Astorga, Spain

Astorga(Spanish:[asˈtoɾɣa],Leonese:Estorga) is a municipalityand city of Spain located in the central area of theprovince of León, in the autonomous community ofCastilla y León, 43 kilometres (27 mi) southwest of the provincial capital. It is located in the transit between the Páramo Leonés and themountains of Leónand acts as the backbone of the comarcas ofMaragatería, La Cepeda and the Ribera del Órbigo. The city is the head of one of the most extensive and oldest dioceses of Spain, whose jurisdiction covers half of the province of León and part of Ourense and Zamora.It is also head of the judicial party number 5 of the province of León.
Astorga lies in the area of theMaragatos, a small ethnic and cultural community with distinctive customs and architecture. The town lies at the junction of theFrench routeof the Camino de Santiago, the most popular route, and theSilver Routefrom Mérida in southern Spain, an alternative route of theWay of St. James(Spanish:Camino de Santiago).Saint Turibius of Astorgawas bishop of the city in the 5th century.
The timeline of history that includes Astorga has artifactual evidence stretching back over 200,000 years, predating thePaleolithic. 210 km (130 mi) away from Astorga in theAtapuerca Mountains(Sierra de Atapuerca) exists a rich fossil record of the earliest humans in Spain. The scientific study of these remains provide priceless information about the appearance and the way these humans lived. The regional government of Castile and León has designated the site anEspacio cultural.
Tin artifacts dated to c. 2750 BC using metallurgical diffusion chronologic dating were found in the area of Astorga. Artifacts such as tube and double ring axes were located in Astorga and are significant to an Atlantic cultural complex from theBronze Ageperiod c. 1300–700 BC that are included in theCastrocultures.
Astorga, in theIron Age, came under the cultural influence of theCelts; the local Celtic peoples inhabited the area around 275 BC, known as theAsturesand theCantabri. Later become one of theRomanstrongholds in the region they calledAsturica.
During Cantabrian wars (28–19 BC), Roman legionsVI Victrix(Sixth Victorious Legion) andX Gemina(Tenth Twin Legion) were sent and established acastraon the Leonesian land. This castra was strategically placed between theJerga[es]andTuerto[es]rivers. The castra was important because of Astures revolutions (22 BC) and proximity to gold mines ofLas Medulas. After thePunic Warsin 146 BC, the Romans turned their attention to conqueringHispania. The tribe of theGallaeci60,000 strong, according toPaulus Orosius, faced the Roman forces led byDecimus Junius Brutus Callaicusin 137 BC in a battle at theRiver Douro. From this time, Gallaic fighters joined theRoman legions, to serve as far away as Dacia and Britain. The final extinction ofCelticresistance was the aim of the violent and ruthlessCantabrian Warsfought under theEmperor Augustusfrom 28 to 19 BC. TheRoman citywas founded in 14 BC, being entitled by EmperorOctavianasAsturica Augustanow known as Astorga.It became an important administrative and military centre. The Roman walls were rebuilt by Bishop Nuño around 1242 and they underwent several repairs during the Middle Ages. The city had thermal baths with hot, warm, cold water systems, sauna's and two main sewer system still in use today. Ruins of Roman baths are still visible today. In 35 AD as mining plans developed, this Roman Hispania castra was redesigned and built with the help of the army, into a city. A provincial capital, and the meeting-place of four military roads. Vía de la Plata (Silver Way) orRuta de la Plata(Silver Route) is an ancient commercial and pilgrimage path that connects Astorga to Mérida. It was conceived and built as a trade route for the exploitation of gold. The Roman causeway allowed the Romans to conquer tribes such as the Callaici, the Astures, and theVacceos.Pliny the Elderin 73 AD spoke of Vía de la Plata. The road stretched around 900 km (560 mi) and the Roman's highest importance for he gold mines ofLas Médulasand the copper mines ofRio Tinto.
Asturica was the main city in northwest Spain during the Roman Empire.PliniusRoman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander called the cityUrbs magnifica("magnificent city"). TheVia Plateawent from Asturica (Astorga) to Emerita (Mérida). One of the first three bishoprics in Spain was founded in Astorga, known as theRoman Catholic Diocese of Astorga. The title ofBishop of Astorgais one of the oldest religious charges of Europe.
