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Tourist Sight in Castilla y León
The festival of Semana Santa (Holy Week) in Segovia has been declared of touristic interest in Castilla y León. One of the most spectacular events is the procession of the Vía Crucis Penitencial, in the convent where the poet Fray Juan de Yepes went in search of the sonorous solitude of God. There is a brief walk to the hermitage where he used to go to pray. The rooks which gather on the rocks give the procession a historic feel.
Also worth seeing is the procession from San Marcos, which carries the image of Cristo Crucificado (Christ on the cross) across the bridge over the river Eresma via El Pinarillo, where there is a 15th century Jewish cemetery, and the valley of Clamores, the access to the Jewish burial ground.
The procession is open to all kinds of interpretations, as it also carries the dead body of Christ to the la Vista del Alcázar, the city wall and the cathedral.
Among the Segovian processional works of art, one of the oldest is the float of el Cristo de los Gascones which takes part in the Vía Crucis procession in the el Salvador district on the Thursday. On the Friday the Procesión del Santo Entierro goes from the Zamarramala district to la Vera Cruz. When it approaches los Templarios it meets los Caballeros de la Orden de Malta (the Knights of the Order of Malta), owners of the historical church where they will have been on a vigil. Inside the temple, built in the Romantic period, Santo Oficio (Holy Office) is held. The participants then return to Zamarramala where they sing the Salve Dolorosa (sorrowful hymn) and hear the Sermón de la Soledad (sermon of solitude). These events are a recreation of the ceremonies attended in 1134 by the knights of the Soberana y Militar Orden Hospitalaria de San Juan de Jerusalén de Rodas y Malta (the sovereign and military hospitable order of Saint John of Jerusalén de Rodas and Malta).
On Friday in the Plaza de Santa Eulalia, the Sermón de las Siete Palabras (sermon of the seven words) and the Vía Crucis Penitencial are held, and in the afternoon there is a meeting of fraternity members for the Procesión de los Pasos, a procession of some ten floats which finishes at the emblematic Roman aqueduct. The Misa de Resurrección (mass of the Resurrection) on Saturday in the Hieronymite monastery of El Parral is also recommended.
Outside the city, in the rest of the province, Turégano (a castle with a church in its interior) holds the Procesión de la Carrera. On Friday in La Granja, the fraternity members carry heavy crosses, and the historic town of Cuéllar has a castle that is worth a visit. From the castle of Pedraza spectators can watch the Procesión de La Soledad, and in Riaza the ceremony for the rite of El Prendimiento (the arrest) is not to be missed. In the village of Bernuy de Porreros the villagers sing the verses of the Passion written by the famous Spanish poet and playwright Lope de Vega. And the towns of Santa María La Real de Nieva, Carbonero el Mayor, Prádena, Nava de la Asunción and Ayllón should also be seen.
