Larva
Larva is a small town located in the southeast of the province, in the corridor that separates the Sierras del Pozo and Sierra Mágina. Its territory slopes towards the Guadiana Menor river. Rainfall and vegetation are scarce and erosion is very strong, producing large ravines and streams that make up a semi-desert landscape.
More than half of the municipal term is dedicated to pastures, thyme and espartizales, the number of forest tree species being very small, sometimes the result of repopulation.The economy of its inhabitants is exclusively agricultural and subsistence, dependent on cereals, the olive tree, the caper and sheep farming.
Of its artistic heritage, the church of San Pedro Apóstol, built in the 18th century, has a simple structure both exterior and interior, and El Castellón, remains of an old Iberian cyclopean fortress from the 2nd and 1st centuries BC. C.
Information
Tourist area: Parque Natural de Sierra Mágina
Distance to the capital(km): 87
Altitude above sea level (m): 720
Extension(Km2): 42
Population: 500
Demonym: Larveños
Postal Code: 23591
Culture:
- The Parish Church of San Pedro Apóstol. Built at the end of the 17th century, it has a simple structure both inside and outside. Its façade is articulated in two bodies, with greater development in height than in length, it lacks ornamentation and its lintel door with a slightly escarzano curved arch. A small tower stands out which, in addition to fulfilling the function of a bell tower, distinguishes the church and underlines its greater height compared to the rest of the
- Old Town Hall. Whose facade houses a clock and a bell, according to the model of the town council houses of the enlightened colonization. It currently houses the municipal shelter.
- Urban helmet. Perhaps the most attractive thing about Larva. Located on a gentle slope, between the Pozo and La Cabrilla mountains, with a capricious layout of its streets, slight slopes, single or multi-family homes with a marked rural accent.
- El Castellón. Located in the Cerro del Castellón, the remains of a cyclopean Iberian fortress from between the 2nd and 1st centuries BC are preserved. It is a walled enclosure with a quadrangular structure and a cistern inside and with limestone ashlars that reach one and a half meters in length.&nb ...
Culture:
- The Parish Church of San Pedro Apóstol. Built at the end of the 17th century, it has a simple structure both inside and outside. Its façade is articulated in two bodies, with greater development in height than in length, it lacks ornamentation and its lintel door with a slightly escarzano curved arch. A small tower stands out which, in addition to fulfilling the function of a bell tower, distinguishes the church and underlines its greater height compared to the rest of the
- Old Town Hall. Whose facade houses a clock and a bell, according to the model of the town council houses of the enlightened colonization. It currently houses the municipal shelter.
- Urban helmet. Perhaps the most attractive thing about Larva. Located on a gentle slope, between the Pozo and La Cabrilla mountains, with a capricious layout of its streets, slight slopes, single or multi-family homes with a marked rural accent.
- El Castellón. Located in the Cerro del Castellón, the remains of a cyclopean Iberian fortress from between the 2nd and 1st centuries BC are preserved. It is a walled enclosure with a quadrangular structure and a cistern inside and with limestone ashlars that reach one and a half meters in length.&nb ...
Culture:
- The Parish Church of San Pedro Apóstol. Built at the end of the 17th century, it has a simple structure both inside and outside. Its façade is articulated in two bodies, with greater development in height than in length, it lacks ornamentation and its lintel door with a slightly escarzano curved arch. A small tower stands out which, in addition to fulfilling the function of a bell tower, distinguishes the church and underlines its greater height compared to the rest of the
- Old Town Hall. Whose facade houses a clock and a bell, according to the model of the town council houses of the enlightened colonization. It currently houses the municipal shelter.
- Urban helmet. Perhaps the most attractive thing about Larva. Located on a gentle slope, between the Pozo and La Cabrilla mountains, with a capricious layout of its streets, slight slopes, single or multi-family homes with a marked rural accent.
