Daroca, Medieval fortress town in Zaragoza, Spain
Daroca is a medieval town in Zaragoza Province surrounded by walls that contain towers and gates built between the 13th and 16th centuries. These fortifications rise and fall with the terrain, enclosing the old town and showing how it was defended over time.
The settlement had roots as a Celtiberian village, passed through Roman and Arab hands, and was captured in 1120 by Christian forces. After that conquest, it developed into the fortified town you see today.
The church of Santa Maria shows how people here valued religious art across different periods and how faith shaped what they built. Walking through it, you notice paintings and architectural details that reveal what mattered most to generations of residents.
The town sits on a rise and is reached by regional roads; the streets inside are partly steep and paved. A slow walk through the old streets is the best way to see the walls and explore the layout.
Beneath the town center runs an underground water channel from 1555 that diverts rainwater through a tunnel system beneath the streets. This hidden engineering work shows how the residents solved drainage problems centuries ago.
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