Robert Firth
A PAIR of British and Dutch expats have teamed up to cement the history of Spain’s castles in cinema.
Bob Yareham, a teacher who has lived in Valencia for 38 years, and Cas Eggermont, an entrepreneur, have documented 80 Spanish castles that have appeared on the big screen, through a new website.
The 1936 romantic comedy, Desire, starring Marlene Dietrich was the first film to feature one of Spain’s historic monuments, San Servando castle in Toledo, which is now a 25-room youth hostel.
More recently, parts of the upcoming Wonder Woman 1984, were shot in Almeria’s Moorish Alcazaba de Almeria.
The movie’s production company is donating €18,000 towards the preservation of the fortress. The castle previously featured in HBO’s Game of Thrones as the castle of Sunspear, seat of House Martell.
There are around 2,500 castles in Spain and Jaen in Andalucia has the largest number, with 237, however no films have shot there.
Bob and Cas are offering to promote castles that haven’t yet featured onscreen and are offering to film and photograph the sites with drones to encourage filmmakers to consider them for shooting.
They are also delivering interactive lessons at local schools, with the first to take place in Betera near Valencia, which is home to the 14th century Castillo de Betera.
The duo’s findings can be viewed at www.spanishcastlemoviemagic.com
