La Coruña, Spain and El Torre de Hercules (The Tower of Hercules)

The City With Glorious Beaches and the Amazing 1st Century Light House!

I did not know what to expect from visiting this city. I was here last year but didn’t stop to spend any time in La Coruña. I knew that that is something I wanted to do this time. I am very happy that I chose to stay several days and explore this wonderful city in Galicia.

I had no idea that it was much much bigger than the city of Santiago de Compostela. I was also mesmerized by the many massive beaches that surround the city. A’ Coruña (La Coruña). It has a population of 255,000!

Did you know that La Coruña is an ancient city, founded by Hercules, according to local beliefs. Celts, Phoenicians and Romans have occupied its port. The Romans arrived in Galicia on the 2nd century BC driven mainly by economic aims since the zone was rich in minerals.

Today, I went to the huge plaza called Maria Pita Square. It truly is magnificent as you can see in the photos below!

I saw this huge statue in the square. It was of Maria Pita for whom the great Square was named!

WHO WAS MARIA PITA?

I asked that same question and I discovered the answer. See below (Thanks Wikipedia). María Mayor Fernández de Cámara y Pita (Sigrás, 1565–1643), known as María Pita, was a heroine in the defense of Coruña, northern Spain, against an English attack upon the Spanish mainland in 1589.^[1]

Defense of Coruña

On the 4th of May 1589, English forces, already in control of the lower city, breached the defenses of the old city. María Pita was assisting her husband, an army captain manning the defenses, when he was killed by a crossbow bolt that struck him in the head. An English soldier with a banner, who was making his way to the highest part of the wall, was killed by Pita. She appeared on the heights of the wall herself, shouting: Quen teña honra, que me siga (“Whoever has honour, follow me!”) whereupon the English incursion was driven back by the defenders. The English later abandoned the siege and withdrew to their ships. Other women also participated directly in the defense of Coruña; a surviving record tells of one Inés de Ben receiving treatment for two shots received in the siege. Pita’s heroic deeds were honoured and rewarded by Philip II, who granted her the pension of a military officer, which she received following the death of her husband who was killed during the battle.^[2]

I Thoroughly enjoyed learning about the story with this woman and how she became the defender of this great city!

Some Other Photos from Today!

I ALSO CHECKED OUT A 12th CENTURY CHURCH!

Playa de Riazor in A’ Coruña , Spain.

The beach did not disappoint. It was massive and so beautiful!

Sunset Views!

The boardwalk that wraps around the beaches is massive! I was very surprised at how beautiful and big this beach was. My hostal was directly across the street which allowed for many sunset views! I decided to walk it end to end in the direction of the Lighthouse of Hercules because that is something that I knew I wanted to see while visiting the city.

Water Views of La Coruña

El Torre de Hercules (The Tower of Hercules)

This is the oldest functioning Lighthouses in the world. It was built by the Romans in the later part of the first century. It was almost completely destroyed in the rooms before it was restored in the late 1800s.

BRIEF HISTORY:

The Tower of Hercules is the only fully preserved Roman lighthouse that is still used for maritime signaling, hence it is testimony to the elaborate system of navigation in antiquity and it provides an understanding of the Atlantic sea route in Western Europe. The Tower of Hercules was restored in the 18th century in an exemplary manner, which has protected the central core of the original Roman monument while restoring its technical functions.

For More Detailed Info, check out this link below;

https://www.turismo.gal/que-visitar/destacados/torre-de-hercules/historia-da-torre?langId=en_US

These some of the photos I took as I was approaching the tower of Hercules while walking along the waterfront .