Tourist Office
Oficina de Información Turística
Plaza de Andalucía, 3
Tlf.: 953 545 130
oficinaturismo@porcuna.es
Description
Among large plains of green olive trees is a noble atalaya in which is found Porcra, a universe in stone carved through its six thousand years of history.
Canteros of all times recorded in their walls the mark of an illustrious past, leaving for eternity the echo of their master's. In it the sculptural set of Cerrillo Blanco was modeled; the solid foundations of the Roman Obulco were raised; it served as the custody of an Andalusian bulwark and was the site of matres and calatraves.
Its golden stone carved by hand looks majestic in monuments and squares that open to the astonishment of those who contemplate it.
Our earth, changing in appearance, but unchanging spirit, has traveled through time wrapped in names that narrate the same essence: Ipolca, Obulco, Bulkuna... Porcella.
Today, Porcilla invites you to enter into its charms, to lose you through its serene streets, to feel the closeness of its people and to taste, without haste, the truth of its gastronomy. Because here, every stone tells a story and every story awaits you.
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Culture
Ibero site of White Crow
The pale tone of its rocks gives meaning to the name of this small hill located two and a half kilometres from the urban core of Porcra: White Crow.
Archeologically involved during the 1970s of the last century, the process of human use of the field is delimited in three moments.
First, during the tartesic period, there is a distinction between an inhumation necropolis dated around the 7th century BC. There are twenty-four individual graves and a double-chamber grave.
From a second epoch, around the 5th century BC, is the largest Iberian sculptural ensemble of the national territory. A thousand three hundred fragments among which are more than thirty sculptures. The warrior of double armor, symbol by anthonomasia of the Iberian world in general, stands out.
Finally, necropolis continued to be used for such purposes from the 5th century BC to the 1st century BC, changing the first rite of imhumation to the rite of incineration.
Roman Amphitheatre of Obulco
The Roman Amphitheatre of Obulco was one of the largest show buildings of the Roman Hispania, an example of the enormous magnitude of the ancient Ibolca-Obulco police. It was the largest of the cities of the Protohistoric and Roman Iberia in the time of Julius Caesar.
This amphitheater shows the imposing archaeological reality of Municipality Pontificensis Obulconensis in the 1st century BC, when it was raised about five hundred meters from the walls.
After the last great intervention of this colossal amphitheatre, its monumental remains, of more than one hectare of surface, have been managed to size and integrate in harmony with the existing neighborhood, allowing its visitors to walk through a large section of the southern façade with its imposing counterstrong of piled chairs in the Hellenistic style, see the doors and volitories, the outer access routes and the large falls of cyclopeia blocks, then be able to enter the cavies or steps, and come down from the wall of the podium to the space of the sand and carcerwhere to appreciate the dimensions and panorama that the old gladiators who fought in the seaweed or games.
Cisterna Romana de La Calderona
The Roman Cistera de La Calderona is a colossal underground hydraulic complex of the Pontifical Municipality of Obulco, intended to store water, which has been in use for more than two millennia and has arrived to this day in exceptional state of conservation.
It was accidentally rediscovered by one of the neighbors of the three contemporary houses that are available over it and intended for air-raid in the Spanish War of 1936. It was originally a large public water tank with several years of rainwater collection and three catchment wells.
The project has been completed by building a contemporary building of access through ramps to the complex and with the excavation of approximately 500 m ² of the large Roman neighborhood of the poniente, where part of a cross-sectional enlisted street have been exhumed, three houses organized around patios, a shop and a butcher-carnage, which allow to qualify this block of the neighborhood as a handicraft and commercial sector of the city.
Boabdil Tower
In an era of invasions and conquests, during the Middle Ages, two names express the same reality. The Muslim Bulkūna and the Christian Porcella live together and share the same territory.
On the remains of an Andalusian bulwark, which in turn was erected on Roman vestiges, the Castle of Porcra is fortified with new defenses to become a Christian alcazar.
