VILLANUEVA DEL ARZOBISPO
Villanueva del Arzobispo has one of the largest olive oil production cooperatives in Jaén and in Spain. But this liquid gold is not its only attraction; travellers who visit this municipality can also enjoy its wonderful natural surroundings included in the Sierra de Cazorla, Segura y las Villas Natural Park and an interesting historical and artistic heritage. It has about 7,970 inhabitants.
History
The town was granted its current name in 1396 at the request of Pedro Tenorio, Archbishop of Toledo, to King Enrique III. The town was previously called and belonged to Iznatoraf. From the beginning of the thirteenth century, it was part of the Cazorla Overtaking. The Arabs of Iznatoraf used it as a leisure site, where horse races were organized, and craftsmen set up their workshops in Al-Buxaressa. Felipe II granted it criminal jurisdiction in 1573.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, during the War of Independence against the French invaders, it was a refuge for guerrillas who continually harassed the passing Napoleonic troops. By the twentieth century, the town received the title of city from King Alfonso XIII in 1920.
THINGS TO SEE
Parroquia San Andrés Apóstol
The church was originally a medieval fortress and later became a temple for prayer. Its architecture is both military and religious in style, and it is thought to date from 1488, as evidenced by the baptism of Fray Domingo de Baltanás y Mexía. Inside, the transept consists of four transverse arches and a semi-orange dome on pendentives decorated with evangelical figures. The chapels are linked by semicircular arches on a cornice that runs through the whole temple. The parish underwent many decorative changes in the eighteenth century, including the altarpiece, choir stalls and the furniture of the church. The main altarpiece is baroque in style and features four paintings representing San Juan Bautista, San Sebastián, San Pedro and San Pablo. The elegant, carved pine choir is decorated with floral motifs that accompany the figure of San Andrés. The rear entrance is known as the “Puerta Umbría”. Declared a Site of Cultural Interest and Historical Heritage of Spain. Located in Plaza Iglesia.
Palacete de la Familia Cosano
The palace was built in 1932, a booming year for the local bourgeoisie. The building has the typical characteristics of regionalist architecture. The main stone balcony on the façade stands out, adorned with columns and openings. On the balcony, the coat of arms is particularly striking, with gallantry, floral and geometric motifs. The building is topped with a kind of belfry with stone vases. It is an iconic building of great value to the municipality.
Antiguo Edificio Casino (Casa del Círculo Mercantil)
Built in 1929 by Manuel López Ramírez for Antonio Bueno Bueno and situated in one of the ‘four corners’ of the town centre, this is one of the most emblematic buildings in the municipality. The stone building has three floors with a balustrade and stone vases. The decorations of angel sharks and plant motifs that adorn the façade particularly stand out. The central interior patio is decorated with Sevillian tiles that narrate different scenes from Cervantes’s “Don Quixote”, a metal sculpture of the protagonist himself and a grand piano. Currently, the upper floors house tourist apartments where visitors can stay. The circular viewpoint on the top floor has a roof of colourful ceramic tiles. Located on Calle Antonio Machado.
Convento Santa Ana
Fray Domingo de Baltanás y Mexía donated the land for the construction of this convent in 1540. Fray Domingo was born in the town, received baptism in the church, studied for the Priesthood and entered the Dominican Order. Throughout his life, he founded convents in other towns such as Iznatoraf, Úbeda and Baeza. The façade of the building dates to 1565 and features a surprising niche in the centre with the image of Santo Domingo. The church within is surrounded by a courtyard with arches and multiple Renaissance-style columns. Located on Calle Santa Ana.
Casa de los Arcos
This house was built in 1928 by Don Manuel López Ramírez, who was awarded the National Prize for Architecture in 1970. On the façade, the Renaissance lines on the pediments combine with the Baroque filigree of its railings and the Andalusian ceramics that rise to the top, presided over by six vases, which are reminiscent of the Plaza de España in Seville. Inside is a very special patio; decoratively and architecturally, it is a Nasrid replica that imitates the aesthetic of the Alhambra palace in Granada. This building also received the award for Provincial Beautification. Located in Plaza Mayor.
Iglesia de la Vera Cruz
This church was built in the seventeenth century and consists of a single nave divided into two sections, covered with groin vaults with a false structure, with two chapels in each section and a choir above. After a toral arch, the presbytery is covered by a semi-orange dome on pendentives. The image of Christ is not original, since it was stolen during the Spanish Civil War. It is a sublime sculptural work by Mariano Benlliure from 1946 featuring Christ resting on a magnificent silver cross made in 1899. Located on Calle Vera Cruz.
Plaza de Toros
The bullring was built in 1928, marking the architectural explosion of the 1920s in Villanueva del Arzobispo together with the Casa de los Arcos. It is one of the most important bullfighting arenas in the province of Jaén, through which the earliest bullfighting heroes passed, from Manolete to Los Hermanos Rivera, El Cordobés and Fandi. Located on Calle Alameda de la Fuensanta.
Casa Familia Vélez
This stately building was constructed in 1882 and belongs to the Vélez family. The stone façade is decoratively symmetrical. It consists of three floors decorated with numerous segmental openings. On the central floor, the windows are adorned with wrought iron balconies on shelves. It has a total of 28 balconies and windows topped with fleur-de-lis ornaments. On the facade is the family’s noble coat of arms, originally found in another manor house on Calle Palacio. The shield is described as split with a Hispanic-French outline, surrounded by acanthus leaves and a hidalgo helmet stamp with plumes. Located on Calle Iglesia.
Ayuntamiento
This stately building was owned by María Luisa Marín and was expropriated due to the confiscations of Mendizábal, thus becoming part of the town’s heritage. The Town Hall was moved here in 1948. Previously, municipal management was carried out in other locations such as Calle Palacio. On the front of the building, there is a stone shield supported by two lions. Its origin is unknown, but the coat of arms does not correspond to that of the town. Located on Avenida Constitución.
Palacete Sagrada Familia
This building was donated to Father Villoslada by Catalina Bueno in 1940 so that the Jesuits could found a school and could take in poor children. The mansion is surrounded by gardens, and a balcony with a wrought iron closure typical of the architecture of the early twentieth-century stands above the main door. Inside, we find a porticoed patio which is accessed through a grand wrought iron door. Located on Calle Fuensanta.
Museo Taurino
Currently there are two bullfighting associations in the municipality. The strong bullfighting sentiment of this city is reflected in the construction of the current extraordinary bullring, an exuberant neo-Mudejar style building with capacity for 6,000 spectators, which is the pride of the town. The successful use of brick and horseshoe arches gives it an ornamental appearance that reminds us of the Plaza de Granada. Inside we find the Bullfighting Museum. It occupies a magnificent space that has been adapted with a very current museography. It presents a journey through the history of bullfighting from its origins, focusing on the great protagonists of the fight. Located on Calle Fuensanta.
Opening Times:
- Winter, Thursday-Sunday, 16:00-19:00hrs
- Summer, Thursday-Sunday, 17:00-20:00hrs
- Price: €1
- Guided tours by appointment only.
- Tel: 639 95 54 16
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THINGS TO SEE OUTSIDE THE TOWN
Santuario de la Fuensanta
In the year 964, in the nearby Kingdom of Iznatoraf, the Christians, under Muslim occupation, venerated an image of Nuestra Señora la Virgen María, a devotion planted by the apostolic San Isicio. Located east of the town, off the JV-7041.
Ermita de Jesús del Monte
The chapel is one of the 30 parishes that were created in 1893 by order of the Bishop of Jaén, Don Manuel María González y Sánchez. During the Spanish Civil War its altarpieces and images were lost, but fortunately, the goldsmith’s pieces, clothes and archives remained safe. It is a simple building that was reconstructed in 1965 and houses a beautiful carving, half a body of Ecce Homo, the work of Domingo Sánchez Mesa from Granada. Located 9 km from the Santuario de la Fuensanta.
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.
El Charco de la Pringue (Charco del Aceite)
This recreational area has a pool of water embedded in the Guadalquivir River, separated by a wall with an inner door which allows it to be drained. Its water outlet is very characteristic of the region: an overflow with stone diamonds on top of the wall, which, in addition to constantly renewing the water in this natural pool, serves as an improvised bridge to go from one side of the recreational area to the other. It is a perfect place to swim in summer and enjoy a completely natural setting. It has stone tables, wooden seats and a kiosk bar. The area is very lush in flora and is framed by pine forests that descend from the steep rocky slopes that surround it. In its fresh waters lives the queen of the rivers of the Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas Natural Park, the audacious brown trout. Some large stone blocks, which are in the middle of the riverbed, draw our attention, and on top of one of them there is a viewpoint. This offers a spectacular view of the unique site. According to tradition, the area is so named because a donkey, loaded with skins of oil, rushed down the narrow path, falling into this puddle and impregnating the entire surface with liquid gold. Located 20 km from Villanueva del Arzobispo.
GASTRONOMY
When visiting Villanueva del Arzobispo, try local dishes such as encebollado de bacalao (cod stewed in onions), ajo morcilla (rice stew made with black pudding), pipirrana (tomato and pepper salad) and ajo harina (cod stew). Sweet treats include roscos de vino (aniseed biscuits), empanadillas (sweet pasties) and borrachuelos (aniseed cakes). Try the licor de membrillo, a sweet liqueur made with quince.
FESTIVALS
Popular festivals in Villanueva del Arzobispo are Fiestas en Honor de la Virgen de Fuensanta, Festividad de San Miguel, San Blas, San Isidro and Fiestas en Honor al Santísimo Cristo de la Vera Cruz. More>
WEATHER FOARECAST
The weather forecast for the next few days for Villanueva del Arzobispo. More>
TOURIST OFFICE
The tourist office of Villanueva del Arzobispo is located in the Oficina de Información Turística. More>
BUS SERVICE
There are various bus services from Villanueva del Arzobispo. More>
NEARBY PLACES
The neighbouring villages to Villanueva del Arzobispo are Iznatoraf, Sorihuela del Guadalimar and Gutar.
https://www.andalucia.com/province/jaen/villanueva-del-arzobispo/bus-service