Calatañazor

Calatañazor rises above the valley in the uplands of Soria, its hilltop castle and walls guarding a small Castilian town. Local tradition places a battle against Almanzor in the valley in 1002; the story belongs to the town’s historical memory, though the battle itself is disputed.

The principal surviving fortifications date to the fourteenth century, when the castle served the crown and was a stronghold of María de Molina. Calatañazor was the head of a community of town and surrounding lands. Henry II of Castile granted its lordship to Juan Fernández de Padilla, whose family made the castle their seat. A ditch protected the more vulnerable side of the fortress, while the steep slopes above the valley supplied a natural defence. The castle’s walls and the town’s enclosed streets preserve the imprint of the lordship that governed the countryside around it.