Coca

People were moving through this land as far back as 1800–1600 BC, leaving behind arrowheads that suggest seasonal rather than permanent occupation. By the First Iron Age a settled, organised community had taken root, farming grain and raising livestock. In the Second Iron Age, the city known to classical writers as Cauca had grown into one of the most powerful settlements in the Duero valley, a city-state of 6,000 to 8,000 people, with developed urban planning, independent government, diversified trade, and strong natural defences where the Eresma and Voltoya rivers cut deep gorges.

Rome finally subdued it only through treachery, an event recorded by the historian Appian. The city recovered, and by later centuries had become a Roman municipium; the emperor Theodosius the Great came from this aristocratic milieu. After Visigoth settlement, Coca passed between Muslim and Christian rulers, was taken by Almanzor, then retaken by Alfonso VI of León in 1086.

The Fonseca family acquired it in the 15th century and began building the castle from 1453. Napoleon's troops occupied Coca in 1808, sacking the town, burning the archive, the glass factory and the Franciscan convent, and leaving the castle in ruins.

The castle, built from the 15th century onwards, is among the best-preserved in Spain. The medieval walls, of which around 200 metres survive, were built in the same period, while sections of the far older Vaccean walls from the Second Iron Age were uncovered more recently. The Gothic church of Santa María la Mayor holds the Renaissance marble tombs of the Fonseca family.

Also worth seeking out are the Moorish-influenced Torre de San Nicolás, the Roman domus remains, Vetton boar sculptures, and two historic bridges over the Eresma.

Coca is small enough to explore entirely on foot; the historic centre's monuments are within easy walking distance of one another. By bus, the company Linecar runs services connecting Coca with Segovia, Valladolid, and Arévalo. The Segovia–Arévalo line runs Monday to Saturday; the Navas de Oro–Valladolid line runs one journey in each direction, Monday to Friday.

Several regional roads serve the town for drivers, including the SG-P-3432 from Nava de la Asunción and the SG-V-3422 from Navas de Oro.