Province
and Villages - Cordoba - Information
Córdoba information
The "Campiña" Countryside
The "campiña" countryside is perhaps what
best defines the province of Cordoba: farmlands where the
olive groves, vineyards and small orchads excel, and softly
rolling hills are capped with white villages, slender towers
and golden castles.
There are many beautiful towns here. Baena, for example, has,
along with some of the best olive oil in Andalusia and a spectacular
Semana Santa (Easter Week), a harmonious range of monuments
where the Gothic church of Santa María la Mayor stands
out as does the church of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe
which combines, as so frequently occurs in the Guadalquivir
valley, a Mudéjar stuccoed ceiling with a splendid
Baroque altar-piece. There are also a great number of remains
of the primitive city walls. Espejo and Castro del Río,
which are also set along the Cordoba-Granada road, are peaceful
villages. In the first, the towered castle is a point of interest
as well as the church of San Bartolomé. What stands
out in the latter is the old Medinaceli house which today
is the town hall and in days gone by was a prision in which
Miguel de Cervantes spent some time. Castro, wher the parish
church of the Asunción with its beautiful Plateresque
doorway looms over the houses, is a village famous for its
young troubadours. Further to the north we come across Bujalance
which has a large parish church and castle.
The villages are usually situated high up and dominate the
surrounding areas. The names themselves demonstrate this:
Monturque, Montemayor, Montalbán and so on. In Montemayor
we can admire the Castle of the Duque de Frías which
has a curious Múdejar distribution. The capital of
this area and the capital of wine production is Montilla,
which was also home to the Gran Capitán and San Francisco
Solano. There are many loverly parish churches in this extensive
town, and nearly all offer excellents works of art, such as
the church of Santa Clara which boasts paintings by Alonso
Cano as well as a delightful late-Gothic façade.
Very nearby is Aguilar, one of the most beautiful towns in
the "campiña". Its octagonal Square of San
José is harmonious and lively, despite its Neo-Classical
style, and the town does not lack gems of the Baroque era
such as the Carmelitas Descalzas. We must not forget the church
of Nuestra Señora del Soterraño which is situated
at the top of a pleasent tree-lined hill, or the elegant clockless
tower. Each village has its own special attractions. In La
Rambla there are many lovely churches and good restaurants.
Here we find the church of the Asunción, remains of
the old fortress and many potters' workshops which convert
this village into a paradise for handicrafts lovers.
|
|
