Throughout Spain a sense of the historical traditions that have shaped the country is reflected in the castles, churches, monuments and houses. The Mud jar style, developed from the interaction of Christian and Muslim ideas, can be seen in the finely detailed ceramic work at Teruel. Gothic churches from the early, middle and late periods can be found at Burgos, Toledo, Le n, Barcelona, Girona, Pamplona, Segovia and Seville, and fine examples of the Baroque style at Salamanca and Valladolid. The majority of castles adopted as the standard image of the country date from the 15th century. The 16th, 17th and 18th centuries saw the construction of many beautiful palaces and religious and civic buildings, adding to an already rich architectural heritage.
Spanish wildlife is also enormously diverse.
Several major migration routes cross Spain and, at the right time of year, the skies are filled with millions of birds of many different species heading north from Africa. The white stork is amongst those that stop to breed and in spring and summer many a church tower is capped by a large, shaggy nest. There are excellent opportunities for sea and river fishing. Spain's 52 provinces have, since 1983, been administered as 17 Autonomous Communities, each with a degree of self-government. There is also a separate section on Spain's Ski Resorts .