Logbook · 4 places

What to see and do in San Román de los Montes

What to see and do in San Román de los Montes (Sierra de San Vicente, Toledo): 4 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 2 Monuments · 1 Curiosities

How far each place is from the centre of San Román de los Montes

The Justice Pillar of San Román de los Montes 300 m

Towns near San Román de los Montes

Spain › Castilla-La Mancha › Toledo › Sierra de San Vicente › San Román de los Montes

What to see and do in San Román de los Montes

San Román de los Montes
Village
San Román de los Montes is a municipality in Sierra de San Vicente, in Toledo, whose name recalls a venerated saint documented in the 10th-11th centuries to whom its church was dedicated, and whose surname refers to the mountainous area. Historical documentation is scarce due to an 1860 fire in the municipal archive, but it is known that after the Reconquista it was settled by people from Ávila and that it obtained the title of town in the early 16th century, as recalled by the jurisdictional pillar of 1539 bearing the coat of arms of the Dávila family. Its main heritage feature is the castle, built by the Dávila family in the midst of the Reconquista. In the Peninsular War, its territory was the front of the Battle of Talavera, with victory for García de la Cuesta and Wellesley over the French. It has 2,191 inhabitants.
Castle of San Román
Monument
The Castillo de San Román, the main heritage feature of San Román de los Montes, in the Sierra de San Vicente, has its origins in a Roman camp located at the highest point of the settlement, with evidence of an earlier Celtic settlement found at Pozo Blanco. During the Reconquista, the Dávila family built a fortress here to defend the population from Arab incursions from the south. In the 17th century a house known as the casa grande was built on its remains, and in 1808, during the Peninsular War, it suffered damage from Napoleonic artillery batteries stationed near Talavera. About three decades ago, a private family restored its remains without institutional help.
The Justice Pillar of San Román de los Montes
Monument
The jurisdictional pillory of San Román de los Montes was erected in 1539, when King Charles I granted the town charter to Gómez Dávila, eighth lord of the place. Located in the centre of the main square, it stands on stone steps and a carved base, with a column formed of six stone drums representing the six roeles on the coat of arms of the Dávila family; the whole was topped by four monster heads, a cone carved with scales and, formerly, an iron cross. The shield, divided in half, shows the Dávila roeles on one side and a castle on the other, in memory of Teresa Carrillo de Mendoza, wife of Gómez Dávila.
The 1860 Fire at the Municipal Archive
Curiosity
A fire destroyed the municipal archive in 1860, which explains the scarcity of historical documentation preserved about the town.