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Caspe- (in Zaragoza Province of Aragon)

My hotel in Caspe was essentially right across the street from the train station. After checking-in, I headed to the tourist office to get a map and more information about the city. I was surprised that both of the people staffing the office spoke English. Given the somewhat obscure historical fame of Caspe, I asked “Do you get many English speaking visitors to the town?” Their answer startled me at first- many British and American tourists come to Caspe to fish.
To fish? Well, then I remembered a conversation many years ago with a work chum who was an avid fisherman. The Ebro river is famous for very large catfish. And apparently the stretch of the Ebro that passes by Caspe is a good area for them!

Caspe and its history

My knowledge of Caspe came from having heard of the “Compromiso de Caspe”. This refers to an event 600 years ago in which the problem of king Martin I of Aragon, who died without an heir was solved by a conference of regional dignitaries. Local royal representatives from Aragon, as well as representatives from the Kingdom of Valencia and the Principality of Catalunya, convened in Caspe. They assessed a variety of contenders for the throne, and after some deliberation chose Ferdinand of Castile as the new king.

As a side note, a while after the crowning of Ferdinand, one of the other contenders – James II the Count of Urgell – rescinded his initial acceptance of the decision and rose up in rebellion. He was not able to muster much support, and was defeated and thrown into a prison cell in… wait for it… the castle of Xàtiva. He remained there 20 years until his death in 1433.

Street scenes from Caspe

The current population of Caspe is notably diverse with residents from many areas of the world. Around the central part of the city one sees people from the Indian sub-continent, both north Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, eastern Europe, and I even chatted briefly with a guy from Nepal!

The Cathedral at Caspe
(OK, strictly speaking it is not a cathedral,
but rather the “Colegiata de Santa María la Mayor”)

The driving force behind the construction of this catholic place of worship were the “Kinghts of Malta” (Orden Militar del Hospital de Jerusalén) and Juan Fernández de Heredia, a “grand master” of that order. It was built on the site of the city’s mosque that existed from the time of Islamic rule in Spain until the late 14th century when work on this newer building began. The oldest part of Caspe sits on top of a rocky hill, and you can see from the photo that the mosque and later church were located above the nearby streets of the newer parts of Caspe.
During a later expansion of this “Cathedral”, the solid rock area at the rear of the church caused the addition to higher than the main part of the church.

The oldest part of Caspe sits high on a hill.

Here we find the “ermita de San Indalecio”.
Although born in Caspe, San Indalecio is known for work preaching the gospel in the Almeria region, where he became that region’s fist bishop.

The location where the ermita de San Indalecio sits had been the “Jewish Quarter” of the town during the middle ages. It is thought that the church was either an enlargement of a former synagogue, or built over the site of one.

A bit further south in old Caspe we find another modest 18th century church, the “ermita de San Roque”.

Born in France, San Roque is the patron saint of dogs and was known for his diligent work during the plague tending to the sick in various Italian cities.

Caspe and the “Carlist Wars”

During the 19th century there was another dispute of succession to the throne. In this case the dispute led to three (or two depending on how you count them) civil wars. In this case the wars were not just about personalities, but about political and social viewpoint on life and governance. The “Carlists” were followers of “Don Carlos”, who championed very traditional values. On the other side there was support of liberalism and later support for creation of a republic.
Caspe is located where the Guadalope River flows into the Ebro River.
Especially in mountainous or hilly terrain, rivers follow the easiest route, and therefore a route that facilitates troop movements. Thus Caspe had a very strategic location during the Carlist Wars.

In 1874, during the third Carlist War, general Manuel de Salamanca ordered a tower-fortress built on a high point at Caspe. This tower (Later called the “Tower of Salamanca”) served both as an observation post to assess any possible troop movements along either of the river routes, and also as a critical link in a chain of signal towers used to communicate notifications if enemy troops were sighted.
This Fortress is intact and well preserved.

Multiple layers of defensive loopholes through the thick wall, through which rifles could be shot, provided a means of defense in case of attack.

Views from the top of the tower

Murals in Caspe!
For some reason this city seems to be in love with murals. Some are wonderfully decorative, and others are historical or just silly. But all are fun.

(There were lots more. But you get the idea!)