Europe From Above (Europe from Above)

Spain.

From a unique aerial view,

we will review a nation famous for its fierce history and passion,

where ancient traditions converge with innovative technology

to form a country like no other.

In this series, we'll take an aerial tour across Europe,

seeing its sights from a brand new perspective.

Filmed from above and over the course of a single year,

as the landscape transforms through the changing seasons,

we will uncover the culture, history, and engineering

that built the great European nations we see today.

Spain, Europe's southern frontier.

It's bordered by the cold Atlantic Ocean to the north,

and the warm Mediterranean Sea to the east.

Spain is a land of color and passion,

where festivals and celebration are the lifeblood of the community.

But it's also a place of history and conflict,

where over thousands of years,

many diverse civilizations battled for supremacy.

The Romans were one of the first foreign superpowers

to make their mark on Spanish culture 2,000 years ago.

Then, in the Middle Ages,

a Muslim empire from the south

and Christian kingdoms in the north,

fought for the right to rule the land.

Historic landmarks and fortresses from these civilizations

still dot the nation today.

And from the air, it's remarkable to see how well-preserved so many of them are.

Like Castillo de Malpica, an Arabic fortress from the 10th century.

And Castillo de Consuegra from the same period,

a stronghold that flipped through the years,

between Muslim and Christian rule.

But perhaps nowhere is Spain's cosmopolitan past better seen

than in one of the nation's finest cities.

Just north of Madrid, lies a place so rich in historic architecture

the entire city is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This is Segovia.

Here, three of Spain's most significant landmarks

lie crammed shoulder to shoulder in one small city.

It's summer,

and the hot sun beats down on Segovia's historic treasures.

A vast Gothic cathedral dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

It's 88-meter spire was once the tallest in Spain.

A Roman aqueduct, so ancient,

it's hard to believe it's still standing.

And a 12th century medieval castle perched high on a rocky crag.

The fort's mishmash of styles is thought to have been an inspiration

for Walt Disney's Enchanted Castle.

Local historian, Néstor Marqués, is Segovia's guardian angel.

He documents, records and monitors the city's famous ancient buildings.

MARQUÉS: I've always been in love with my city

and it's now a pleasure to work for the conservation of its heritage.

Segovia's famous aqueduct bisects the city's central plaza.

It looks like a Victorian railway bridge,

but it's around 2,000 years old.

Viewed from high above, it appears impossibly slim.

The Romans built it to carry cool, fresh water

from the surrounding hills into the heart of the city

along this narrow stone channel.

It's one of the best-preserved Roman aqueducts

found anywhere in the world.

Roman engineering is so good that we have the aqueduct still with us.

The aqueduct is one of the few examples we have of this, uh, type of building.

The aqueduct is iconic to the people of Segovia

and they used it for water right up until the early 1900s.

But today, a much-loved part of the structure is missing.

For 500 years, a statue of the Virgin Mary stood on this plinth,

watching out over the city.

But wind and rain eroded its features so much,

it was removed for restoration.

Néstor and his collaborators have spent the last three months

creating this near-perfect replica of the statue.

Today's the big day that the replica finally moves out of its workshop home,

ready for its journey to the top of the aqueduct.

MARQUÉS: It will be great to have the statue back in its place

and to have contributed in such an awesome project.

Néstor unpacks the replica at the base of the aqueduct

and gives it one last check over.

The old statue was made from soft limestone

and suffered badly from weather erosion.

The new one is made from ground marble dust

mixed with resin,

a super-tough, modern material

that should be able to withstand the passage of time.

Working on this huge, historic monument is an immense responsibility.

The replica statue of the Virgin and Child

rises on the hydraulic platform

twenty three meters into the air.

A crowd gathers to witness the moment of truth.

Spain is a Catholic country

and the Madonna had been the guardian of Segovia for centuries.

The people are here to see her returned to her rightful place.

It's a huge moment for Néstor as the statue slots neatly into its niche.

Today was a great success and it was a huge team effort to get here,

and it's an amazing feeling to see everyone gather around the aqueduct today,

to see the statue back up.

So, it means they care about their heritage and their city.

