Castillo de Coca

Castillo de Coca Review

Perhaps the most famous medieval sight near Segovia-worth a detour between Segovia and Ávila or Valladolid-is the Castillo de Coca, 52 km (32 mi) northwest of the city. Built in the 15th century for Archbishop Alonso de Fonseca I, the castle is a turreted structure of plaster and red brick, surrounded by a deep moat. It looks like a stage set for a fairy tale, and, indeed, it was intended not as a fortress but as a place for the notoriously pleasure-loving archbishop to hold riotous parties. The interior, now occupied by a forestry school, has been modernized, with only fragments of the original decoration preserved.