Galapagar – Roman road, medieval bridge and natural value

Culture

In Galapagar, the Calzada Romana de Galapagar preserves a 200-metre-long section of Via 24, part of the Itinerario de Antonino, which connected Emérita Augusta (Mérida) with César Augusta (Zaragoza) in the 3rd century AD. The section is located in the Parque Regional del Curso Medio del río Guadarrama and has been included in the Plan de Yacimientos Visitables of the Community of Madrid.

The information on length, ancient long-distance connection and present-day classification can be viewed as separate points of reference. Anyone wishing to organise historical sites by period, route and connection to the landscape can weigh these three features independently.

History

The Presa de El Gasco and the Canal del Guadarrama were designed in 1785 by the French military engineer Carlos Lemaur. Both are protected as Bien de Interés Cultural in the Cultural Landscape category.

The site of the Presa de El Gasco has topographical, biological and geomorphological natural value. When exploring water engineering, the design, location and protection category can be considered as different perspectives alongside one another. Distinguishing between technical planning, the description of nature and heritage status keeps these topics clearly separate.

Nature

In the municipality of Galapagar, the Puente de Alcanzorla is located in a landscape of high ecological value, protected through its inclusion in the Parque Regional del Curso Medio del río Guadarrama. The medieval bridge may be of Islamic origin and dates from the 9th or 10th century.

It has a single semicircular arch in the form known as “lomo de asno”, with clearly Andalusian proportions. Dating, possible origin and arch shape can be considered as three separate features alongside one another. The combination of the connection to the landscape and the architectural form opens up different ways of viewing the site without equating nature and architecture.

Activities

The Velódromo Tasio Greciano de Galapagar is a covered facility where track cycling can be practised safely. The Ruta de Galapagar a Guadarrama is a one-day family route in the northwest of the Community of Madrid.

The covered track and the one-day route represent different types of activity; for your own planning, the type of movement and the time frame can be considered separately. Those wishing to combine several interests can distinguish between sport, route, architectural history and landscape topics instead of grouping everything under a single type of excursion. The covered track and the one-day route therefore differ not only in the form of movement but also in their respective time frames; these two details provide a concrete basis for structuring your daily plans between sport and route.

For a holiday apartment in Galapagar, you can compare travel dates, room category and cancellation conditions on the listing pages. The three details represent different levels of comparison for dates, type of accommodation and booking conditions, and complement orientation between culture, nature and sport.

More local pages: Titulcia, Pinto, Montejo De La Sierra, Villaviciosa De Odón, Garganta De Los Montes, Alcobendas, Navacerrada, Aranjuez

For the higher-level travel overview: Madrid.