The fortress where Cardinal Pedro Gómez Barroso was imprisoned

Perched at an elevation of 970 metres on a rocky peak, the Castillo de Aguilar de Campoo commands the landscape. This trapezoidal ruin consists of thick stone walls and towers that date back to the Reconquista.

Historical records trace the origin of this fortress to a defensive tower with documentary evidence dating from 1039. The site became the lordship of Tello de Castilla, which was later inherited by Garci V Fernández Manrique de Lara, marquies of Aguilar de Campoo. The castle underwent various reforms between the 12th and 14th centuries.

In the mid-14th century, the fortress was used to imprison the cardinal Pedro Gómez Barroso by order of Pedro the Cruel. This occurred after the bishop of Sigüenza censored the prison of Blanca de Borbón, who was the wife of the Castilian monarch. Pedro was the half-brother of Tello de Castilla, the lord of Aguilar.

The site exists today as a ruin that preserves much of its exterior structure. Visitors can still see the remains of the inner towers and the outer walls. Traces of coats of arms remain above a pointed arch on the eastern facade, while the northwest entrance is now sealed and in a state of decay.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons