Priego de Cordoba

The Fuente del Rey is an extraordinary fountain © Michelle Chaplow
The Fuente del Rey is an extraordinary fountain

PRIEGO DE CÓRDOBA

Priego de Córdoba is a prosperous olive-farming town standing on a plateau, overlooking the rolling hills of the Sierras Subbéticas Natural Park, and is famous for its Baroque churches, in which convoluted patterns are elegantly incised into the stone façades. It has around 22, 500 inhabitants.

HISTORY

The first references to Priego date to the Middle Paleolithic era (40,000-33,000 BC). Much later, the Roman Empire occupied the area between the third century BC and the fifth century AD. During the period of the Caliphate of Córdoba, the settlement was known as Medina Bahiga. Priego de Córdoba was the capital of one of the Coras of the territory of Al-Ándalus whilst Muslim ruling in the Iberian Peninsula was developed in the middle of the ninth century. See more >

THINGS TO SEE

Fuente del Rey
After successive transformations since the sixteenth century, the fountain was completed in the early 1900s. Designed in a Baroque style by Remigio del Mármol, it consists of a sculpture of a lion fighting a snake by Álvarez Cubero and one of Neptune and Anfítrite riding on a chariot drawn by horses that come out of the water, made by Remigio del Mármol. There are a total of 139 pipes, many of them marked with stone masks of phantasmagorical faces. The fountain has been declared a National Monument, and is located on Paseo Fuente del Rey.

Castillo
The thirteenth-century castle was later remodeled in the sixteenth. There is a large prayer tower and six other smaller towers.  Military in architectural style, it is austere, as befits its original defensive purpose. The tower, Torre del Homenaje, has been a National Historic-Artistic Monument since 1943. It measures 30m in height, part of which is partly underground today. It is located on Calle Marqués de Priego.

Barrio de la Villa 
This quarter is the oldest residential area of the town, consisting of whitewashed houses with walls decorated by plant pots of geraniums and petunias. The doors and windows are neatly painted in blue or green. The homes' rainwater gutters and drain pipes are very unusual for southern Spain, and the houses are separated by a maze of very narrow cobbled lanes, too narrow for a car.

Carnicerias Reales
This was the slaughterhouse and market in the sixteenth century, designed by Francisco del Castillo, with a Mannerist style cover of Italian design. It centres around a central patio with a colonnade of arches. A beautiful stone spiral staircase communicates the main building with the lower level that was intended for the sacrifice of cattle. Located on Calle Santiago.

Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción
The Gothic-Mudejar church's construction began in 1525, later remodeled in Baroque style in the eighteenth century. The sacristy chapel is known as a masterpiece of the Spanish Baroque style, and the tower dates to 1541. The church can be found on Calle Santa Ana.

Iglesia de la Aurora
The church was built in the fifteenth century on a previous mosque after the Christian re-conquest. In the middle of the eighteenth century, it was completely reformed by Juan de Dios Santaella; the previous hermitage was demolished and a new, larger building was designed and built under Baroque guidelines. It is located on Calle Carrera de Álvarez.

Iglesias y Ermitas
With so much rich history, Priego de Córdoba has many religious temples to explore such as; Iglesia de San Francisco, Iglesia de San Pedro, Iglesia de San Juan de Díos, Iglesia del Carmen, Iglesia de las Mercedes, Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de las Angustias, Ermita del Calvario and Ermita de Belén.

Casa Museo D. Niceto Alcalá-Zamora y Torres
The building which houses the Museum was the birthplace of the President of the Second Spanish Republic, Niceto Alcalá-Zamora y Torres. It is a beautiful nineteenth-century manor house, and the Museum was opened in 1986, displaying a collection of objects and original furniture of the President's house, as well as display cabinets and information panels that combine photographs, drawings and texts arranged chronologically.

