Ávila (UK: /ˈævɪlə/ AV-il-ə,[2] US: /ˈɑːv-/ AHV-,[3] [ˈaβila] ⓘ) is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León.

Situated 1132 metres (3714 feet) above sea level on a rocky outcrop on the right bank of the Adaja river, a tributary of the Duero, Ávila is the highest provincial capital in Spain.

It is built on the flat summit of a rocky hill, which rises abruptly in the midst of a veritable wilderness; a brown, arid, treeless table-land, strewn with immense grey boulders, and shut in by lofty mountains.

Ávila has the coldest winter low temperatures of the Spanish provincial capital cities, thanks to its high altitude (1,132 metres (3,714 ft) above sea level).

In pre-Roman times (the 5th century BC), Ávila was inhabited by the Vettones, who called it Obila (Ὀβίλα)[10] ("High Mountain") and built one of their strongest fortresses here.

The plan of the town remains typically Roman; rectangular in shape, with its two main streets (cardo and decumanus) intersecting at a forum in the centre.

Roman remains that are embedded in town walls at the eastern and southern entrances (now the Alcazar and Rastro Gates) appear to have been ashlar altar stones.

[12] By tradition, in the 1st century, Secundus, having travelled via the Roman province of Hispania Baetica, brought the Gospel to Ávila, and was created its first bishop.

Conquered by the Moors (Arabs) (who called it Ābila, آبلة), it was repeatedly attacked by the northern Iberian Christian kingdoms, becoming a virtually uninhabited no man's land.

He employed two foreigners, Casandro Romano and Florin de Pituenga, to construct a stone frontier town and creating the walls that still stand.

In 1375, the Jews of Ávila were forced to watch a religious disputation between Juan de Valladolid and Moses ha-Kohen of Tordesillas.

In the 19th century, there was some population growth with the construction of the railway line from Madrid to the French border at Irun and an important junction near the town.

Growth continued slowly again under Franco, but Ávila has not had a major influence in Spanish society in recent history, apart from the nurturing of politicians such as Adolfo Suárez, the first democratically elected prime minister of Spain post-Franco, and José María Aznar, prime minister from 1996 to 2004, who represented Ávila in the Cortes but was not from the town.

[citation needed] The construction of the iron-grey granite Gothic Cathedral of Ávila is said to have commenced in 1107 under Alvar Garcia de Estrella.

Other historians believe the cathedral to be the work of the master mason Fruchel in the 12th century, coinciding with the repopulation of the town led by Raymond of Burgundy.

This 16th-century palace is located inside the walls and attached to it as junt walk through the door of San Vicente, defended the access of Muslim troops.

The local football team, Real Ávila CF, plays at the Adolfo Suárez Stadium, owned by the municipality.

The festival program includes several musical concerts, a fairground, bullfights, passacaglia, processions of the fan groups, chocolate with churros and liturgical acts naturally focus on the day of the patroness, on 15 October with multitudinous mass presided by Bishop, then celebrated a great procession, headed the image of Santa Teresa with the Virgin of La Caridad, and is accompanied by all the authorities of Ávila, civil and military, and several bands music.

Also worth mentioning is "Hornazo", "Bun stuffed with sausage, bacon, steak and eggs", "Mollejas de ternera" or the "Cochinillo", which can be found in the capital and in Arévalo.

It is made from Avileña-Negra ibérica, an indigenous black cow known for its excellent meat, whose fame transcends the borders of the province and the country.

The Hospital Nuestra Señora de Sonsoles (Our lady of Sonsoles Hospital), the Adolfo Suárez stadium, the residential zones as Urbanización Las Hervencias, la ciudad deportiva (sporting city) with pools, a running track, soccer and football camp; the office building (La calera), the tower-residential flats zone (Madrigal de Altas Torres), the workers' quarter like San José Obrero (St. Joseph of the Worker), the retirement building (Residencia de tercera edad), the students' residence (Valle Ambles), hotels like Don Carmelo and Sercotel, new schools and high schools, and the 4-lane principal avenues Hornos Caleros and Carretera de Valladolid were built in the 70s and 80s.