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Address Palacio de los Verdugo
C/ Lope Nuñez, 4
05001 Ávila (Ávila)
Concejalía de Patrimonio
 
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The Mediaeval Walls (12th-15th centuries)

The Middle Ages provided the stage for the construction of the city walls as we know them today, with a perimeter of approximately 2.5 km and their actual walls, towers and main gates. They were not built until the 12th century, but the mediaeval city had always been protected by walls. Before their construction, partly inherited from earlier times, they were there in a more or less ruinous state and protected the city in a more or less effective way. The population gradually found its place inside and outside the walls, forming suburbs around the parish churches that were built in the Romanesque style of architecture during periods of intense development. Other buildings were also interrelated with the walls, as is the case of the Alcazar. These buildings either found their place as an actual part of the walls, such as the upper end of the Cathedral, or were built on the inside face, as is the case of the Bishop's Palace. During the Middle Ages, the defence constructions were altered and repaired as a result not only of the wear and tear that affected buildings of such characteristics and size, but also of the progress that was made and new developments in warfare. At the end of the Middle Ages, these alterations gave rise to the imposing apse that presides over the upper end of the Cathedral.

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