VILLATORRES
by Saskia Mier
Villatorres was born in 1975 from the merging of Villagordo, Torrequebradilla and the nucleus of Vados de Torralba. The landscape is dominated by cereal fields and olive groves. It has about 4,300 inhabitants.
HISTORY
The municipality of Villatorres was born by a Decree in 1975 between the municipalities of Villargordo and Torrequebradilla, which were joined by the nucleus of Vados de Torralba. Archaeological finds unearthedin Villatorres testify to human presence in the area since Neolithic times (3000 BC). Remains of an Iberian-Roman enclosure were found on the hill of La Pedriza, and from the necropolis located in the Cortijo de la Chica came a funeral urn, indicating the high social status of the person buried there. Today, this can be seen in the Provincial Archaeological Museum. More>
THINGS TO SEE
Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción (Villargordo)
There is little data on the church as its archive was entirely lost during the Spanish Civil War, as well as most of its objects of worship, images and altarpieces. The oldest part of the church is thought to be its choir, whilst the oil painting by Juan Almagro, of the Capilla de las Ánimas, was made in 1943. On March 10, 1941, the Ministry of the Interior and the National Board of Reconstruction of Parish Temples issued a decree by which subsidies were granted to repair churches damaged by war. A restoration and expansion project was devised for this church and put forward on June 10, 1954, but a year later it wasdenied, since the damages suffered by the church were not caused by military actions. Located on Calle Campanas. (Location)
Ermita de Santa Ana (Villargordo)
The sixteenth/seventeenth-century chapel has an esplanade from which you can see the entire town, as well asneighbouring towns such as Baeza, Jabalquinto, Mancha Real, Mengíbar and the city of Jaén. It is home to the image of Santo Cristo de la Salud, a small Baroque wood carving dating from the sixteenth century. In the early nineteenth century, during a severe cholera outbreak, locals would process the chapel’s Crucified icon around the town in prayer for the sick. In 1834, many sufferers recovered from the terrible disease, so from this point onward, the icon became known as Santísimo Cristo de la Salud (Holy Christ of Health).The chapel was later remodeled in 1867, and on several subsequent occasions, most recently in 2009. Locatedon Calle Pablo Iglesias. (Location)
Iglesia de San Francisco de Paula (Torrequebradilla)
The church stands out as the most significant cultural asset in the urban area. It consists of a gabled nave covered with Arabic tiles,a slightly pronounced transept, as corresponds to its Latin cross-shaped plan, a dome that is covered in four waters on the outside and a belfry, which marks the maximum height of the temple.Located in Plaza Mayor. (Location)
Palacio de los Fernández de Córdoba (Torrequebradilla)
Construction of the palace was ordered by Don Íñigo Fernández de Córdoba y Mendoza towards the middle of the seventeenth century. It was divided into two sections, a sunny upper terrace and a lower access section, which was made through large semicircular arches on simple pilasters that extend vertically to the upper floor. The constructive severity, as well as the ornamental austerity, show that it was conceived not so much as an emblem of the greatness and power of the Lord of Torralba and Torrequebradilla, but as a residential palace with the function of a manor house to administer agricultural and grazing tasks in fields and pastures. Today it is abandoned. Located on Calle Pozo. (Location)
MueseoCerezo Moreno (Villargordo)
Francisco Cerezo was a very prolific painter who kept a large collection of his works on his property towards the end of his life. It was at this time that the artist offered his entire collection to the town of Villargordo, on the express condition that a permanent exhibition of it be mounted. The collection is made up of a set of oil paintings from different periods (portraits, still life and landscapes), a sample of twelve pen drawings and a series of oil paintings on panel with traditional scenes from the town of Segura de la Sierra. Due to its artistic value, the museum has become a benchmark for painting and art galleries in the province of Jaén and throughout Andalusia. Located in Plaza de la Constitución. (Location)
Opening Times:
September-June, Tuesday-Friday, 17:00-20:00hrs
September-June, Saturday and Sunday, 10:00-13:00hrs
July and August, Tuesday-Sunday, 10:00-13:00hrs
Free entry
Tel: 953 37 70 00
Iglesia de Vados de Torralba (Vados de Torralba)
Representative of post-war colonial architecture, this church was built in the 1950s according to a project by Víctor López Morales. Its plan is rectangular and its interior is spacious. The presbytery is characterized by white walls surrounding a large central mural, a figurative rendering of the annunciation of the Virgin. The external walls are whitewashed. Its side windows and crosses on the façade are also characteristic, as well as its great tower, a symbol of the traditions of Vados de Torralba.Located in Plaza de la Constitución. (Location)
NATURAL AREAS
Cerro de San Cristóbal
The settlement is located at an altitude of 376m above sea level. At the top of this flat hill there are remains that indicate numerous historic occupations of the site, such as the Iberian period (possibly from the fifth century BC). From the Roman era, there is a small cistern. Ceramic remains indicate human settlements from the Iberian, Roman, Visigoth, Muslim and Christian periods.
Cerro de Las Pedrizas
The Cerro de Las Pedrizas settlement is located at an altitude of 366m above sea level.It is similar to Cerro de San Cristóbal; a hill surrounded by Iberian walls. One of the walls at the top of the hill is preserved in a relatively good condition, with an approximate height of about 60cm.
GASTRONOMY
When visiting Villatorres, try local dishes such as ajillomolero (potato and pepper puree eaten with bread), salpicón de melón (tomato and melon salad), migas (breadcrumbs fried with chorizo), pipirrana (tomato, pepper and onion salad) and perdicesen escabeche (partridge escabeche). Sweet treats include roscas de San Marcos (bread plait with hard boiled eggs), roscos de San Antón (orange doughnuts) and roscos de aguardiente (aniseed liqueur biscuits).
FESTIVALS
Popular festivals in Villatorres are San Antón, Semana Santa, Fiesta de las Flores and San Marco. More>
TOURIST OFFICE
Ayuntamiento de Villatorres, Plaza de la Constitución, 5 (Location)
NEARBY PLACES
The neighbouring villages to Villatorres are Mengíbar, Jaén City and Puente del Obispo.