In Spain are to be found some of the most beautiful cities of Europe: cities of learning, like Salamanca; cities of religion, like Santiago; and cities of cultural and political power, like Toledo, Seville and Madrid. As the focus of power has shifted from one to another over the centuries, so these cities have waxed and waned, and to trace their stories is to illuminate different facets of the history and character of Spain itself.;Before Madrid became the country's capital in 1561, Toledo claimed to be the imperial city; it still evokes the Middle Ages, its Moorish past and Christian conquest in its narrow streets and deserted monasteries. Cordoba was once the greatest city of the Arab West; its spectacular rise and even more spectacular fall belong to the Moorish period of Spanish history. Subsequently Seville, Cadiz, Barcelona and Madrid one by one came to the fore as centres of political, economic or cultural activity. San Sebastian, perhaps the joker in the pack, once played host to Spanish royalty but is now a centre of Basque separatism - a significant change of emphasis.; David Gilmour paints a portrait of these nine cities both now and in their heyday, and in doing so he gives an intimate picture of Spain itself.