Torredonjimeno

TORREDONJIMENO

by Saskia Mier

Torredonjimeno has a fascinating historical and artistic heritage, and sits on two of Andalusia’s major cultural routes, the Ruta de los Nazaríes del Legado Andalusí (Nasrid Andalusian Legacy Route) and Ruta de los Castillos (Castles Route).The town has about 13,600 inhabitants.

HISTORY

The first lithic materials indicating early human presence in the area were unearthed on the sites of Arroyo del Abandonado and El Barranquillo and correspond to the Paleolithic era. During the Copper Age (third millennium BC), the lands which comprise today’s Torredonjimenounderwent a process of colonisation. It was a community formed of smaller, disparate settlements established in places of easy defense, of which Piedra de Cuca, Cerro Buitreras and Cerro Portichuelos stand out. Towards the end of the Bronze Age (second millennium BC), a period of crisis resulted in the abandonment of these settlement. More>

Hotels

THINGS TO SEE

Castillo
The castle dates from the thirteenth centuryand featuresan irregular quadrangular plan, 80m long and 50m wide, with angles reinforced by square and circular towers more than 11m high and 5mwide. Under the domain of the Order of Calatrava, improvements were made to the castle, consisting of the construction of a fortified moat, presenting a double walled circuit in the middle of the fifteenth century. At the beginning of the fifteenth century, the palatial house of Don Luis de Guzmán, Master of the Order of Calatrava, was built, the interior Mudejar polychrome alfarjeof which stands out. The Castle had a tower, the Torre del Homenaje,that was badly damaged, possibly due to an earthquake. Inside this tower, the first book on the art of bullfighting was written, dated from the year 1551, the only copy of which is found at the University of Salamanca. In the middle of the eighteenth century, when the Duke of Abrantes lived in the castle, it was modified; new rooms, a courtyard with central fountain and two oil mills were added, the latter to take advantage of materials from the eastern zone of the castle’s grounds. Today,the castle is partially restored, with parts of its walls, moat, towers, palatial house, mill and gardens conserved. The oil mill building houses the Visigoth Treasure Interpretation Centre and a permanent fossil exhibition. The castle was declared a Site of Cultural Interest in 1985.Located on Calle Cantera. (Location)

Puente de San Sebastián
The San Sebastián bridge dates from the sixteenth century. It is contiguous on one side with the former Puerta de Martos and on the other with the pillar of the same name that rises over the bed of the salty stream. It responds to a Renaissance trace, made in stonework and with beautiful proportions. It is composed of a single semicircular eye framed by strong stirrups. Located on Calle Cádiz. (Location)

Palacio Municipal
This building was originally commissioned as the Town Hall, to serve one of the most important nuclei of the Order of Calatrava.Its construction was sponsored by the Mayor,Don Andrés de Guevara Calatayud, began in the early seventeenth century and ended in 1642. The building is of great significance to the community, both a symbol of the splendor of Tosyrian history and a statement about architecture’s crucial civic and economic role. In 2007, it was declared anAsset of Cultural Interest. Located in Plaza de la Constitución. (Location)

La Fuente-Pilar de Martingordo
This fountain is of medieval origin and was renovated in the eighteenth century. The façade is organized by means of four Doric-Tuscan pilasters, between which there are blind semicircular arches, topped by an entablature and decorated triangular pediment studs, on whose tympanum the Torredonjimeno shield appears in half relief and cartouches on each side, with legends alluding to its construction in 1721. (Location)

Iglesia de Santa María
This church was built in the sixteenth century, taking advantage of the materials of the urban wall of the city. It was reformed in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and has a Gothic architectural style. The original altarpiece dated from 1537 butwas largely destroyed in 1936;only the crown and curtains survived, and they have been perfectly integrated into the current altarpiece’s design, the work of Amadeo Ruiz Olmos. The temple was expanded in 1671, incorporating a chapel next to the presbytery. The second extension of the temple is from the early eighteenth century. In 2010, it was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest. Located in Plaza Santa María. (Location)

Iglesia de San Pedro Apóstol
This Renaissance-style church, designed by Francisco del Castillo, was built in 1592. It is divided into three naves by sober Tuscan columns that support a Mudejar coffered ceiling. The altarpiece, from the first halfof the seventeenth century, is originally from a convent in Valladolid. Also noteworthy is the large number of Holy Weekpaintworks, many of them by Francisco Palma Burgos and Amadeo Ruiz Olmos. Located in Plaza San Pedro. (Location)

