Turégano

The origins of Turégano are disputed. Historical sources, following the 17th-century chronicle of Diego de Colmenares, point to a pre-Roman hill fort of Arevaci origin from the Iron Age, though no archaeological evidence has so far confirmed this. Roman presence in the area is documented, as is a later Muslim occupation.

The town's medieval story begins in 1123, when Queen Urraca of Castile granted the town and its lordship to Pedro de Agén, a Frenchman who became the first bishop of the restored diocese of Segovia. For eight centuries after that, the Bishop of Segovia held feudal authority over Turégano. Because the bishop sat on the Royal Council of Castile, the town functioned as the seat of the royal Chancellery and Audiencia for six months of the year between 1425 and 1442, and Castilian monarchs stayed here on various occasions.

The bishop Lope de Barrientos — confessor to King Juan II and tutor to Enrique IV — convened the first diocesan synod here in 1440. When Juan II died in 1454, Barrientos acted as regent of Castile. In 1428 the town hosted the reconciliation between Juan II and his constable Álvaro de Luna, celebrated with elaborate festivities. Bishop Juan Arias Dávila, who backed Isabel the Catholic in the succession dispute against Juana la Beltraneja, held further synods here in 1473 and 1483. Fernando of Aragón lodged in Turégano several times, most recently in 1474 on his way to Segovia for Isabel's coronation.

The castle became a royal prison in the 16th century. Antonio Pérez, secretary to Felipe II, was imprisoned here in 1586 after falling from favour. He was initially treated well and allowed his family and servants, but after a failed escape attempt he was held in solitary confinement in a dungeon accessible from the castle church, which still survives.

The 19th century brought serious damage: first during the Peninsular War, then during the First Carlist War. Church divestiture ended the bishop's feudal hold and Turégano became an independent municipality. A more recent disaster struck on 24 September 1965, when a fire that started accidentally in a forge, fanned by strong wind, destroyed around a hundred homes and buildings, leaving roughly 60 families without shelter. The writer Camilo José Cela passed through Turégano between 1946 and 1952 and described it in his book *Judíos, moros y cristianos*, noting that, like Pedraza and many old Castilian towns, Turégano had once been more than it was now.

The dominant landmark is the castle, declared a Historic-Artistic Monument in 1931. Its origins are debated, with some older sources attributing them to the Celtiberian period. What makes it architecturally unusual is that the church of San Miguel is built directly into the castle structure.

The church is Romanesque in origin, as the apse — partially visible from outside, partly obscured by later construction — makes clear. The interior was significantly altered, mainly in the 16th century, affecting the nave, roof, tower and south façade. A careful restoration of the apse in 2009 uncovered two large polychrome Romanesque reliefs, flanked by cylindrical columns with carved capitals, dated to the early 13th century. The relief on the left shows a frontal figure holding a staff and a book, with two angels at his head — possibly a representation of Saint James. The one on the right is arranged in three narrative tiers: at the top, Christ in Majesty surrounded by the four Evangelists' symbols; in the middle, three full-length figures with staffs, possibly Jacobean pilgrims; at the bottom, three half-figures which may represent Queen Beatriz of Swabia, her husband Fernando III, and Bishop Bernardo of Segovia — all three of whom made a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in 1232. The presbytery holds a Baroque altarpiece, and the church also keeps liturgical objects gathered from other churches in the town that no longer exist. The dungeon where Antonio Pérez was held in solitary confinement, accessible from the church, can still be seen.

Three kilometres from the town, in a pine wood, a museum of pine forest ecology occupies a restored building known as the Casa del Ingeniero. It covers the local pine species and associated flora, and documents traditional uses of the forest — timber, resin, pine nuts, cones and hunting — along with the tools used over time. It pays particular attention to the industrialisation of resin extraction in the mid-20th century and its effect on the wider area.