The Castle Of Ampudia, The Most Beautiful In Palencia
The castle of Ampudia is considered one of the most beautiful and best in Palencia. It is a stately castle dating from the 15th century and was built in the Gothic style, although its origins date back much earlier. If you want to know this wonder, join us.
The history of the castle of Ampudia
The history of the current castle of Ampudia begins in the middle of the 15th century. It is at that moment when García López de Ayala, lord of Ampudia, Ayala and Salvatierra, orders its construction. This would be an element of conflict at his death, as his son and his widow would fight for him.
Towards the middle of the following century, the count of Salvatierra would participate in the battle of Ampudia, but his defeat would mean that the emperor Carlos V seized the castle from him, although in exchange for money he returned it to its previous owner. The children of the King of France Francisco I were held there.
Shortly afterwards it passed into the hands of the Duke of Lerma and King Felipe III stayed there several times. In it, the signing of the document took place in which the capital change of the kingdom from Valladolid to Madrid took place.
But little by little, the castle of Ampudia began a period of abandonment that led to almost complete ruin. Until in the middle of the 20th century, Eugenio Fontaneda acquired it with the intention of restoring it and displaying his important collection of antiquities.
The building that we can visit
The castle of Ampudia is one of the most beautiful examples of a stately castle that existed in the old kingdom of Castile. It is Gothic in style and has a trapezoidal floor plan, with imposing square towers at its corners. The keep is the largest and is located in the southwest corner.
The entire complex, which is considered the most important in the entire province of Palencia, has a wall that functions as a barbican with circular towers. And it has a defensive moat that is saved with a drawbridge. This leads to the main door in which is the shield of the dque de Lerma, to which the castle of Ampudia belonged.
The facade is of great elegance. The two ornamental sentry boxes, called escaraguaitas, stand out over the entrance arch. Access is through a hallway that will take us to the central patio. This has a double level of arches on three of its sides and a third gallery on the fourth side.
The Eugenio Fontaneda collection
Throughout all its rooms and patio you can see the many and varied artistic and historical objects that Eugenio Fontaneda treasured during his life. The collection is ordered by theme. Thus, we can find the following rooms:
Archeology room
It is the largest room that can be visited inside the castle of Ampudia. Hundreds of objects and remains belonging to the Bronze and Iron Age, but also from Roman and Visigothic times, are exhibited in it, almost all from archaeological sites in the province of Palencia.
Sacred art room
In it, precious objects related to the liturgy that were developed throughout the kingdom of Castile are exhibited. Among them, a Mannerist style walnut Calvary stands out, the work of Juan de Ancheta. You can also see paintings, sculptures and jewelry.
The pharmacy
It is a room that recreates how the pharmacies of the time must have been. There you can see all kinds of jars and gadgets with which the apothecaries created all kinds of remedies: alembics, ceramic jars and even an amputation chair.
Ethnography and popular arts room
In it, the most important thing that you will be able to see is an original silo of the castle in which the grain was kept. And, precisely for this reason, the rest of the objects referring to daily life in the countryside are shown here.
Another of the rooms that make up the collection is the room of weapons and musical instruments, in which weapons and musical instruments coexist. In the parade ground you will find tombs or cars and in the toy room, old dolls, toys made of tin, doll houses, puppets and a long etcetera await you.