Whilst Spain's center is home to some of its most ancient buildings,

the Mediterranean coastline is just as rich in architecture,

but with a distinctly modern twist.

The northernmost part of this famous coastline

is home to Catalonia.

This region has a fierce sense of identity

and a history dating back over 1,000 years.

But it's also dotted with much more modern architectural gems.

In Figueres, the museum of surrealist painter, Salvador Dali,

stands out brightly against the town's beige buildings.

But perhaps the most spectacular aerial sight in this region

isn't a single building.

It's the heart of the region's capital, Barcelona.

Flying high over Barcelona

reveals a sight impossible to see from the ground.

A large section of the city is made up of row after row

of 800 seemingly identical blocks.

From above, Barcelona's enormous city grid system

stretches out like a giant terracotta chessboard.

Town planners built this modern metropolis in the mid-19th century

as an overspill to the city's chaotic and clustered medieval quarters.

Each block in the modern part of the city

is characterized by its distinctive 45-degree cut corners.

The design is an ingenious solution to allow the city's tram drivers

to see around the bends.

From above, Barcelona's heart appears perfectly geometrical

with one incredible exception.

Right in the middle of Barcelona

is the city's famous unfinished cathedral,

La Sagrada Familia.

Most European cathedrals appear rigidly geometrical,

but here, there's barely a straight line or right angle to be seen.

The stonework's organic lines

appear to melt and flow like hot wax.

This revolutionary cathedral was the brainchild

of the maverick Spanish architect, Antoni Gaudi.

Even today, Gaudi's non-conformist designs

are a rich source of inspiration for modern architects

like Benedetta Tagliabue.

Barcelona is a very special city,

because it's very rational, but in the same time,

sometimes you can find very special, very crazy things,

and Sagrada Familia, for example, is one of these crazy things.

Despite its incredible unconventional design,

La Sagrada is perhaps best-known for being unfinished.

Workers have been slowly constructing it for over 130 years.

But the end of this mammoth building project

could soon be in sight.

In the next six years, the final five towers

will rise up to surround a giant central spire

which will soar almost 200 meters into the air,

changing the Barcelona skyline forever.

Gaudi's ground-breaking vision

has done much more than transform Barcelona's urban heart.

It's inspired modern architects to create their own geometry-defying forms

including Benedetta's astonishing Santa Caterina Market

with its flowing, colorful roof.

We didn't know that this would be accepted in Barcelona

and we were very happy when it was finished

that people loved it

and maybe they were prepared to receive something

which was organic, colorful,

because the city of Barcelona is a little like that.

La Sagrada Familia is an architectural wonder

that defines the city's skyline

and perhaps the spirit of the region.

From above, Spain is a nation divided by color.

The south is an arid mix of browns and yellows.

But in the north, mountains gather water,

painting them a brilliant green.

A series of long tributaries join here to form the mighty Ebro River

and, together, these waterways nourish the land around them

to help grow one of the world's most celebrated crops.

This is La Rioja, wine country.

Each year, its many vineyards

undergo one of Spain's most dramatic transformations,

as the hot summer sun finally gives way to autumn.

Maria Urrutia is part of a family dynasty

that has been producing Rioja's world-famous wines

for over 140 years.

Wine, it's my essence, it's my blood.

Walking through a vine, picking up grapes, eating grapes.

It's family, it's joy. It is happiness.

Through the summer months,

her many hectares of vines grow new leaves,

so the plants can soak up sunlight to fuel the growth of their fruit.

But as September arrives,

an astonishing metamorphosis takes place

as green leaves turn to golds and reds.

And the swollen grapes ripen.

It's late afternoon

and María takes her colleague, Valentín, out into the vineyard

to see if the estate's premium grapes are ready to be harvested.

There must be enough sugar to make alcohol in the wine,

but not too much or it will spoil the wine's flavor.

The sugar content looks just right.

María will start her harvest early tomorrow morning.

As the sun rises on the morning of María's grape harvest,

the picking team assemble.

Today, the pickers will gather grapes

for one of the estate's most exclusive wines.

They pick them by hand to make sure they don't damage the delicate fruit.

: It's a hard job to do,