Ten are the towers that make up the castle's walled enclosure and one of them, the last to be built, which is maintained until today. The New Tower was raised during the first half of the 15th century by the precept of the Calatravo gentleman Don Luis de Guzmán.
It is also called the Tower of Boabdil for what happened in 1483 when the last sultanate of the Nazarí Kingdom of Granada, Boabdil, was taken as a prisoner to that tower after being arrested in the Battle of Lucena.
The tower is octagonal base, is 28 meters high and has an ochavada shape. Its interior, of two floors and a terrace, will house the medieval rooms of the Archaeological Museum Municipal Obulco.
Church of Santa Ana
The first data that are held from the hermitage of Santa Ana are from the late 15th century although its exact origin is unknown, being able to be reassembled at the end of the 13th century.
Santa Ana is drawn like a hermitage of a ship, with several adjacent dependencies such as the house of the santera and some corrals. During the later centuries the whole is spread and consolidated until in the 19th century it is closed to worship. In the 20th century, the property is sold to the Juárez family for use as a bread oven.
The recent intervention carried out by the City of Porcra has involved the restoration and recovery of the original building. These works have brought to light important findings: unique pavements, numerous burial or wall paintings in the altar area.
Today, the ancient church of Santa Ana has become the Visitors' Reception Centre.
Royal meat stores
This is one of the most modest buildings, which was mentioned in the 15th century, next to the organization of the square: the carnage of the villa, the Church Mayor and the Cabildo.
The Royal Carniceries, called for the Crown's control over meat, supplied the population with beef and sheep for more than five hundred years, from the Middle Ages to the Second Republic.
From this moment on, the city's library is located in the building and, in addition, the work-bag functions are performed there, to be, before its restoration, the Comarcal Court.
In 2015 this space was opened after the rehabilitation and value that the City Council of Porcilla carried out, hosting, there, the municipal services of Historical Archives and Tourist Information Office.
There are some of the vestiges that can be seen inside the building. It is also worth the attention to stop and observe its inclinated facade witness to the Lisbon earthquake of 1755.
The Royal Posite of Charles IV. City Council
In the square of Andalusia was built in the Enlightenment of the King Charles IV in 1798 the Royal Po'sito, that is, a public warehouse of grain for consumption and sowing. It is a functional building offacade of silleri ́ a with beautiful classic cover, which consistsof three ships, one main and two lateral, separated by stone arches on which the deck rests. The building is accessed after climbing a step, an element that allows to generate a lower level or ventilation gallery.
After the Civil War contest, the building was ruined and a major reform had to be made.Although the works were directed by Ramón Pajares Pardo, the project is due to the architect and National Architecture Prize José Luis Fernández del amo, the first project he signed.
The building currently houses the headquarters of the City of Porcra. The large "glass yard" is a bright space that acts as a distributor of the entire ground floor and also functions as a main public service room.
Galleries of the Royal Posite of Carlos IV. Municipal Archaeological Museum of Porcilla
This is abouta space located under the building of the Royal Posite, current City Hall.In its day were the ventilation galleries and prevented the moisture from reaching the grain store. In origin they had no direct access from the outside, only one registration trap. Over time, several entry doors were opened, allowing this place to take different uses, from construction materials storage to dungeon or hardware shop.
Following the major reform in 2017, the space was restored and opened to the public. During the intervention, archaeological remains of Roman and medieval times, now integrated into the journey, came to light. The vaults system used in its construction is particularly noteworthy.
In 2023, two museum rooms were incorporated into the whole, which greatly enrich the understanding of the past of Porcra: one dedicated to the world of the Turdulum and the other to the Roman period. Both offer a clear and accessible journey through the cultures that left a deep mark on the ancient Obulco.
Ntra Parish. Sra. de la Asunción
The Parish Church of Our Lady of the Assumption of Porcilla, concluded in the early 20th century thanks to a popular subscription, rises on the site of the ancient Church of Santa Maria la Mayor. The building, wide and bright, has a Neo-Byzantine style and is articulated in three ships covered with cross vaults. The sacristy, attached to the head, belongs to the temple of the 17th century and is connected to the rectoral house, which houses the residence of the parish priest, the archive, the office and the parish hall.
