Tuesday, September 1, 2009

The Historic City of Santander

A city and port in the Cantabria region of Spain, Santander has a population of 183,000 approximately one third of all the people who live in the Cantabria region. A historic city, Santander was already significant when the Roman occupied the Iberian Peninsular. The city mostly grew due to its fine natural harbour on the Bay of Santander, it was important during the Middle Ages and continued to be so as the discoveries in the New World brought increased imports into Spain. Unfortunately, much of the historic section of the city was destroyed by a great fire in 1941, an event that was amazing in that only one person died despite widespread devastation. Santander weather is notably mild although somewhat rainy and it has become a popular tourist destination with some interesting places to visit.