Opening Times:
Tuesday-Saturday, 11:00-14:00hrs and 16:30-18:30hrs
Sunday, 11:00-14:00hrs
Tel: 957 54 30 30

Museo Histórico Municipal
This Museum was established on November 24, 1983 and consists of four rooms dedicated to the Palaeolithic, Neolithic, Iberian, Roman and Middle Ages. Its function is the study, classification, exhibition and investigation of the archaeological heritage of the town, and it can be visited on Calle Carrera de las Monjas.

Opening Times:
Tuesday-Saturday, 10:00-13:30hrs and 18:00-20:00hrs
Sunday, 10:00-13:30hrs
Price: Free Entrance
Tel: 957 54 09 47

Museo Adolfo Lozano Sidro
This Museum was inaugurated in 1999 and occupies the first and second floors of the former family home of the Calvo Lozano, which was donated to the Town Hall in 1985. Adolfo Lozano Sidro was born in Priego in 1872, studied in laga, and settled in Madrid in the last year of the nineteenth century. He was considered one of the greatest Spanish illustrators of his time, publishing his work mainly in "Black and White" magazine. The Museum presents more than 70 original works by the painter and a wide collection of drawings and sketches. The second floor shows the apartment occupied by the painter during his stays in Priego, the highlight of which is his studio, with his easels and tools, as well as sketches, memories, and unfinished works, positioned almost exactly as they were at the time of the artist's death in 1935. Located on Calle Carrera de las Monjas.

Opening Times:
Tuesday-Friday, 10:00-13:30hrs and 18:00-20:30hrs
Saturday, 10:00-13:30hrs and 17:00-19:30hrs
Sunday and Holidays, 10:00-13:30hrs
Price: Free Entrance
Tel: 957 54 09 47

Centro de Arte del Paisaje Español Contemporáneo Antonio Povedano
This Centre was created in 1996 by the Town Hall in tribute to Antonio Povedano, who had promoted the activities of the Free School of Arts of Priego de Córdoba years before. It is dedicated in a monographic way to the 'landscape', presenting different ways of seeing and interpreting the landscape through the work of some of the most renowned Spanish specialists of this genre. Located on Calle Carrera de las Monjas.

THINGS TO SEE OUTSIDE THE VILLAGE

Jardín Micológico La Trufa
This mycological garden, a pioneer of its genre and unique in Europe, owes its name to the summer truffle, a similar species to the black truffle, which is usually found in holm oaks. This space is an official UNESCO World Geopark and is recognised by the Natura 2000 Special Conservation Area (ZEC) and the Special Protection Area for Birds (ZEPA). The facilities are divided into eight zones where the most representative ecosystems of Andalusia have been recreated. The gardens are located on Carretera CO-8211.

Mueso de la Almendra
The Almond Museum is an initiative of the Almendras Morales family business. Since 1910, the Morales family has been selling some of the one hundred plus varieties of Spanish almonds. This Museum is a tribute to a whole family saga and, in addition, a space to learn the history, cultivation and extraordinary properties of almonds in Spain. Located on Carretera A-333.

HANDICRAFTS

Traditional local crafts produced in Priego de Córdoba consist of ironwork, carpentry and esparto weaving.

GASTRONOMY

When visiting the village, try traditional dishes such as relleno de carnaval (stuffed meat roll), morcilla de sesos (black pudding), pavo con almendra (turkey with almond), revuelto de collejas (scrambled eggs with campion), albóndigas de semana santa (meatballs eaten at Easter), flamenquin (pork roll stuffed with ham and cheese) and rabo de toro (oxtail). Sweet treats include bollos de manteca (lard cakes), cuajado del almendra (almond pudding) and turrolate (a sweet made with almonds, chocolate, cinnamon and peanuts).

Festivals in Luque

Festivals that are popular in Luque are Cabalgata Reyes Magos, La Candelaria, Carnaval, Holy Week, Romería de la Virgen de la Cabeza, Feria Real. More>

Tourist Office

See Tourist Office >

NEARBY PLACES

The neighbouring villages to Priego de Córdoba are Carcabuey and Almedinilla.