Lovers of Teruel

The Lovers of Teruel (in Spanish Los amantes de Teruel) is a romance story that is alleged to have taken place in 1217 in the city of Teruel (Aragón).

In the city there were two important and wealthy families, Marcilla and Segura. Juan Martinez (also known as Diego) was a Marcilla and Isabel a Segura. The two were in love as childhood playmates but when they were both at an eligible age to wed, Diego's family had fallen on hard times. Isabel's father, being the most wealthy in all of Teruel, forbade the marriage. Diego, however, was able to make an agreement with the father in which he would leave Teruel for six years to try to build his fortune. If Diego was able to gain wealth within those six years he would be able to marry his love, Isabel.

During those six years her father pestered her to marry someone. She replied to him by saying that God wished her to remain a virgin until she turned twenty, saying that women should learn how to manage the household before getting married. Because her father loved her dearly and wished for her happiness he agreed, and for five years they waited for Diego's return.

Teruel

Teruel (Spanish pronunciation: [teˈɾwel]) is a town in Aragon, located in eastern Spain, and is also the capital of Teruel Province. It has a population of 35,961 in 2013 making it the least populated provincial capital in the country. It is noted for its harsh climate (hot in summer and very cold in winter), its renowned jamón serrano (cured ham), its pottery, its surrounding archaeological sites, rock outcrops containing some of the oldest dinosaur remains of the Iberian Peninsula, and its famous Fiestas (La vaquilla del ángel during the second weekend of July and "Bodas de Isabel de Segura" around the third weekend of February). Teruel is regarded as the "town of mudéjar" (Moorish-influenced architecture) due to numerous buildings designed in this style. All of them are comprised in the Mudéjar Architecture of Aragon which is a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO.

Teruel's remote and mountainous location (it is 915 metres above sea level) and its low population has led to relative isolation within Spain. A campaign group with the slogan Teruel existe ("Teruel exists") was founded in 1999 to press for greater recognition and investment in the town and the province. Due in part to the campaign, transport connections to Teruel are being greatly improved with the construction of a motorway between Zaragoza and Sagunto, large parts of which are now open. However, Teruel remains the only provincial capital in peninsular Spain without a direct railway link to the capital, Madrid.

Province of Teruel

Teruel is a province of Aragon, in the northeast of Spain. The capital is Teruel.

It is bordered by the provinces of Tarragona, Castellón, Valencia (including its exclave Rincón de Ademuz), Cuenca, Guadalajara, and Zaragoza. The area of the province is 14,809 km². Its population is 138,686 (2003), of whom about a quarter live in the capital, and its population density is 9.36/km². It contains 236 municipalities, of which more than half are villages of under 200 people.

The main language throughout the province is Spanish (with official status), although Catalan is spoken in the comarca of Matarranya.

Geography

This province is located in the mountainous Sistema Ibérico area. The main ranges in the province of Teruel are Sierra de la Virgen, Sierra de Santa Cruz, Sierra de Cucalón, Sierra de San Just, Sierra Carrascosa, Sierra Menera, Sierra Palomera, Sierra de Javalambre, Sierra de Gúdar, Sierra de Albarracín and the Montes Universales, among others.

Depopulation and neglect

Teruel (disambiguation)

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