Convento de Nuestra de la Piedad
Founded by Don Jerónimo de Padilla, Knight of the Order of Santiago, to house a convent and school for maidens. Around 1550, the works on the church and the rest of the monastery’s premises were finished. Inside are the burial chambers of the founders and their family. The church has a single nave, with side chapels embedded in the wall. It has a double choir on the feet and on the side of the presbytery. The Baroque altarpiece dates from 1728. Located on Calle Monjas Altas. (Location)

Convento de la Victoria
The seventeenth-century convent was in operation until 1840, when it disappeared due to the confiscation of Mendizábal. Only the convent church that occupied the entire block is preserved, of which only the vaults and sides are conservedas original elements. Located in Plaza Victoria. (Location)

Convento de San José de la Montaña
The twentieth-century convent has been run by the Mothers of Desamparados and SanJosé de la Montaña Congregation since 1917. It was originally designed to serve as a hospital, and today functions as a convent, asylum, elderly residence and primary and secondary school. Located on Avenida de la Paz. (Location)

THINGS TO SEE OUTSIDE THE VILLAGE

Molino del Cubo
On November 30, 1227, King Ferdinand III of Castile conquered the city of Baeza, and a year later, on December 8, 1228, the Castilian King donated the territory of Martos and its region to the Order of Calatrava, who built the mill of Cubo in1437. The history of the property wentunnoticed until the Spanish Civil War, at which time people from all over the city gathered under its protection to barter food and engage in forbidden meetings, so the mill workers decided to invent the legend that a leprechaun lived in the construction. From this point, the building became the subject of countless local myths, including one about a child who died in the stream and whose spirit prowls the site. The only legend with witnesses is that of a levitating man, dressed in black, whose existence is testified by local women who used to visit the stream to do their laundry. The mill is a cubic construction, hence its name; it is not, therefore, a hydraulic work similar to the cube mills of Islamic or medieval origin. It is currently well preserved. Located 2km south east of Torredonjimeno, off the A-316. (Location)

Ermita de la Virgen de Consolación
The chapel dates to the late fifteenth or early sixteenth centuries, with a Gothic sacristy from the time of the reign of the Catholic Monarchs. Located 1km from the town. (Location)

Ermita de los Santos Cosme y Damián
This Renaissance-Baroque-style chapel is situated on the road to Martos. It seems that the construction of the church was related to a plague epidemic which devastated the locality in 1580; the chapel was inaugurated on September 26, 1584. The primitive hermitage underwent various restorationsin the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. (Location)

NATURAL AREAS

Calvario
Known as thelungs of the town, the Calvariohill is a mass of pine forest mixed with holm oaks and Mediterranean scrub. Through a wide and smooth path, along which there are several stone crosses, you reach its peak, finding the small chapel dedicated to San Cristóbal. This hill is a viewpoint that offers fineviews of the historic center of Torredonjimeno.Located to the southeast of the town.

Paraje del Molino del Cubo
The area near the mill is crossed by the Arroyo del Cubo, forming numerous waterfalls with Mediterranean scrub and riverbank vegetation abound. Located 3km from the town, near the Vía Verde del Aceite.

COUNTRYSIDE WALKS

Vía Verde del Aceite
This vía verde (greenway) covers 55km between Jaén and the Guadajoz River, where it joins the Vía Verde of the Subbética. It is suitable for walkers, cyclists and wheelchair users.The route follows part of the 120km-long Jaén-Puente Genil railway line used for transporting olive oil from the late nineteenth century onwards, linking Jaén with Málaga and Algeciras and opening up the market for oil. Dubbed the ‘tren de aceite’ (oil train), it facilitated the first bulk transportation of olive oil. The line also carried coal from the Belmez mine, as well as lead and other minerals from the mines in Linares, to the port in Málaga. However, the railway was unprofitable and closed in 1985.

GASTRONOMY

When visiting Torredonjimeno, try local dishes such as pipirrana (tomato, pepper and onion salad), encebollado de bacalao (cod soup), sop de albóndigas (meatball stew), migas (breadcrumbs fried with chorizo) and ensaladilla de pimientos rojos (red pepper salad). Sweet treats include buñuelos (doughnuts), picatostes (fried bread), huesos de santo (marzipan) and pestiños (sweet honey pastries).

FESTIVALS

Popular festivals in Torredelcampo areSan Isidro, Semana Santa, Feria de San Pedro and Romería de Nuestra Señora de Consolación.More>

NEARBY PLACES

The neighbouring villages to Torredonjimeno are Jamilena, Martos, Villardompardo and Torredelcampo.

TOURIST OFFICE

Ayuntamiento de Torredonjimeno, Plaza Constitución, 1, BAJO (Location)