Old Town of Avila with its Extra-Muros Churches

Avila's perfectly preserved medieval walls, dating from the 11th century and stretching 2.5 kilometres with 88 semicircular towers and 9 gates, are the finest Romanesque military fortifications in Spain, inscribed in 1985. The walled city preserves a wealth of Romanesque and early Gothic buildings, including the cathedral that partly serves as part of the defensive wall. Avila is also the birthplace of Saint Teresa, the 16th-century mystic and reformer of the Carmelite order.