you come to a small square where this beautiful palace dazzles. It was built at the end of the XVI century and inaugurated on the day of San Miguel (September 29) of 1598, according to the various writings on the construction works. It first belonged to Fernando de Vellosillo, nephew of the illustrious bishop Fernando de Vellosillo, illustrious son of the town of Ayllón who became bishop and lord of Lugo. Also a theologian, he participated in representation of Felipe I, in the deliberations of the Council of Trento and became a royal advisor. There is speculation that it was the bishop who ordered the construction of this palace in order to make his name last, although this is mere supposition. In fact, on the façade there is no reference to the bishop himself, only the coat of arms of the Vellosillo family. Between 1972 and 1983, the City Council proceeded to acquire the entire palace in property with the purchase of parts of it from various individuals. After a thorough restoration, the Palace of Bishop Vellosillo is currently home to the important Museum of Contemporary Art of the town (consisting of sculpture and painting of the scholarship holders of the Faculty of Fine Arts in Madrid) and the Municipal Library.

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Tower House

Located in the Plaza Mayor and in front of the Church of San Miguel is the oldest recognized civil building in the town of Ayllón. In all the records found it is known as La Casa de la Torre and its location suggests at first that it belonged to someone from Ayllon with a good life, although thanks to the census deeds made by the public notaries we know that it is one of the residences of the town that has changed hands the most. The first data found indicate that the building belonged in the mid-sixteenth century to the chaplaincy of Simon de Angulo. Over the years it would change hands between nobles and ecclesiastical positions, reaching the bachelor Juan de la Torre in 1702, who would reform it and attach it to the adjoining building. In the middle of the 19th century, the Ecclesiastical Chapter that ran the house was dissolved, leaving the building empty for years, until the City Council decided to give it a second life. It became a barracks house for the Civil Guard until they moved to the current barracks and left the house empty again. At the end of the last century, the house was acquired by a bank, using the first floor for branch offices and a recreation center for the elderly in the upper part. As a curiosity, and like the Contreras Palace, this building has a replica in "El Poble Espanyol" in Barcelona.

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Sancti Spiritu Hospital

This building was originally the monastery of the Holy Trinity, ceded by the Bishopric of Sigüenza in the 12th century to the deacon Arnaldo of the Hospitaller Order, and it was here that the hospital originated. However, the curiosity is found in that there was not only one hospital, but two, being the one built in the late twelfth century of San Lazaro, which was rather a chapel that served as a hospital for pilgrims, in addition to having its religious functions. The other hospital, the Sancti Spiritu, was built in the 16th century after Pope Gregory X founded the confraternity of the Sancti Spiritu in 1565 and Gregory XIII a few years later granted its members certain indulgences in order to assist the sick and raise foundlings (abandoned infants or infants exposed to exposure, neglect). In 1735, due to the ruinous state of San Lázaro, a reconstruction took place that united both buildings originating the new hospital Sancti Spiritu. Due to the disentailment, it had to cede its assets to the State and became dependent on charity until it ceased to function at the end of the 19th century due to lack of means. In 1913 the Religiosas de la Divina Pastora took over the building and established a school for girls and kindergartners that would be transferred to Madrid in the sixties, leaving the building in a semi-ruinous state, until the end of the last century when it was rebuilt to give rise to the current residence for the elderly.

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Ex-convent of San Francisco

Located on the outskirts of the town, next to the road leading to Aranda de Duero, this convent was founded in 1214 by one of the most notable figures of the Middle Ages: St. Francis of Assisi. History records that Don Fernando de Antequera, Lord of Ayllón, Queen Catalina de Lancáster and the then infant King Juan II, together with Fray Vicente Ferrer, met here. It is thought that thanks to these meetings the coronation of Fernando as King of Aragon was forged after the compromise of Caspe in 1412. The saint Teresa de Jesús, who came from Soria, where she had just founded the convent of the Holy Trinity, also spent the night in its famous inn in 1581. She was accompanied, of course, by her inseparable companion Sister Ana de San Bartolomé. It underwent a major renovation in 1601 due to a spectacular fire that nearly destroyed the complex. At the beginning of the 19th century, the friars ended up dispersing due to the French invasion of the Peninsula and the various visits of their troops. The State would end up taking charge of this complex in 1845, which, due to the disentailment, would remove any element of value from it, leaving it in a ruinous state by the end of that century. It is worth mentioning that two altarpieces were rescued and found a place in the parish churches of Santa María de Riaza and Santa María la Mayor de Ayllón. During the last century the property changed hands until the current owners, who renovated the entire former convent to create a venue for weddings and events.

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Ayllon Bridge

The construction of the bridge took place during the Roman occupation due to the problems that the Aguisejo river posed for communication and exchange between different areas. Without being a complex construction it safeguarded any problem of passage until several centuries later. It would be in the 14th century when restoration and improvement works would be carried out, giving rise to a much more imposing bridge. Already in 1660 the bridge would be built for the first time in stone, although it would be quite different from the current one, lacking even the characteristic arches. Between 1781 and 1782, the brothers Pedro and J. Antonio de la Fuente Ortiz carried out a remodeling of the bridge, taking advantage of the materials of the original and providing the structure with its characteristic arches. Since then there have been several repair works, being possibly the most outstanding the one that took place in 2019 and the major work by the Confederación Hidrográfica del Duero for the "Encauzamiento del Río Aguisejo" in the seventies of the last century.

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Eugenia de Montijo House

The first reference we have of the building dates from 1693 in a deed of sale. This reflects Diego Zurita Puente, brother of the priest of the church of Santa María del Castillo, as the owner of the residence, granted by the perpetual alderman of Cuéllar, Don Manuel de Vellosillo, and there are no further records until 1805, when it passed into the hands of Tomasa Tamayo for 15,200 reales. Years later it was bought by Don Pedro Alcántara López de Zúñiga, Duke of Peñaranda, Count of Miranda [...] and his wife, María del Carmen Josefa López de Zúñiga. The couple died childless and the house passed to Josefa López de Zúñiga y Téllez Girón, married to the Count of Montijo. These passed the property to Cipriana Portocarrero y Palafox, Countess of San Esteban, Miranda, Montijo [...] who would end up giving the house in inheritance to María Francisca de Sales Portocarrero, Palafox y Kirkpatrick, married to the Duke of Alba and older sister of the Empress Eugenia de Montijo, queen consort of the French between 1852 and 1870. From here comes the fame and the name of this residence, because although the Empress did not live continuously in the palace, it was used as a house of rest by her, although the property has always been more linked to the Dukes of Alba.

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