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Montefrio village enjoys one of the region's most striking settings
By Jo Williams
Located off the tourist trail in the northwestern
corner of Granada province near the Cordoba border, this friendly
village enjoys one of the region's most striking settings, with
one of its churches perched on top of a bare, rocky pinnacle, overlooking
the town and its surrounding hillsides clothed in olive groves and
fields of cereal crops. It nestles between two memorable hilltop
churches; you can't miss either of them since they dominate the
skyline.
 On the rocky outcrop is the Iglesia de la
Villa, which is well worth the steep climb from town to
visit it and enjoy the magnificent panoramic views that often feature
in the region's guidebooks and posters.
The church was built on the site of a Nasrid
castle. In a key strategic location, the Alcazaba was constructed
in the mid-14th century to help defend the Muslim kingdom of Granada
and prevent an invasion by the Christians. It is believed to have
been designed by the same architect who was in charge of the Alhambra.
There was also a watchtower on the castle hill, which formed part
of an extremely effective network of lookout posts used to stand
guard over important routes over Granada's vega (plain).
After conquering Montefrío in 1486, the Catholic
Monarchs ordered the castle to be demolished and the church built
in its place. The architect Diego de Siloé later became involved
in the church's design, which has Mudéjar, Gothic and Renaissance
features. You can see ruined sections of the castle walls around
the church.
The numerous traces of Montefrío's rich history
are described in the guidebook Roads and Trails of Montefrío
by local resident Lawrence Bohme, on sale at the town's tourist
office.
Although the church no longer holds services, there
is a small history museum inside it, the Centro
de Intepretación La Centinela, with interactive
displays on the former castle, the church and the conflict between
the Muslims and the Christians in 15th-century Granada. It's open
Monday to Friday from 12pm to 2pm.
Down in the centre of town is the pantheon-style
Iglesia de la Encarnación, which has a huge
domed roof and was designed in the 18th century by the acclaimed
neoclassical architect Ventura Rodríguez.
The best hotel is slightly out of the village; the
delightful Hotel La Enrea (Tel: 958 336 662) is a converted 19th-century
olive mill. The tourist office can provide details of more places
to stay, which are nearly all rural self-catering cottages; it can
be found on the Plaza de España (Tel: 958 336 004).
Lorenzo also has details of farmhouses and cottages
to rent, Tel: 958 310 124, www.donlorenzo.com.
Montefrío is renowned for its sausage-making
tradition and you can try some of the excellent sausages (chorizo
and salchichón) and blood pudding (morcilla) in the village
bars.
Signposted off the road to Illora, about 7km east
of Montefrío, is an intriguing and unmissable archaeological
site, the Penas de los Gitanos, which has evidence
of human settlement from Neolithic times to the Bronze Age. Excavations
here have unearthed numerous artefacts including combs made from
bone, flint arrowheads and shards of decorative ceramics in the
collection of prehistoric dolmens and cave dwellings, one of which
has primitve rock paintings. Also here is a Medieval citadel,
the remains of a Roman fort and, in the gorge below,
six water mills.
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