The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-09-16
ONCE A HOME OF KINGS
vALLADoLID, WHERE FERDINAND
AND ISABELLA WERE MARRIED.
Ii Has Now Become n Growing and
Prosperous Trade Center.

VALLADOLID. Spain. Aug. 2.-This once
famous city, the Moorish Baladwaled, is
the saddest example we have yet seen OF
the ruin wrought by the French invasion.
Its modern name. by the way, is pro-
nounced as if spelled val-yah-dough-lead
accenting the third syllable. Long, long
ago it was the Pintia of Ptolemy, and is
described in the Itinerary as "a town of
the Vaccaei. one the road from Astsrica to
Caesaragusta.' Ordono III captured 1t
from the Moors in the year &c. The Cortes
of CASTLE frequently met here in the fol-
lowing centuries, and afterwards it became
the residence of the Spanish kings, begin
ming with Juan II. early in the fifteenth
century. Ferdinand and Isabella were mar
ried here in the autumn of 1869. Valladolid
reached its greatest glory in the time of
Charles V. He adorned 1t with many splen-
did edifices; its population exceeded 100000.
and its trade was past computing. 1t re-
manned for that noble monarch's only son.
the melancholy Philip II. to begin the I'M
doing of Valladolid. Coming TO the throne
at the age of thirty-two, he Immediately
removed the capital TO Madrid, for no rea-
son except that he found its gloomy Escu-
rial better suited TO his hypochondriacal
temperament But he administered a sop
to the deserted city of his birth by raising
it to a. bishoprie in 1885. From the day of
it's desertion by the Spanish court valla-
dolid began rapidly to decline. When the
French came over the Pyrenees, early in
the present century, they stripped and
wrecked its finest buildings and left it for
dead on it's dreary plain. But occupying
the very heart of the limited area that pro-
duces most of SPANS staff of life-corn-its
partial resurrection was assured.
BECOMING MODERNIZED.
During the last quarter-century valla-
dolid has picked up amazingly. Admir-
ably situated for trade and manufactures,
with abundant water supply and in the
midst of a remarkably fertile region, with,
a natural highway to the Atlantic via the
Duero river, 1t was added to these ad-
vantages canals and railways, which COM
municate with all parts of the peninsula.
The city is famed throughout the world
for its silver plate, especially that de-
signed for church purposes. Among it's
other manufactures are silk, cotton, linen
and wooden stuffs; paper, perfumery, earth
enware and leather goods; besides an ex-
tensive trade in white wines, olives, mad
der and other agricultural products of
the neighborhood. A great many houses
have been lately rebuilt, streets widened
and repaired, and several of it's modern
Gothic churches are celebrated, even in
this land of splendid sanctuaries, for the
richness of their style and -profuse orna-
mentation. In short, if one would see
anything of ancient valladolid, the honey
moon town of Ferdinand and Isabella,
he would better come quickly before mod
ernization has destroyed the last vestige
of the old time The original walls, with
their half-dozen quaint gateways, are fast
disappearing: and though many historical
edfices yet remain, all are diapidated and
falling to decay. Among them is the con-
vent in which Columbus died; also the an
cestral home of the great sculptor, painter
and architect, Juan de Juni, and after
wards of Hernandez, the equally cele-
brated artist; and the house in which
Napoleon lived during his stay in Valla-
dolid, from whose balcony he daily re-
viewed his thirty-fve thousand troops.
Cervantes resided several years in a poor
house in the Gale de Rastro, where he
wrote the first part of Don Quixote, after
his return from slavery. Fabio Nell,
the Maecenas Of Valladolid, lived near the
square which still bears his name. in a
fine old mansion with Corinthian courts
and remarkable doorway. Another equal
| Iy quaint edifice in the same neighborhood
is adorned with medallions of Juan II
| and his queen. More interesting than
either is the now ruined building called
Gel Ochavo," in which that spoiled child
| of fortune. Alvaro de Luna, was shorn
| of his head, on a June morning OF 1852.
| For thirty years, as the favorite of Juan
| III, he had really held the scepter keeping
| down the turbulent aristocracy with a
rod Of iron. His royal master was as
| shallow, false and feeble a monarch as
| ever wore a crown. but, withal, a merry
| and magnificent one. Swayed alike by
| poets and courtiers, and alternately their
| dupe and tyrant-for some whim other
| he deserted the bosom friend and adviser
| of a life time and condemned him to an
| ignominious death. Alvaro met his doom
| courageously, as became a knight, and
| humbly, as became a Christian, so say the
/ chroniclers.
| SIGHTS OF THE CITY.
| AS to situation, one would think the sur
| roundings of Valladolid were gloomy
| enough to have satisfied even the royal
| misanthrope who abandoned it. About $50
| miles from Madrid and eighty from Burgos,
| il stands at the confluence of the Pisuerga
| and Esguera rivers, in the middle of a
| wind-swept plain covered with loose gray
| powders The view is bounded on all sides
| by steep. but not high granite ridges, be-
| hind which are the famous corn fields.
| Hardly two thousand feet above the sea
| and partially protected by the rocky hills.
| the climate is exceptionally genial for
northern Spain and the skies are generally
| cloudless. One day is ample time to devote
| TO the sights of Valladolid. You begin with
| the central Plaza, around which are ranged
| the best shops, its shaded south side be-
| ing the favorite lounging place of gossips
\ and idlers. In this historic square grand
| spectacles used TO take place, such as bull
| fights. executions and autos de fe- On this
| spot Berenguela made over the crown OF
CASTLE to her son. Saint Ferdinand, in the
| year 1917 Here Charles V. on a splendid
| throne erected in the open air, shrewdly
but with much spectacular display, par
doned the Comuneros. Here his son Philip
celebrated the first memorable burning OF
heretics. which led the van OF many SINH
lar atrocities during the rule of the In