After the construction of the new temple, Julio Romero de Torres was commissioned to paint the vault of the apse, where the artist represented the Assumption of the Virgin, surrounded by a chorus of angels. The work was so impressed that he was asked for two new murals for the capels of the cruise. In one of them he made the Holy Supper, showing the apostles attentive to the moment when Jesus instituted the Eucharist. On the other, he represented The Holy Family in a serene sunset, with the Child Jesus in Mary's arms and the silent presence of St. Joseph. In addition, the temple retains five more works of the painter: an oil of St. John the Baptist in prayer and four canvases of the evangelists located in the pechines of the cruise.
House of the Stone
Summary of the millennial craftsmanship of the stone in Porcra. The bartender and marmolist Antonio Aguilera Ruedas (1896-1980) built it in the middle of the 20th century for 30 years with considerable personal effort and firm mastery.
Its extravagant and eclectic combination of solutions, techniques and decorations exalt the work of the stone. Their personal and unusual explanations that portray in an unusual way the complex parallel trajectory between building and author draw attention.
In August 2018 it was reopened following the reforms that the City Council of Porcilla made. After an important work of cleaning and restoring the stone a sophisticated lighting system is chosen to bring all the beauty to the craftsmanship of the stone. At the same time, an extensive set of ramps, built in marble concrete, gives access to a glass elevator, a unique dissonant element but that will allow access to the entire building.
Nature
The natural environment of Porcilla forms a unique environmental heritage, modelled by thousands of years of history, a marked Mediterranean climate and the constant presence of the olive tree as an identity element of the landscape.
Geological description
The municipality is based on extensive margous formations of the Mioceno Medio-Superior, shaping a homogeneous and gently undulating relief, characterized by rounded hills and looms. In a timely way, the spurs and rocky outflows of sand-calcareous litology, more resistant to erosion.
Edaphology
The soils of the municipal term are mostly limestone and little or medium-evolved. Clear margas, with shallow but fertile profiles, and a slightly basic pH that promotes the development of crops characteristic of the countryside, predominate.
Climate
The climate of Porcilla is continental-temperate Mediterranean. The average annual temperature is around 17 ° C and precipitation is 563 mm, with marked annual irregularities and long periods of drought. Winters are temperate, with diurnal peaks close to 13 ° C, while in summer they are easily reached 40 ° C, with few rains.
Hydrogeology and hydrology
The municipality is located on two aquifers: the Porcra aquifer, which occupies almost the entire municipal area, and the Aluvial aquifer of Guadalquivir, located to the north. The term is integrated into the Guadalquivir watershed, and its main channels are the Salado stream, which crosses the municipality from southwest to northwest to the Guadalquivir, and the Saladillo stream, its main tributary.
Flora and vegetation
Porcula is integrated into the Mediterranean region, and has a dry climate with mild temperatures in winter and hot summers.
The olive tree is today the dominant agrosystem and a true monoculture that occupies almost the entire territory, although there are also areas with natural herbaceous species. Porcilla also houses four endemic species of great biological value: Hispanic, Betic, Ibero-Atlantic Mediterranean-Maghreb and Bético-Maghreb.
Fauna
Agricultural activity conditions the availability of habitats, but the olive tree offers a plant cover that allows the presence of a diverse fauna. Birds, small mammals, reptiles and invertebrates find in this ecosystem an enabling space for their food and shelter.
In it we can observe species such as: the green and the green; and in winter the capirate curved, the red petrored and the common zorzal.
The biodiversity of the olive tree is very much increased when, together with it, streams with riverbank forests or Mediterranean bushes, made up of carrizos, adelfas and tarajes. And so we find: sparrows, pinches, jilgueros, nightingale, cogs, cordnices and cornejas. Amphibians: common toad, green frog, salamander; reptiles: rib, lizard and lizards; mammals: hares, rabbits, foxes, badges, jinetas...
