By Jo Williams
Northern mountain villages
In the Sierra
Norte Natural Park, part of the immense Sierra Morena, are some
of province's prettiest villages, often in stunning settings, overlooking
the undulating slopes of the Sierra clothed in holm and cork oaks
and Mediterranean shrubs. This is a favourite haunt of Seville city's
inhabitants in searching for a bit of bucolic tranquility at weekends.
Cazalla
de la Sierra is the most appealing of the dozen or so villages
in the Sierra; a whitewashed jumble of houses clustered around a
huge cavernous church. Outside the village in a superb hillside
location is a restored monastery, La Cartuja de Cazalla,
which has been converted into a unique hotel. Constantina
is crowned by a ruined fortress, the pretty streets of its Moorish
quarter twisting up the castle hill.
Near Guadalcanal
are several of the region's highest summits including La Capitana,
from where there are great views over the Sierra and neighbouring
Extremadura; one of the Sierra's many beautiful walks is from Guadalcanal
to La Capitana peak.
Other interesting villages are located on the Ruta de la Plata such as El Garrobo and El Madroņo and El Castillo de las Guardas.
Architectural splendours of
eastern towns
Most of the province's most architecturally outstanding
towns and villages are located in the rolling farmland east of Seville.
Carmona, off
the A4 motorway to Cordoba, is the most notable, its centre characterised
by imposing Mudéjar church towers, Renaissance townhouses
and a fascinating Roman Necropolis on the edges of town. Écija
lies on the Genil river, around 50km further east along the A4 from
Carmona. It is renowned for its ornately tiled Baroque church towers,
as well as the unenviable status of being the hottest place in Andalucia.
Along the A92 motorway east towards Granada are
a clutch of memorable towns. Alcalá
de Guadaira is overlooked by its massive walled Moorish fortification.
Eighty kilometres further east is the town of Osuna,
whose dukes left a legacy of grand mansions dating from the 16th
to 18th centuries and an impressive fine art collection that can
be seen in the Colegiata, one of a few hilltop monuments that preside
over the town. Estepa
is the next place along the A92, about 25km east of Osuna, with
many Baroque mansions, testament to its great wealth in the 19th
century.
Two places are worth a detour off the A92: Morón
de la Frontera and Marchena.
Once an important Moorish city state, the delightful village of
Morón de la Frontera is today famous for its flamenco festival,
the Gazpacho Andaluz. Marchena has some fine churches, one of which
houses an important collection of art pieces by Francisco de Zubarán,
among many other beautiful building in its historic centre.
Southern towns of the Guadalquivir
river plain
Towns and villages south of Seville may lack the
architectural splendour of Carmona and Osuna but several are worth
a visit for their monuments or nearby wildlife sites. Utrera has
both - a few Gothic churches and a nature reserve that is teeming
with wildfowl in winter, as well as its famed flamenco extravaganza,
the Potaje de Gitano. Further south is Las
Cabezas de San Juan, with its colourful Baroque church and scene
of a major political uprising in the early 19th century. Like Utrera,
it has a nearby protected wetland site - Lebrija-Las
Cabezas Natural Reserve - that is noted for its rare bird species,
such as the red-knobbed coot and the white-headed duck. Just before
Cadiz province is the walled town of Lebrija,
which holds one of Andalucia's most popular flamenco festivals,
the Caracol, every July. It also boasts an exceptional church, the
Iglesia de Santa María de la Oliva, with elaborate Moorish-style
features.
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