Muralla

The muralla was built as part of the defense of the castle during the Muslim reign and are made of blocks of stone, sand and lime. Free use was made of previous Roman structures when constucting the wall. Seventeen square and rectangular towers with pyramid-topped square battlements have survived within the walls of the town. The wall had seven gates: The North gate of Herradura (horseshoe), the Gate of La Coria, the Gate of Veracruz, the Arch of Triumph, the Arch of San Andrés, the Arch of Santiago and the gate of las Palomitas (little pigeons). All the gates were closed every night at curfew, which was announced by the ringing of the bells at the church of Santiago. The gates would not reopen until dawn.The double doors at each gate must have been a splendid sight at the end of the 15th century when they were made of gold-plated wood. (Lancia Publications, page 44) Only four of the original gateways remain: the Gate of La Coria, the Arch of San Andrés, the Arch of Santiago and the Arch of Triumph all of which show fifteenth-century additions.

Besides being a clearly defensive structure, the wall outlined the limits of the city, and indicated who was a resident of Trujillo and who was not.(Lancia Publications, page 44) The muralla is 900 meters long. (Bissell, page 4)