Village
Municipality of the comarca of Talavera, in the province of Toledo, founded by Alfonso X in 1271 under the name of Atalayuelas, in reference to the watchtowers, and head of the marquisate that Philip II created in 1557 over the old lordship of the Guadyerbas pastures; its built-up area is presided over by the church of San Bernardino de Siena, an ashlar building of 1541 with a porticoed doorway and slender tower, and it preserves the outline of the palace of the Marquesses of Velada, today abandoned, which was a cultural benchmark of the comarca for its picture gallery and its library.
Monument
A church of 1541 that presides over the town centre of Velada. It is a plain single-nave building of ashlar masonry, with a porticoed doorway and a slender tower.
Monument
The ancestral home of don Gómez Dávila, marquess of Velada, a title founded by Philip II in 1557, whose construction dates back to the 16th century. During the second half of the 18th century it housed the infante Luis de Borbón y Farnesio and his wife María Teresa de Vallabriga. Although it is now in ruins, its silhouette still marks the town's urban layout; in the 21st century the possibility of restoring it for use as a hotel and museum has been considered.
Monument
One of the two 17th-century hermitages preserved in Velada, part of the municipality's traditional religious heritage.
Monument
A chapel dedicated to the co-patroness of Velada, the centre of the celebrations the town holds in her honour every September. The building dates from the 17th century and stands to the north of the town centre; according to Madoz's 1849 dictionary, its patronage was then linked to the cathedral chapter of Ávila. The festival in honour of the Virgin of Gracia is held on the first Friday of September.
Nature
The Guadyerbas is a watercourse in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, a tributary of the Tiétar and part of the Tajo basin. It rises at about 1200 metres above sea level south of Mount Cruces, in the sierra de San Vicente, and runs 35 kilometres westward through woods of junipers, poplars and holm oaks, crossing the municipalities of Navamorcuende, Sotillo de las Palomas, Segurilla, Mejorada, Velada, Montesclaros, Parrillas and Navalcán, before flowing into the Navalcán reservoir and joining the Tiétar river seven kilometres further on. Nearby lies the Sotos del Río Guadyerbas y Arenales del Baldío de Velada river reserve, with dune systems and aquatic wildlife of great importance. As it crosses the flat municipality of Velada, it shapes the town's farmland and dehesa landscape.
Curiosity
Alfonso X the Wise founded the town on 4 July 1271 under the name Atalayuelas, a reference to its watchtowers. By around 1278 the place name had already shifted to Velada.
Curiosity
The marquisate of Velada is a noble title created on 30 October 1557 by Philip II in favour of Gómez Dávila Enríquez de Guzmán, lord of Velada, over a lordship his mother's family had held in this town in the province of Toledo since 1294, when the territory was reconquered from the Muslims. In 1614 Philip III granted the title the rank of Grandee of Spain, his son Gómez Dávila y Toledo already being the 2nd marquess, tutor and chief steward to Prince Philip and a councillor of State. The successive marquesses of Velada, related to the houses of Alba, Oropesa and Astorga, held posts in government, council and the military at the court of the Habsburgs, confirming this family as one of the most politically powerful lineages of the age.
Curiosity
The palace of Velada was a cultural landmark of the Talavera comarca thanks to its extensive picture gallery and library, which brought together paintings, tapestries, literary works and ceramics.
Curiosity
The infante Luis Antonio de Borbón y Farnesio lived with his family at the palace of Velada, then owned by the counts of Altamira and equipped with fine gardens and an orchard, on the occasion of his marriage to María Teresa de Vallabriga. His two daughters were born there: María Teresa de Borbón y Vallabriga, who would become countess of Chinchón and marchioness of Boadilla del Monte, and María Luisa de Borbón y Vallabriga, future duchess consort of San Fernando de Quiroga.
Curiosity
Velada is known for its dry-farmed watermelons, fruit of great quality that can weigh over thirty kilos and is sold both in Spain and abroad.
Curiosity
The municipality of Velada commemorates every 4 July the anniversary of its founding by Alfonso X the Wise, who by charter and privilegio rodado (a royal charter bearing a wheel seal) of 4 July 1271 granted the land to Velasco Gómez. Later, on 7 January 1273, the nobleman Blasco Gómez Dávila issued a founding charter to repopulate the area. In 2021 the town celebrated the 750th anniversary of that founding privilege, with a ceremony presided over by the mayor, José Luis Cebadera Amigo.
Activity
The festival of San Bernardino de Siena is the patronal festival of Velada, a municipality in the Talavera district, in the province of Toledo. It is celebrated in honour of this saint every 20 May, with religious rites and popular celebrations that bring together the whole town throughout the day.
Activity
A celebration in honour of the co-patron saint of Velada, held around the first Friday in September.
Activity
An annual commemoration, every 4 July, of the founding privilege granted by Alfonso X the Wise on 4 July 1271, by which the king decreed the founding of Velada and fixed its territorial boundaries. The town celebrated its 750th anniversary on 4 July 2021, with institutional events presided over by the mayor and various authorities, as part of a programme of cultural and educational activities about the town's history.
Historical milestone
Shortly after the charter of settlement, in 1294 the seigneuries of this town and of San Román were constituted, fixing the jurisdiction over the dehesas of the Guadyerbas. That domain was the base on which Felipe II would create the marquisate in 1557.
Food and drink
The dehesas and hills around the Guadyerbas are big game country, and the venison is stewed slowly with wine, onion, bay leaf and pepper until the meat falls apart. It is served with potatoes or with seasonal mushrooms in the town's eating houses.