Route
of Sierra Mágina

This route runs through the southeast of the province guided by outstanding interventions by A. de Vandelvira in religious architecture, either in diocesan or private commissions, through a splendid natural landscape such as the Sierra Mágina Natural Park. In it we will visit from significant stately villas to others of new plant, fruit of the colonization carried out in the 16th century to the south of Jaén, with outstanding landmarks also in military and civil architecture.
To complete this route in its entirety, it takes two days or at least a day and a half. It could also be divided into two: one, which comprises the Jaén-Huelma route, and the other, Jaén-Bedmar, which runs the sequence proposed here in the opposite direction. Both of a single day with departure and return to Jaén.

La Guardia

At 5 km from Jaén on the E-902 highway is this town, which, as its name indicates, stands in defense of the capital after the Christian conquest of Jaén in the 13th century. Previously it was an important Visigothic center, settled on the Iberian and Roman population (Mentesa) and even older still, on a Neolithic site. Also under Muslim domination, La Guardia had the rank of capital within the heart of Jaén. Converted into a manor in 1331, in the 16th century in the hands of the Messia family it reached its greatest splendor with the marriage of Don Rodrigo Messia and Doña Mayor de Fonseca.

Obviously an essential element of the town is its castle, which occupies a large area on the highest and flattest level of the town. Of Arab origin, the set of towers, the enclosure and the Church of Santa María that it houses inside are Gothic and Renaissance Christian transformations, of which the set of the fortress at the north end stands out, a citadel with a regularized plan with four towers with the outstanding Homage tower enabled for the residence of the lords of the Guard and in which Gothic ribbed vaults with Renaissance ornamentation meet. The same happens with the church, close to the wall, of which only the perimeter walls and the tower with the last quarter of the 16th century remain, the work of Francisco del Castillo, “El Mozo”.

The Convent of Santa Catalina, of the order of Santo Domingo, at the foot of the castle, is the foundation of the famous preacher Fr. Domingo de Valtanás (1530). Most of it has been lost, remaining only a part of the cloister and the church, which under the invocation of the Assumption, acts as a parish. This is, however, the most brilliant and one of the landmark works in the career of A. de Vandelvira, who intervenes in it in 1542, on a previous layout, which he transforms into a Vandelvirian space in which we see the type of pillar that later It will be applied in the cathedral of Jaén and a waste of canteril virtuosity in the vault of the presbytery and in that of the transept. This intervention is carried out under the auspices of Rodrigo Messia and Mayor Fonseca, although in the end the church (which was not completely finished) and the convent extend their construction in time, giving entry to the architect Francisco del Castillo, “El Mozo ”, To whom corresponds the section of the feet.

Next to the convent is the old laundry, recently restored and rehabilitated as a cultural center, a work of the last century of notable constructive and anthropological interest.

Not far from the previous one, in the Plaza de Isabel II, we find the other relevant mark of the Renaissance in La Guardia, the public fountain, of the pillar-water trough type, dated in 1566, although with reforms from the 19th century. Its landscape format with five pipes within a cloth framed by columns of clear Vandelvirian roots, makes it indebted to the master.

A tour through the steep streets to the circular Plaza del Ayuntamiento and a glance at the Hermitage of San Sebastián, complete the visit to La Guardia.

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Pegalajar

Two kilometers from La Guardia, following the E-902 highway, we leave it, to turn left through a district that leads to Pegalajar, a Christian outpost on the border with Granada after being conquered by Fernando III in 1244, it belonged to the municipality of Jaén until its independence as a town in 1559.

Also here the castle was erected as the most important construction, but unlike La Guardia, there are hardly any remains of it: a door, whose pointed stone arch (Arco de la Encarnación) stands out in one of the main streets of the town, and the Torre del Homenaje, transformed into a bell tower of the Parish Church of Santa Cruz, a late 16th century church, attributed to Vandelvira's follower, Alonso Barba.

Of the two suburbs or extramural neighborhoods, located at lower levels, the Town Hall is located in one of them, in the Plaza de la Laguna, which preserves a very classicist stone façade of Renaissance tradition although retouched in the 18th century. In the other suburb, the main protagonist is the "Charca" or large pool with a beautiful stone parapet dating from 1605, a natural aquifer today almost lost, which irrigated the Huertas, or terraced terraces on the hillside, which constitute a declared landscape and protected as a Site of Cultural Interest.

In its surroundings the Ermita de las Nieves, of a simple but spacious construction and with an important painting of the Immaculate Conception, a copy or from the Murillo school.

