The medieval town that was the first to be a National Monument

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The swimming pool. By dimbar76 Embedded in the Sierra de Francia , between crop fields and old ditches, is La Alberca  the first town in Spain to be declared a National Historic-Artistic Monument , in . Before, however, it had already attracted the attention of renowned artists such as Unamuno, Sorolla or Buñuel, among many others, who showed their love through their works. “Closing my eyes I see the black streets of La Alberca, the wooden balconies, the overhangs of its houses, the women sitting on the threshold of the doors and the children playing in the street, and there, at the fountain, a girl filling the pitcher. And life flows, like the water of a stream that comes down from the summit between pebbles. And sometimes, the water becomes cloudy, and other times, like this summer, it almost disappears due to drought,” Miguel de Unamuno wrote in the book Brianzuelo de la Sierra.

The swimming pool The swimming pool. By josemiguelsangar The text was published in 1900, but it seems that life in La Alberca has not changed much since then. And that is what makes it special: its architecture, its traditions and its people. The same one that Colombia Mobile Number List greets you when you arrive at the town , that welcomes you and that has made La Alberca attract between 800 and 900 visitors every day. It is not a trivial matter for a town that only has 1,100 inhabitants. However, its neighbors have not only known how to manage it in a sustainable way, but most of them have decided to get involved, making the visitor feel like one of their land. The swimming pool The swimming pool. By Alberto Giron Unamuno said in Brianzuelo de la Sierra that “Each one of those men sitting there is a universe.



After meeting them we couldn't agree more. A people who have made themselves The swimming pool The swimming pool. By IMAG3S It is just after seven in the afternoon when we arrive at La Alberca through a small path that starts from the Casa del Parque Natural de Las Batuecas-Sierra de Francia , an interpretation center opened in 2006. A small man, in a plaid shirt and blue jacket, is waiting for us at one of the town's entrances. It is Miguel Ángel Luengo, the mayor of La Alberca and who will guide us through the stony streets to explain his history and traditions. “We don't have any specific monument, but we are the first town in Spain to be named a National Monument and one of the most visited in its entirety,” he says proudly, pointing out the medieval architecture that characterizes the urban fabric of the town.