Piedrahíta

The earliest records of Piedrahíta date from 1189, during the reign of Alfonso VIII. The town became the seat of the lordship of Valdecorneja, a territory that grew in importance through the Middle Ages, partly because of its geography close to the Sierra de Gredos. Arab rule brought economic growth to the area, and the first freshwater wells in the region date from that period. By tradition, Queen Berenguela of Castile, daughter of Alfonso VIII, donated her fortress to the town for use as a church.

Alfonso X the Wise later gave the lordship of Valdecorneja to his brother, the Infante Felipe, the first in a long line of lords of Piedrahíta. In 1366 Enrique II of Castile transferred Valdecorneja to García Álvarez de Toledo y Meneses, tying the town's fate firmly to the Álvarez de Toledo family. In 1440, King Juan II of Castile came to the church here to attend Holy Week services. By 1485, Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo — a cousin of the Catholic Monarchs — took possession of the House of Alba and the lordship of Valdecorneja, becoming the first Count of Piedrahíta.

The town's most famous son, Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, the Grand Duke of Alba, was born here on 29 October 1507. His military reputation made Piedrahíta widely known across Europe.

In the 18th century, the Duke Fernando de Silva y Álvarez de Toledo commissioned a grand neoclassical palace in the French style. His granddaughter, the Duchess Cayetana, made it a gathering place for the leading artists and intellectuals of her day. During the French occupation, General Goudinot's troops committed serious abuses in the area, and the palace was subsequently destroyed by the local population in the unrest that followed. In 1931, the palace and its gardens were acquired for the municipality through the efforts of the mayor, José de la Fuente, a local banker who personally financed the purchase. The complex today houses a school and a public park.

The town's economy has long rested on agriculture and services. Cattle farming continues in the valleys alongside small-scale family agriculture. Piedrahíta is also known for one of Spain's more celebrated horse fairs, and its traditional festivals include the San Bartolomé fair in August and the patronal feast of the Virgen de la Vega, which begins on the eve of the second Sunday of September and runs for four days.

Piedrahíta is built in the pattern of a walled town, organised around a central porticoed main square, with the old street plan radiating outward in a roughly circular shape from that core — a layout that reflects its medieval origins. The historic centre was declared a protected cultural site (conjunto histórico) by the Junta de Castilla y León on 10 January 2008. Throughout the old quarter you find vernacular stone houses alongside grander palaces and manor houses, most built in local granite.

The main square is polygonal in shape, sitting close to the southern section of the town walls. Its arcades vary in age and style — some with flat lintels, others with different types of arches — all on stone columns. A large granite fountain at the centre dates from 1727. The square still hosts a weekly market every Tuesday, as it has for centuries, and the town hall stands here too, housing the municipal archive where the Grand Duke of Alba's birth certificate is kept.

The palace of the Dukes of Alba is the most visited building in town. Built between 1755 and 1766 by the French architect Jacques Marquet, it replaced an earlier castle on the same site. The building is U-shaped, rising two storeys with attic rooms above, and entered through a courtyard flanked by the gatekeepers' houses. Its rear garden is said to be reflected in Goya's painting La Vendimia; both Goya and Jovellanos were among the guests of the Duchess Cayetana here.

The Church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción brings together several architectural periods. Built over the fortress donated by Queen Berenguela, it was substantially remodelled in later centuries with the addition of private chapels. Three naves separated by pointed arches open onto large semicircular arches that once supported a timber roof. The west façade retains its original Gothic window, and the tower carries battlements. Inside, the Museo de Arte Sacro holds notable pieces including the tomb of the García de Vargas family, a carved wooden pulpit, choir stalls, metalwork ranging across several centuries, retables in different styles, and an early mural behind the high altar.