History of Larva
The site of Larva and its environs have been populated since prehistoric times. Settlements were established due to the strategic location of the area beside the Guadiana Menor, a river which served as a key communication route between Baza, Guadix and Levante. The Iberian settlement of Cerro de Castellón can be dated between the second and first centuries BC. It is a rectangular, fortified enclosure, situated at the top of a plateau in the middle of the plain, which continued to be occupied in Roman times. Part of the ashlar walls and, inside, a large cistern, have been preserved. Nearby is the Tejar de los Moros castle-refuge, which suggests that Larva was once a small farmhouse dependent on this settlement.
When Alfonso X conquered Larva, he allowed part of the Arab population of Cabra to take refuge in this area, which delayed the occupation of the town by Christian settlers.
From the thirteenth century, Larva was on the Castilian-Nazari border, playing an important strategic role in controlling the revolts orchestrated by rivalling Muslim and Christian groups along the Guadiana Menor. The Christian population eventually settled in the lands of the Adelantamiento de Cazorla.
Until 1836, Larva belonged to Quesada. At this point, at the request of residents, the town became dependent on the more substantial population of Cabra de Santo Cristo. This dependency on Cabra lasted almost a century, until 1924, when it became a Minor Local Entity. Finally, in July 1936, Larva was segregated as an independent municipality.
Traditionally, the main agricultural output of Larva was wheat, barley and esparto grass, which was traded raw or cooked. The Larva train station was inaugurated in 1899 on the Linares-Almería line, designed mainly for freight traffic between the Linares-La Carolina mining area and the port of Almería. To cross the ravine of the Salado River, a metal bridge was built according to the designs of engineer José Olano, which at the time exceeded national records of height and span, standing 109m high and 318m long.
After the Spanish Civil War, the population gradually recovered, reaching 1,552 inhabitants in 1940 and peaking at 2,061 in 1950. The smaller population visible in the town today is the result of the rural exodus to other parts of Spain and Europe which occurred towards the end of the twentieth century.