Villacarrillo
by Saskia Mier
Villacarrillo is an ideal destination for fans of rural and cultural tourism. This beautiful village is situated in the Úbeda hills, next to the Sierra de las Cuatro Villas, in a landscape of vast olive groves and cereal fields. It has about 10,500 inhabitants.
HISTORY
Originally known as Mingo Priego, its current name comes from Alonso Carrillo, who was appointed Archbishop of Toledo in 1445 and granted the municipality the category of town in a founding certificate dated September 1, 1449, later confirmed by King Juan II of Castile on January 1 in 1450 and by the Reyes Católicos on January 25, 1498, thus separating the village from the old town of Iznatoraf.
THINGS TO SEE
Iglesia Parroquial de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción
Also known as Catedral de la Loma, the church is a superb building of magnificent Grecian architecture, in which the late Gothic coexists with the first manifestations of the Renaissance. It was built by the architect and sculptor Andrés de Vandelvira, who married a resident of the city, Luisa de Luna. Construction began around 1540, settling the Vandelvira project on the original castle of Mingo Priego. Once the temple was finished, the sacristy was built on what had until then been the Iglesia de Santa María del Castillo. The Puerta del Sol and the Puerta de la Umbría constitute the main entrances to the temple. The works of the Vandelvira temple were completed around 1653, after over a hundred years of uninterrupted work. The sacristy, located perpendicular to the temple, has a rectangular floor plan divided into three sections, covered with vaulted ceilings and Mannerist decoration. On the right side of the main portico (Puerta del Sol) is the tower designed by Vandelvira; measuring 56 metres, its quadrangular body is topped with six bells, crowned by a regular octagon and a stone cone. Declared a monument of historical-artistic interest by Royal Decree on August 31, 1939. Located in Plaza Juan XXIII.
Refugios Anti-Aéreos
Rehabilitated as a heritage site in 2018, the air raid shelters were built in 1937 in the midst of the Spanish Civil War to garrison the population against potential aerial bombardment, however, they were never used because of Villacarrillo's distance from the front. Once the War was over, local merchants used it as a pantry and food store. In 1999, the Villacarrillo Speleology Group managed to access the shelters, discovering important information about their structure. Located in Plaza Juan XXIII.
Iglesia de Santa Isabel de los Ángeles
The church was originally the chapel of a thirteenth century convent, which was remodelled in the sixteenth century by Cardinal Moscoso. The interior has a single nave with a central half-orange vault with frescoes by the Villacarrillense chronicler Fernando Alonso Escudero de la Torre (1680). At the foot of the nave is the choir, which houses an eighteenth-century organ and a painting of Christ from the sixteenth or seventeenth century which was used by the nuns to self-flagellate. The main Baroque altarpiece dates from the same period and is crowned by a painting of Santa Isabel de Hungría and presided over by the image of Nuestro Padre Jesús Caído. Located on Calle Ramón y Cajal.
Casa de la Inquisición
The House of the Inquisition is a three-storey building whose interior has been completely modified from the original structure, built between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Its original façade is conserved, including the railings and stairway, adorned with various coats of arms of the Santo Oficio de la Inquisición. The house was originally used for meetings and debates of the Court of Villacarrillo. Located on Calle Repullete.
Fuente de los Caños
Construction of the fountain was commissioned by Mayor Gerardo Pastor in 1920, to commemorate the chanelling of water from the Guíjara fountain. It was initially installed in front of the Town Hall. Located on Calle Don Ambrosio.
Casa de la Cultura
This modernist building is eclectic in style. Built in 1900, it is owned by the Benavides and García de Zúñiga families, although it is currently managed by the Town Hall. Its façade is made up of two bodies, with windows and balustrades with parapets formed by tondoes, decorated with human figures and plant decoration. Its main façade is crowned with a stone balustrade typical of nineteenth-century architecture. Located on Calle La Feria.
THINGS TO SEE OUTSIDE THE TOWN
Observatorio Astronómico de La Fresnedilla
The La Fresnedilla Astronomy Observatory, developed in collaboration with the Town Hall, sponsored by the Andalusian Council Board of Tourism, Commerce and Sports and with the collaboration of the Granada Science Park Consortium, has a multi-use audiovisual room and an observatory which houses the main, fully computerized, telescope with a 400mm opening, under a 5m dome. The equipment is completed with a solarium on the terrace which has secondary observation instruments. The centre's equipment is used for educational programs in science and astronomy, collaborating with the Granada Science Park Consortium, with educational centres and associations. The La Fresnedilla Astronomy Observatory is in the heart of the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas Natural Park, thanks to its minimum light contamination. Located south east of Villacarrillo.
Cooperativa Nuestra Señora del Pilar
The new oil mill was built on a plot of land measuring 160,000 m2. Its technology is industry-leading in terms of efficiency, safety and performance, and enables the extraction of olive oil of the highest quality. The facilities are divided into three impressive areas: reception and cleaning, manufacture and storage. The factory itself has 12 production lines occupying over 11,000 m2, four industrial units, several cellars containing 156 tanks for storing the oil and a 2-storey headquarter building with 1,800 m2 of floor space. The end result of this careful production and packaging process is the excellent Cazorliva Extra Virgin Olive Oil, with a full flavour, aroma and colour, essential characteristics of the incomparable olives that grow in this area. Located south east of Villacarrillo, on Carretera A-6204.
Hotels in Villacarrillo
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NATURAL AREAS
Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas Natural Park
With a total surface area of 209,920 hectares and covering almost a fifth of Jaén province, this is Spain's largest protected area and one of its most extensive forested zones. Located in eastern Jaen province, it connects the Sierra Morena and the Subbética mountain ranges. The highest peak in this immense park is Pico Empanada at 2,107m and the entire park is higher than 600m. Recognising its exceptional ecological importance, it was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1983 and created a natural park in 1989. First impressions of the park may consist of barren rocky crests and vast pine forests, but the area's botanical importance within Andalusia is matched only by the Sierra Nevada, with a fifth of the vascular plants in the Iberian Peninsula being found in the Sierra de Cazorla Natural Park.
BUS SERVICE
There are various bus services from Villacarrillo to Jaén, Úbeda, Granada, Villanueva del Arzobispo, Albacete, Valencia, Barcelona and Seville using the company Alsa.
GASTRONOMY
When visiting Villacarrillo, try local dishes such as calandrajos (meat stew with flat dumplings), ajo morcilla (rice stew made with black pudding), ajillo de papas (mashed potato with tomato, pepper and garlic, often served cold) and espárragos en vinagre (asparagus in vinegar). Sweet treats include hornazos (sweet pastries), sobaos (sponge cakes) and borrachuelos (aniseed cakes).
FESTIVALS
Popular festivals in Villacarrillo are San Isidro Labrador, Corpus Christi and Feria y Fiestas en Honor a los Patronos de Villacarrillo.
WEATHER FORECAST
If you are considering visiting this town, you will be interested to check the latest weather forecast for the next few days from the table below.
This weather forecast is provided by AEMET (Spanish State Meteorological Agency). Note the wind directions in the table below are O (oeste) West, N (norte) North, S (sur) South, E (este) East and their combinations.
TOURIST OFFICE
The tourist office of Villacarrillo is located in the Oficina de Información Turística.
NEARBY PLACES
The neighbouring villages to Villacarrillo are Iznatoraf and Torreperogil.