Some areas are highly recommended where we can look at the nature we have described in that paragraph:
- Jesus' walk. We're in front of the big garden of Porcra. It is an extensive public park with a large grove built in the late 19th century. It is the center of the city's playful and social life as it brings together the important parties of Porcra, from the Real Fair to the Oil Fair. This important green space with countless botanical species is populated by monuments or unique elements of the city's heritage, such as the church of Jesus, the house of the Stone or the important viewpoint of the round, a place from which you can see the beautiful landscape of the olive tree, as well as various villages neighbouring the countryside to the Subbetic Sierra of Córdoba and Jaén.
- Llano de Alharilla. The village of the Alharilla located just 4 km from Porcilla is characterized by a large plain surrounded by ancient olive houses, many of them today become cozy recreational houses. A lush tree offers shade and freshness, creating an ideal environment for rest and coexistence. In addition, the space has a road, making it an ideal place for family recreation or to enjoy a field day in full nature.
- Pillars and aljibes.The current pillars have their origin in the fountains or springs whose waters were channeled in time and date, perhaps protohistoric, to collect it in receptacles, the pillars, in order to have it available so that the cattle could easily be watered, for use in laundry or in pools for the irrigation of the many gardens that were established in their way. Taking as a driving thread the pillars and sources, you can make a hiking and visiting route: the pillar of La Galga, María Cotilla, the Great Source, the Girl Fountain, Uncle Pago and the Fuenhot, among others.
Parties and Events
Ride de Reyes (5 January).On the night of January 5, the streets of Porcra are filled with magic and illusion for the coming of His Majesties the Kings of the East. A variety of carrots, parades and musics make it shine, au ́ n ma's if it fits, tonight so special.
Day of Andalusia (28 February). The City Hall of Andaluci ́ a, an autonomous festival, is held in Porcra an institutional event in which the City Council holds the Concession of Honours and Distinctions to different personalities related to this city.
Carnival (February).Its tradition in this town dates back to the dawn of the 20th century, although it has been more recently when it has become particularly relevant. On the one hand, in the Cine- Teatro "Mari ́ a Bellido" a Carnival Gala takes place in which the letters and chords of different carnival groups intermingle with the rhythms of three by four of the local murgas. On the other hand, during the afternoon of the carnival season, there is a spectacular passage in which hundreds of people gather to show the elaborate work carried out for months. The color, music and dance flood everything, and the diversity takes hold of all those who encourage themselves to contemplate it.
San Benito, Patron de Porcilla (21 March).The devotional to San Benito in Porcra dates back to the 13th century and we have been aware that such religious functions have been carried out since the 16th century. It is therefore not to be removed that the veneration of the Holy Patro is so rooted among its neighbours. On March 21 of each year, a solemn celebration of the Eucharist takes place in its honor and subsequent process of the image, which is accompanied by the local music bands.
Holy Week.During Lent, Porcella is filled with tradition and solemnity. The streets of Porcra make up an exceptional framework for the processing of their cofradi'as that, with their knowledge of being, they move us to an environment or a nico of sobriety, devotion and beauty. Ten are the cofradi ́ as and hermandades that process in Porcra from Palm Sunday to Resurreccio Sunday.
San Marcos (25 April).In honor of this evangelist, a religious and later process is held to end with a popular verbena from the same neighborhood to which it gives name. It is worth noting the curious tradition of the "Spark of San Marcos." This is the realization of fires that traditionally light up in squares and high places, with wood and old things that were discarded and that the young people stacked for their subsequent burning. This tradition was carried out in order to invoke San Marcos Evangelista to bring rain beneficial to agriculture. At present, one of these fires continues to be made next to the hermitage.
May Crosses (first weekend of May).In various squares, streets and neighborhoods of the village, gilded with care for the occasion, the traditional Cruces de Mayo, a holiday that inundate each rinco with a festive air full of color, are raised. The streets are dressed in floral motifs and personal details, self-reflective of the life and traditions of the place, while the neighbors, with dedication and pride, compete to create the most beautiful and striking cross.
