Maria de Padilla Baths

The Baths of Dona Maria de Padilla are named after María Díaz de Padilla, the mistress of King Pedro I of Castile, also named Pedro the Cruel. According to legend she went naked into the cistern to take her baths. The legend is probably a result of her status as a mistress. Pedro and she were obviously in love, but he was forced by his family to marry Blanche of Bourbon. They married in Valladolid, but three days after the wedding he abandoned his wife. He had found out, that she had an affair with his stepbrother Fadrique Alfonso and the agreed dowry could not be paid. Later he imprisoned her in the palace of his mother. So actually he lived with María and had four children with her, while Blanche of Bourbon was his only legitimate wife. María de Padilla died in July 1361, possibly a victim of the plague. The underground cavernous room, which is located below the Patio del Crucero is a cistern, in which rain water was collected for use as drinking water. The huge vaulted crypt with three naves is accessed through a barrel vault with the characteristic tiles that leads to the Garden of the Dance. The cistern was built in the 12th or 13th century, Gothic rib vaults were added in the time of King Alfonso X in the second half of the 13th century. The lateral corridors are decorated with Renaissance wall paintings from the 16th century. I took this image as a long exposure to both provide enough light and also to smooth the scene. Fortunately, there is a wall that one can rest the camera on as I didn’t have a tripod!

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