Calatayud

Before Calatayud existed, the site was dominated by Bílbilis, a Celtiberian settlement of the Lusones tribe that grew into a Roman municipium under Augustus. During that era the poet Martial was born here, and the city minted its own coins. The forum and temple were built under Tiberius. Bílbilis eventually declined, and by the Visigothic period only scattered groups remained in the surrounding area. Its marble, however, survived — reused across many of Calatayud's later civic and religious buildings.

The Arabs gave the city its current name: Qal'at Ayyūb, meaning "fortified city of Ayyub," likely founded by the emir Ayyub ibn Habib al-Lajmi. The Jewish community that flourished here was nearly as large as Zaragoza's. The rabbi and preacher Isaac Arama wrote his works in Calatayud's judería shortly before the expulsion. A building traditionally identified as the main synagogue was converted into the church of San Pablo in 1415, on the orders of Pope Benedict XIII.

Roman baths discovered in 2007 within the current urban centre may belong to a separate Roman city called Platea, mentioned by Martial, whose location is still unknown.

Calatayud's most striking landmark is its Arab fortified complex — said to be the oldest surviving Moorish fortification on the Iberian Peninsula. It comprises five interconnected castles linked by walls that descend into ravines and climb back up. The highest point is the Castillo de Ayyub. Below it stand the Castillo de Doña Martina (the oldest), the Castillo del Reloj (only its footprint remains), and the ruined Castillo de la Peña. The complex also preserves the oldest known example of an albarrana tower — a detached defensive tower connected to the main wall.

The Collegiate Church of Santa María, built over a former mosque, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001. Its mudéjar octagonal tower rises 70 metres; the cloister dates to an earlier period and features pointed brick arcading. The alabaster plateresque doorway was carved by Juan de Talavera and Esteban de Obray.

Also worth visiting: the church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Spanish headquarters of that order and structurally modelled on the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem; and the church of San Pedro de los Francos, where in 1461 the Cortes swore in the future Fernando the Catholic as crown prince, and where in 1978 the Diputación General de Aragón was formally constituted.

Calatayud sits just off the A2-E90 motorway, roughly two hours from Madrid and one hour from Zaragoza. Both cities also have the nearest airports. High-speed AVE trains connect the town to Madrid and Zaragoza via RENFE; local rail runs to towns between Ariza and Zaragoza.

Buses run from Zaragoza. The city is small and walkable, though a local bus service run by Aragon Tours also covers surrounding towns and villages. There is a small market in Plaza España, several supermarkets, and a range of restaurants.