Peñíscola

Peñíscola rises from a rocky headland projecting into the Mediterranean, its houses sheltered beneath a formidable castle. Built by the Templars and completed in 1307, the fortress became a papal residence during the Western Schism. Benedict XIII, the Aragonese pope known as Luna, established his court here in 1411 and continued to claim the papacy after losing the support of most of Christendom. He died at Peñíscola in 1423, leaving the castle inseparable from his long resistance.