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Cambil

Returning to the highway, eight kilometers ahead, we turn off to take the N324, which leads us to this picturesque town nestled between two rocks in a narrowing of the Oviedo river, defended by the Cambil and Alhabar Castles, of which there are hardly any remains, so effectively that being so close to Jaén it resisted in Nasrid hands until 1485, when it was conquered by the Catholic Monarchs.

To be highlighted, apart from the views of the hamlet that can be seen from either of the two banks of the river, the Church of La Encarnación, from the late 16th century, a work framed within the Vandelvirian school. Inside we highlight the main altarpiece, the work of Sebastián de Solís, and some pieces of Mudejar carpentry.

Walking through its streets, we discover some houses with Baroque façades, among which two stand out: the Hospital, founded by Bishop Fr. Benito Marín (c. 1760) and the Casa del Condestable, both with warped plans and bombastic ornamentation characteristic of the Cordovan and Sevillian baroque.

We leave the urban nucleus and take the N-324 again, going up the riverbed to enter the heart of the Sierra Mágina Natural Park, heading to Huelma. At 6 km we find Mata Begid, an annex of Cambil, which had its origin in an Arab castle, which, conquered by Fernando III, was handed over to the city of Jaén until it was sold to the Bosch family in 1860. The Monastery of Santa María de Oviedo, of the Order of San Basilio and there a Cavalry Remonta Headquarters was later installed before passing into private hands. The neo-Gothic hermitage and the creation of a striking romantic garden, which links the hermitage with the houses, dates from this moment. Later a light factory and an oil mill would be added.

On the same road, but already close to Huelma, we have the Fuensanta Sanctuary, famous for the water from its well that the faithful of the pilgrimage go to drink, which is celebrated on the first Sunday in September, for the healing powers that are attributed to him.

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Huelma

The villa of the Marquis of Santillana, Don Iñigo López de Mendoza, who conquered it in 1438, and whose beautiful mountain scenery served as inspiration for the Marquis for his poetic compositions.

The castle, which dominates the town, responds to that type of residential fortress with a square plan with four circular towers characteristic of the 15th century.

The indisputable monument that guides us, however, is the Parish Temple of La Asunción, thanks to the intervention of A. de Vandelvira at the end of 1550 on what was already started by Castillo "el viejo" and Domingo de Tolosa, later completed with the contribution of Castillo "El Mozo". One of the most beautiful churches of the Jaén Renaissance.

A few kilometers from Huelma, following the N-324 in the direction of Úbeda, the Iberian Site of El Pajarillo is located, which has illuminated excellent sculptural pieces stored in the Provincial Museum of Jaén.

Continuing in the same direction, on the right hand side there is a local road that leads us to Castillo de Solera and Cabra de Santo Cristo. It is an optional detour from our route. The first is a small nucleus extended at the foot of the rock in which an almost demolished castle is embedded. The second, at the eastern end of the province, was configured between the 16th and 17th centuries, especially in the latter, thanks to the miraculous presence of the “Cristo de Burgos”, a canvas with miraculous properties by which a good temple, made by the Jaen architects, Juan de Aranda and Eufrasio López, and equipped with a large altarpiece from the 18th century.

If we do not leave the N-324, bordering the Jandulilla river, our main route, we will find the town of Bélmez de la Moraleda on the left, without interest from an artistic and monumental point of view, although it became famous for its mysterious "faces" appeared on the floor of a private house.

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Bedmar

About 20 km beyond the Bélmez junction we find another that will take us along the C-328 to Bédmar. However, optionally, if we continue 4 more km we will reach Jódar, a manor town, which played an important role under Islamic rule. It has a Castle with a strong Homage Tower, recently restored and provided with an interesting Interpretation Center. It also has a good parish church, under the title of La Asunción, started in the 16th century, although most of it was configured during the 18th century, with an excellent neoclassical façade; a Hermitage of Santo Cristo, which has a good baroque carving of the crucified, the Christ of Mercy, patron of the town, and an interesting Neo-historical Town Hall from the first quarter of the 20th century in the same square as the parish church.

The town of Bédmar, which at first belonged to the Order of Santiago, became a manor town when Don Alonso de la Cueva acquired it by purchase in 1562, later transformed into a marquisate with Felipe III. The strategic and military importance, as in Jódar, derives in the construction of a powerful castle in the 15th century, today very deteriorated, but of great beauty and interest in its defensive system.

In the shadow of the castle, the Church of La Asunción, of Gothic origin, as can be seen in the head, but extensively renovated as a result of the acquisition of the town by Alonso de la Cueva, is inscribed in the line of the Vandelvirian temples made in this case by Castillo "El Mozo", with beautiful Mannerist covers.

In the outskirts of the town, in a beautiful natural setting on the banks of the Cuadros river and at the foot of a medieval watchtower, is the hermitage of the patron saint of Bédmar, the Virgen de Cuadros, which well preserves its factory and pictorial decoration from the beginning of the century XVII.

