Sigüenza

Sigüenza stands in the uplands of central Spain. After the Christian conquest in the 1120s, its bishops became lords of the town and its surrounding territory. Royal grants brought the lower settlement around the cathedral and the upper settlement around the castle under episcopal authority. The cathedral was built over several centuries and remained central to the town's religious life.

In 1476 work began on the College of San Antonio Portaceli, which later became the University of Sigüenza. Its range of studies grew during the sixteenth century, when medicine and law were added. Cathedral and university together made the town a regional centre of ecclesiastical learning and patronage.