Ávila () is a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

of central-western

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, in the southern part of the

autonomous community eu, autonomia erkidegoa ca, comunitat autònoma gl, comunidade autónoma oc, comunautat autonòma an, comunidat autonoma ast, comunidá autónoma , alt_name = , map = , category = Autonomous administra ...

Castile and León Castile and León ( es, Castilla y León ; ast-leo, Castiella y Llión ; gl, Castela e León ) is an autonomous community in northwestern Spain. It was created in 1983, eight years after the end of the Francoist regime, by the merging of th ...

. It is bordered on the south by the provinces of Toledo and Cáceres, on the west by

Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Herit ...

, on the north by

Valladolid Valladolid () is a municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. It has a population around 300,000 peop ...

, and on the east by

Segovia Segovia ( , , ) is a city in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Segovia. Segovia is in the Inner Plateau ('' Meseta central''), near the northern slopes of t ...

and

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. Ávila has a population of 158,265 (2018) and is ranked 47th out of 50 of Spanish provinces in population. Its capital is

Ávila Ávila (, , ) is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Ávila. It lies on the right bank of the Adaja river. Located more than 1,130 m ab ...

Geography

Ávila is naturally divided into two sections, differing completely in soil and climate. The northern portion is generally level; the soil is of indifferent quality, strong and marly in a few places, but rocky in all the valleys of the Sierra de Ávila; and the climate alternates from severe cold in winter to extreme heat in summer. The population of this part is mainly agricultural. The southern division, however, is one mass of rugged granitic sierras, interspersed with sheltered and well-watered valleys, abounding with rich vegetation. The winter here, especially in the elevated region of the Paramera and the waste lands of Ávila, is long and severe, but the climate is not unhealthy. The principal mountain chains are the Guadarrama, separating this province from Madrid; the Paramera and

Sierra de Ávila The Sierra de Ávila is a mountain range in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. Its highest point is Cerro de Gorría, at 1708 metres. See also * Sistema Central The Central System, Spanish and pt, Sistema Central, is one of the main s ...

, west of the Guadarrama; and the vast wall of the Sierra de Gredos along the southern frontier, where its outstanding peaks rise from around .

Pico Almanzor Pico Almanzor is the highest mountain in central Spain. Situated in the Sierra de Gredos in the province of Ávila, Almanzor is high. It is made of granite. The mountain is also known as ''Pico de Almanzor'' and ''Moro Almanzor''. History The mo ...

is the highest point. The ridges which ramify from the Paramera are covered with valuable forests of beeches, oaks and firs, presenting a striking contrast to the bare peaks of the Sierra de Gredos. The main rivers stemming from the Sierra de Gredos are the

Alberche The Alberche is a river in the provinces of Ávila, Madrid and Toledo, central Spain. It begins its course at 1,800 m in Fuente Alberche, San Martín de la Vega del Alberche municipal term, Ávila Province. It forms the natural division between ...

, the Tiétar, and the

Tormes The Tormes is a Spanish river, that starts in Prado Tormejón, in the mountain range of Gredos, Navarredonda de Gredos, province of Ávila. It crosses the provinces of Avila and Salamanca, ending at the Duero river, at a place known locally as Am ...

. The first two belong to the

Tagus basin The Tagus Basin is the drainage basin of the Tagus River, which flows through the west of the Iberian Peninsula and empties into Lisbon. It covers an area of 78,467 km2, which is distributed 66% (55,645 km2) on Spanish territory and 34% on Po ...

, while the latter belongs to the

Douro The Douro (, , ; es, Duero ; la, Durius) is the highest-flow river of the Iberian Peninsula. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province, central Spain, meanders south briefly then flows generally west through the north-west part o ...

catchment area. Meanwhile, the Adaja, another Douro tributary whose source lies at the cut-off point of the

and La Serrota, carries little water in the Summer.

History

The first recorded inhabitants of Ávila were the

Celts The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...

, who left behind a number of large stone statues of bulls called Verracos, with the largest number of surviving examples in Ávila. The area of the province was conquered by the Romans around 192 B.C. After the Roman Empire fell, the area became part of the Visigothic Kingdom, and it is from this period we have many of the earliest records of the towns of Ávila. The population of the territory comprising the current-day province of Ávila greatly decreased since the late 16th century and the first half of the 17th century, taking over nearly two centuries to recover the late 16th century population.

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Avila, Province of