Castillo de Villalba, Medieval castle in Cebolla, Spain
Castillo de Villalba is a castle ruin in Cebolla that stands on a hilltop and preserves an outer wall with one original corner tower on its main side. An arched entrance between two towers marks the way into what remains of the fortified structure.
The fortress was built by Romans as a watchpost along the Via Emerita Augusta and later used by the Cordoba Caliphate to defend against Christian attacks. Following the Reconquest, Christian military orders rebuilt and modified it.
The castle shows architectural features from different periods of occupation, from Roman times through later rebuilding after the Reconquest. These layers of construction tell the story of different rulers who left their mark on the structure.
The ruin sits on a hilltop and is freely accessible, allowing visitors to examine the remaining fortifications at their own pace. The location offers open views across the surrounding landscape and the Tagus plain.
The town's current name comes from the Arabic word for onion, but it was once called Villalba, meaning white village. From the castle hilltop, views stretch across the Tagus meadow where this earlier name took root.
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