- El Castellón. Located in the Cerro del Castellón, the remains of a cyclopean Iberian fortress from between the 2nd and 1st centuries BC are preserved. It is a walled enclosure with a quadrangular structure and a cistern inside and with limestone ashlars that reach one and a half meters in length.
- El Tejar de los Moros. It is a medieval settlement a few meters from the urban area.
- Castellón Hill: Esta fortaleza, se sitúa en lo alto de un cerro aislado entre los llanos de Larva. Estos restos han sido fechados entre los siglos I y II a.C.. Se trata de una fortaleza ciclópea rectangular construida en piedra seca. En el interior de éste hay un aljibe de sillares regulares, más pequeños que los de los muros exteriores. Se han encontrado fragmentos de cerámica decorada con bandas geométricas de tipo ibérico, y cerámica medieval con decoración incisa.
- Virgin of Majada Blanquilla One kilometer from the town, on the Cabra del Santo Cristo road, there is an olive farm known among the neighbors as Majada Blanquilla. It is located in the highest area of Larva, and in it is the highest point of the Sierra de Larva with 1144 meters above sea level. It is here at this point, built by the hand of man, where there is a small sanctuary with a Marian image becoming a place of pilgrimage, and a perfect hiking route for the more experienced.
- Museum of Popular Arts and Customs, where we can know all kinds of traditional equipment and instruments, among which the farm implements and slaughter stand out.
Nature:
Larva is located in a privileged place between two natural parks in the province of Jaén. In a panoramic view, if we stand in the urban area looking north, we can see the Sierra Mágina Natural Park on the left, and the Sierra de Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas Natural Park on the right. In front you can see the World Heritage cities of Úbeda and Baeza. Behind us is the Sierra de Larva with steep slopes and a dominant presence of Mediterranean scrub, with abundant bushes of rosemary and thyme.
Esparto deserves special mention, which was so important in Larva history.
Aleppo pines predominate in the arboreal extract. The top of this mountain range is 1,144 m. of altitude, known as Cerro de los Picones.
Over the last decades the landscape has been changing, according to agricultural needs. The fields that we see have originally been occupied by large areas of cereal crops. With the passage of time the steppe landscape has undergone a great transformation, giving way to the cultivation of olive groves, and occupying the largest area destined for agricultural use, the cultivation of cereal being relegated to second place.
The rainfall is scarce.
The economy of its inhabitants is exclusively agricultural and subsistence, dependent on cereals, olive trees, capers and sheep farming. It is home to a rich fauna: wood pigeon, hoopoe, genet, badger, wild boar, rabbit ... and it is a favorable terrain for activities such as hiking, cycling and climbing, among others.
On the road to Cañada Real you will find the La Laguna farm. It is a flooded area, where in years of rain and snow a natural lagoon emerges, becoming a special place that is home to various species of birds and amphibians. Another place of great natural attraction for the visitor is the Paraje de "El Pozuelo". It is reached by the path that starts from "La Casería" towards the Sierra. A place of special interest for nature lovers, there are three springs, two of which are accessible for visiting: the Caño fountain-pool and the Cueva fountain-pool.
A few meters from these is the Cueva del Joso, a geological figure known colloquially as "shelter" whose use is intended to keep livestock. This place is ideal to practice adventure sports.
La Cañada recreational area: It is a perfectly equipped area that has an interesting viewpoint, a water fountain, an information panel on landscape interpretation and the panoramic view of the area that can be seen from there.
Leisure, parties and shows:
The visitor to this town can enjoy two festive cycles: those related to fire, and the great festivities and fairs.
Fire-related festivities:
- Santa Lucía, It is celebrated on December 13. The Larveños celebrate this day by lighting the “lights”, thus preserving the tradition from the times when they belonged to Cabra del Santo Cristo, a town where they celebrated this festival with the lighting of bonfires, around which people eat, drink, Dance and sing.
- San Antón, January 17. A day in which the "lights" will be re-lit on whose embers the slaughter sausages will be roasted.
