Spain: Segorbe

January 2020

The village of Segorbe is immersed in a fertile plain, washed by the Palancia river. Its medieval layout conceals several architectural gems, like the cathedral, and the vestiges of the ancient wall. The remains of the medieval castle, located on the neighbouring hill of La Estrella, recall the regal origins of Segorbe. The square of Agua Limpia (clean water), so-named because of the plentiful springs found in the area, is the nerve centre of the town. There we have the City Hall, built in the 16th century, which was the former palace of the Duke of Medinaceli. The cathedral of Santa María was built in a Gothic style of architecture, and later remodelled following Neoclassical canons. Its interior has seven chapels and a beautiful cloister, and guards a precious codex down in the archives, as well as a collection of paintings in the chapter house. Several churches stand out in the medieval layout of the city: the churches of San Pedro, San Martín, San Joaquín and Santa Ana. From its defensive past, the village still preserves the circular tower of Botxí and the prison's tower, which used to be a part of the ancient wall along with the arch of Verónica.

https://www.spain.info/en/destination/segorbe/

In researching day trips from Valencia, I stumbled across a travel blog of a woman who waxed lyrical about Segorbe. Sometimes such hidden gems are only known to a few people, so based on her description and recommendation, I took the train on a frigid January morning to Segorbe. I was aboard an old, local train that just crept along, too. Hardly any passengers were with me and I might have been the sole person to disembark at the station.

After arriving it was still an uphill march to the sites of the old town. Since it was around the Epiphany, many places were closed (and it was early morning and it was winter). In short, Segorbe appeared closed down. No worries, I would just see everything from the outside and then get back on the train and head down to Sagunto (where I knew there was something I wanted to see).

As it turns out, the city held little of interest. I had already seen so many superlative Spanish towns that Segorbe was at best an "also ran" (maybe not even that). Was the blog that loved the place so much based on its isolation alone? I did discover a few good views over the valley below (Segorbe was up in the hills), but beyond that - I didn't even find a cafe open for second breakfast (scandalous).

I pondered how many times I had found a place to my liking and written glowingly about it. Perhaps someone else would follow in my footsteps and wonder what I was going on about? Much of travel is idiosyncratic and time sensitive. Perhaps I visited a place at exactly the right moment and in exactly the right mood to render it a "must visit" location while the next person would think "there is nothing here".

In the case of Segorbe, it was a morning truly wasted on a short holiday. There were other destinations I passed over to see it, too. When time is limited - such mistakes feel bigger.

Not every place I visited in Spain was wonderful (although many were). Segorbe was apparently for someone else, one of the best towns near Valencia. Unfortunately, it was not for me.