Astorga was sacked by the Visigothic KingTheodoric IIsometime during time of his rule. On 5 October 456, at the Battle at the Campus Paramus, 19 km (12 mi) from Astorga on the Urbicus (Órbigo), Theoderic II, Eighth Visigoth King from 453 to 466 AD, lead an army into Spain and defeatedRechiar, Suebic King of Galicia from 488 to 12/456. During the waves of invasion of the peninsula by theGermanic tribes, one bishop was the notedTuribius. He documented the conversion of theSuebicKingRemismundto Arianism, and worked to restore the churches destroyed by theVisigoths. The bishop was able to travel to Rome, from which he brought back what is believed to be a relic of theTrue Cross, for which he founded the Monastery ofSanto Toribio de Liébana, where it is still preserved. Because Romans had control of the city,Christianitybecame very popular in this area during the early church. There is a legend thatSt. James(Santiago) andSt. Paulboth preached in Astorga and there is proof that there was a bishopric around the 3rd century. At the very beginning of Leo I's pontificate, in the years 444–447,Turibius, the bishop of Astorga in León, sent to Rome a memorandum warning that Priscillianism was by no means dead, reporting that it numbered even bishops among its supporters, and asking the aid of the Roman See. The distance was insurmountable in the 5th century. Germanic tribes, the Visigoths, took control over Astorga and destroyed the Roman city. However, it prospered with the help of SaintsTuribius, Fructuosus, and Valerius.
After theBerbers' withdrawal to join the blazing Berber rebellion (739–742) and the campaigns ofAlfonso I of Asturias(742 – 757) against theAndalusians, the city was abandoned, being in the largely empty buffer zone between Moors and Christians known at the time as "The Desert of the Duero," and was part of theRepoblación("repopulation") effort carried out a century later during the reign ofOrdoño I of Asturias(850 – 866). Astorga suffered from decadence until the 11th century, when the city became a major stop on the French route for the pilgrims to the tomb of Saint James inSantiago de Compostela. Construction of the cathedral began in the 15th century and finished in the late 18th century.
Jews were living in the fortified section of Astorga as early as the 11th century. Later they inhabited two quarters in the city. A street called the Garden (Paseo) of the Synagogue formerly ran beside the old city wall. Many Jews in Astorga were forcibly converted to Christianity in 1230–31. Although there is no record of the fate of the Jews of Astorga during the 1391 massacres, they suffered in the persecutions of 1412. At thesynodheld inValladolidin 1432, the Astorga community claimed privileges exempting them from payment of crown taxes. The community existed until the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492. Jews established their trades in the city. To this day, Astorga is the home of value-adding and special products.
In 1528Hernán Cortésbrought MexicanCacao beanto Spain. In the museum ofchocolatein Astorga, 16th-century hot chocolate mugs are displayed. One sees Astorga chocolate all over the region. The Marquisate of Astorga, the Diocese and the Maragato muleteers made Astorga a pioneer in the elaboration of chocolate from the 17th century. In 1914 there were 49 chocolate manufacturers in town.
In 1747 Antonio Martín's book contains the recipeMantecadasde Astorga (a mantecada is a muffin-sized cake similar topound cakeFrench madeleine cakes). The European Union designated them an historically and geographically significant part of Spanishcuisine. References indicating that the recipe originated with a nun from theHoly Spirit Conventin Astorga, who later left the convent and popularized the product. In theOfficial Journal of the European UnionUNE-EN 45011 Regulatory Board, through the Certification Committee, established standards for Mantecadas de Astorga. Astorga's Chamber of Commerce reports the amount of mantecadas de Astorga carried by the Spanish railways in 1930 (the Spanish Northern and Western railway company) was 208 tons. A high percentage of the product is sold to tourists along with the well known Hojaldres de Astorga (puff pastryof Astorga).
During thePeninsular War, Astorga was besieged by the French Napoleonic troops. Astorga was the farthest town in the Iberian Peninsula in which the EmperorNapoleonresided. The Siege of Astorga in 21 March – 22 April 1810 was an attempt by French forces to capture Astorga, Spain, in a campaign of the Peninsular War. Astorga was located on the flank of the French invasion of Spain and Portugal, and was meant to be used as a headquarters during the campaign.
Because of its location, Astorga was a place forpilgrimsto rest and get ready to climb the mountains in the west or to rejuvenate after climbing east. Astorga had 21 hospices. Today, there is theHospital de las Hermana de la Caridadwhich is a medical facility in front of the cathedral that was built after the destruction of the 12th-century hospital that was consequently destroyed in 1756.
Camino de Santiago ("St. James's Way") is a 781 km (485 mi) pilgrimage to the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela where the remains of the apostle Saint James are buried. This has been the third-largest pilgrimage in Christianity for more than 1,000 years, and it comprises a stop in Astorga. The movieThe Wayis an inspirational film of 2010 starringMartin SheenandEmilio Estevezwalking theCamino de Santiago.
During the second half of the 19th century, Astorga enjoyed the arrival of the railway and development of the current city, which expands outside its Roman walls. Astorga is again the nexus of a significant network of road connections, and it recovered the social and economical vibrancy, which has tourism as one of its main focal points.