- La Candelaria, February 2nd. With it, the cycle of festivities where the rite of fire is praised is closed. It is tradition that children come with baskets in which they carry donuts, a sprig of rosemary and, if necessary, some pigeons, to commemorate the Purification of the Virgin Mary, who went to the temple of Jerusalem to offer two turtledoves to the priests.
Cycle of the great festivities and fairs:
- San Marcos, April 25th. He is the Co-patron of the town. There are three days of festive and religious events in which the images of San Marcos and Nuestra Señora de los Dolores procession through the town. The image of San Marcos is done on the 25th and that of the Virgin in procession on the 26th.
- San Isidro, 15 th of May. Pagan festival extinguished and recovered a few years ago, when the saint was processioned and improvisedly mounted on a tractor, accompanied by the parishioners of the town to a raft near the municipality, celebrating a mass in his honor. Upon returning to the church, some residents of the town brought drinks and food, other tables and music, and this is how one year after another the pilgrimage of San Isidro in Larva has been consolidated.
- Feria de San Pedro. The festive cycle closes with the celebration that takes place in the first days of August, dedicated to San Pedro in which the dances and the booths will last several days.
Originally this festival was celebrated on June 29, the feast of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, but the presence on those dates of the harvests and stacks of wheat in the eras ran a serious risk of fire with the launch of the rockets. For this reason, and also so that on the days of the festival those larvae who are outside the town can be there during the year.
Gastronomy:
The gastronomy, which is part of the cultural heritage of the town, we have to highlight the products derived from the slaughter, such as the exquisite sausages or the marinated loin.
The following dishes are also rooted in tradition:
- Andrajos, either with hare, rabbit or fish.
- Gachas. In summer time they are prepared with roasted red peppers, green peppers and lots of tomato.
- Gachas dulces con tostones, that are consumed on All Saints' Day.
- Potaje de bacalao y Bacalao frito, typical dishes for the season of Lent and Easter.
From the confectionery: Homemade dumplings, silly mantecados, flowers (thin fried dough with mold), pan donuts, borrachuelos, “friar's ears” and puffs.
In Larva there have been up to 4 ovens, but depopulation and low profitability caused them to close. Towns such as Cabra del Santo Cristo or Peal del Becerro, supply the municipality with bread.
History:
The geographical situation of Larva, in the corridor that linked the Alto Guadalquivir, the depressions of Úbeda and Baeza, Guadix and Levante, means that these lands have been populated since the oldest prehistory. The place of origin of the current Larva is in the Iberian settlement of Cerro del Castellón, dated between the 2nd and 1st century BC.
It is a fortified enclosure located on a flat hill in the middle of a plain, which continued to be occupied in Roman times. The walls of ashlars are conserved and inside a great cistern. In Arab times this place was identified with the toponym of Ullaraua, which refers to the celebration of the "Wednesday market". Nearby is the refuge castle of Tejar de los Moros, a fortification located on a peak.
The enclosure was divided into two spaces: the lower one to house the animals, while the upper one, identified as a castle, served as a refuge for the neighboring populations. It is likely that Larva was a farmhouse dependent on this settlement. During the 13th century, Larva was on the Castilian-Nasrid border, playing an important role in controlling both Muslim and Christian revolts, the latter settled in the lands of the Advancement of Cazorla. Until 1836, Larva, belonged to Quesada, the date on which the residents request the dependency of the municipality of Cabra del Santo Cristo. The dependency of the new locality would last almost a century, until the year 1924, when it became a Minor Local Entity.
It would be in 1936 when its segregation as an independent municipality is consolidated. After the Civil War the population recovers, reaching 2,061 registered inhabitants in 1950.
From this decade on, population was losing, motivated by the emigration of people both to large cities, Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia ..., as well as to foreign nations. It currently has 450 inhabitants, one of the towns with the lowest population in the province.
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