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Garcíez

This small town, today municipally annexed to Bédmar, settled in the valley, equidistant from Bédmar and Jimena, was the lordship of the Count of Garcíez, who in recent times passed into the hands of the Marquis of Viana, Alfonso XIII's sommelier. Testimony of this stately past is the Palace of the Count of Garcíez, very dilapidated, but with a sober classical marble façade, of the Doric order, and a courtyard with very good reliefs, dating from the late 16th century. It is currently being rehabilitated by its current owner.
The Parish Church of La Asunción, although simple, also responds to the style of the mid-16th century, built by a stonemason from Baezano who worked on other occasions under Vandelvira: Miguel Ruiz de la Peña. This church had a piece of exceptional quality, today in the cathedral of Jaén, the Cardinal Merino Missal, made in workshops in northern Italy.

Jimena

Again on the C-328 we find Jimena stretched out on the hillside, a town with a strong medieval, Arab and Christian stamp, with a castle in the center of the town whose Plaza de la Constitución overlooks the Torre del Homenaje, square and strong with mudejar mullioned windows and inside the remains of a curious theme of naval scenes painted on its walls, dating from around the 15th century.
The Parish Church of Santiago is the most outstanding piece. A large factory started in a late Gothic style already in the 16th century visible in its main chapel, which on the outside already shows classical ornamental motifs, possibly when the town passed from the hands of the Order of Calatrava to that of Doña María de Mendoza, widow already from Francisco de los Cobos. The temple has undergone a serious reform in the 60s of the last century.
Perhaps better known are the cave paintings of the Cueva de la Graja, in the Sierra del Lanchar, of a schematic type, considered from the Neolithic period.

Albanchez de Mágina

From Jimena we go back two kilometers to take a detour that takes us into the heart of Sierra Mágina, surrounding the highest mountainous nucleus with the peaks of Aznaitín (1740m) and Monteagudo (1683m), among which are the villages of Albanchez and Torres. The eight kilometers to reach Albanchez pass along the river Hutar in the middle of a beautiful mountain landscape and in the background, the town of Albanchez perched on a hillside, dominated by a rock castle, whose access is an exhilarating hiking exercise.
The tight hamlet of the town invites you to penetrate through its steep streets to the square where the Parish Church of La Asunción is located, very simple, but with its basilica structure of a Renaissance temple, which is covered by a cassette vault in combination with Mudejar armor. It also has an interesting stone baptismal font from the 14th century.
It is essential to try the traditional sweets from the Contreras oven.
The offer of rural tourism allows us to rest in the Cortijo de Hutar, very well restored and with exceptional views.
 

Torres

At 9 km from Albanchez de Mágina, this town is located that was acquired by Francisco de los Cobos from the Order of Calatrava, in 1539. This will give rise to an active presence of A. de Vandelvira documented in his church, a bridge and such Once in the plans of the House-Warehouse. All this within an urban structure adapted to its disposition on a hillside of great picturesque effect.

The Parish Church of Santo Domingo, on a spur that becomes a splendid viewpoint, is very disturbed to recognize the hand of Vandelvira, which however is its author. In return, he does offer us a unique baptismal font made of Mudejar glazed ceramic from the 15th century.

The House-Warehouse, to store the income of the Marquises of Camarasa, today rehabilitated for health and cultural functions, has an interesting classicist façade, dated 1565, which is related to Vandelvian designs.

In the same way, the bridge or “La Puente”, as it is popularly called, which crosses the riverbed of the Torres river to go up to the Fuenmayor area, where the bread mills were located, is a documented work of Vandelvira from the same date.

The Fuenmayor spring, about 10 km from Torres, is one of the most beautiful natural places in the province. Especially recommended is the visit during the flowering of the cherry trees, whose fruit is also of excellent quality.

From Torres we reach Mancha Real, either continuing along the same local road that we brought until connecting with the C-328, or through another local, shorter route.

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Mancha Real

It is the most important nucleus of the whole series of colonization towns carried out in the surroundings of Jaén during the first third of the 16th century. An experience, which is of the greatest interest in the face of the parallel process of large-scale colonization that was beginning in America. Settled on a plain, 15 km from Jaén, its layout is strictly orthogonal with streets of two different widths, crossed from east to west by a main or Maestra street, with the rectangular Plaza in the center, where the church is located. the town hall and other municipal offices, according to the original plan, dated 1537.
The most important monumental piece is the church of San Juan Bautista, in which Vandelvira's hand is present on its side portal. Also in what is the structure of the temple it follows the Vandelvian schemes, although it was not fully realized until well into the seventeenth century.