La Coruña, Spain

La Coruña is situated on the northeastern tip of the Iberian peninsula. Located on the Atlantic coast, the town has a history as a fishing and commercial port. The city has an interesting mix of architecture, with the old, including a medieval quarter and the Roman Torre de Hercules lighthouse, sitting alongside the new, including the futuristic 'Domus' building and the harbour facing buildings whose galleria style facades reach several stories high and earned the city the mane of 'Crystal', or 'Glass City'. La Coruña is the coastal gateway to the jewel in Galicia's crown - Santiago de Compostela. The whole city has UNESCO World Heritage status, and dates back to the 9th centuary.

The details of our visit

Mary visited Santiago de Compostela. (to be completed)

Mel explored Lugo City. Its UNESCO Roman walls are 1¼ long and were built more than 17 centuries ago, and yet are in excellent condition. They are an exceptional architectural, archaeological and constructive legacy of Roman engineering. Legend has it that the wall was built to protect not a city but a forest, Augustus' Holy Forest, 'Lucus Augusti' in Latin, from which the City was named 'Lugo'. Today, the forest remains a mystery, but the wall still stands and is the only Roman wall in the world to have kept its entire perimeter intact. Our guide, an expert in conservation shared very many facts and details of the challenges faced in continuing the conservation of the wall, but this did not leave us with sufficient time to walk all the way around the top of it.

Luga


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