Romeria de Alharilla. Tourist interest party of Andalusia.The second Sunday of May takes place in Porcra one of the most important romeri's of Andaluci, which is celebrated in honor of the Santi-sima Virgen de Alharilla, Patrona and Alcaldessa Perpetua of the town. The previous week, the municipality is set up and its streets are filled with people to celebrate the holiday in honor of its patron. Among others, they highlight the spectacular ride of horses, in the afternoon of the evening, with riders and carriages that spread through the main streets. On Sunday, say great, thousands of devotees and rosemary gather to live a day of deep faith, culminating in the longed process of the Virgin, carried in paths between the two and the prayers.
Bervena de San Benito (11 July).San Benito de Nursia, patro ́ n de Porcra and de Europa, has a second holiday in July in which, following the religious feast, a popular verbena takes place in the neighborhood with its same name.
MiaqueFest (first weekend of August).This is one of the largest music festivals in the province of Jae'n. With an open and diverse spirit, the festival does not focus on a specific musical style, but rather accommodates a wide range of ideas in which consolidated figures from the national musical landscape are combined with others that begin to unpoint.
San Lorenzo (10 August).Following the celebration of the Holy Mass, the San Lorenzo process takes place on the main streets of the town. Subsequently, one of the popular verbenas is held with the most raigambre of Porcilla.
Real Fair (September).The so-called "Real Fair" unio ́ la devocio ́ n by San Benito and the Virgin of Soledad, miraculous intercesors in the face of a great storm, with the tradition of holding an annual cattle fair granted by Queen Elizabeth II to the City of Porcra. At present, these parties are held in the first days of September and it is worth noting its Flamenco Besana, Porcra Electronic Night, the young night with musical performances or the parade of giants and heads.
Oil Fair (last weekend of October). This is a holiday celebrated around olive oil, the main economic engine of the town, which had its orien in 2007. At the Porcilla Oil Fair there is a wide exhibition of agricultural machinery, numerous places where to taste the gastronomy, to you, crafts, conferences, oil tasting... All this closed on Sunday with the taste of the traditional hole of bread with extra virgin olive oil and olive harvested in our land.
Gastronomy
On horseback between Jaén and Córdoba, Porcella brings together in its kitchen the best of each of these provinces, always with its star ingredient: extra virgin olive oil. This liquid gold, the fruit of the extensive olive trees surrounding the municipality, not only permeates its recipes of an unmistakable taste, but also becomes the symbol of a tradition that defines its culinary essence.
At the table of Porcilla, the piirranas and the jiennese sparragados with the flaminquins and the Cordobese salmorejo live together in a perfect balance that enriches its gastronomic heritage. However, it is in his native recipes that the true essence of this land is found.
Among its most peculiar dishes are the rape, a small square cake that is formed by folding a wafer over a spicy minced meat filling. This craftsmanship dish becomes an essential for those who seek to taste something unique and authentic.
On the other hand, chicken in milk It surprises both his name and his history. This typical sweet, similar to the mazapan and the alfajor, evokes with its almond aroma an Andalusian past that has been recorded in the gastronomic memory of Porcella.
For lovers of the good table, the visit to Porcra would not be complete without testing these specialties, which represent a bridge between the past and the present, between tradition and innovation. In addition, local restaurants and bars offer the opportunity to enjoy these delights in a welcoming atmosphere, surrounded by the hospitality that characterizes the porcunenses.
History
The origins of Porcra go back to a group of villages of the Final Neolithic located in its surroundings. In the Copper Age (3rd millennium BC) the area becomes a nuclear centre of the countryside. Archaeological research has discovered on the hill of the Alcores one of the oldest fortifications documented in the Alto Guadalquivir, with double walled fence surrounded by circular cabins. Another similar village is located on the hill of Albalate and both remained during the Bronze Age (II millennium BC).
In the 7th and 6th centuries BC the Iberian culture was formed on these lands and so, on the hill of the Alcores, there appears a new urban planning, of geometric layout, with rectangular houses of adobe walls that are raised on stone zócalos, sometimes covered with mud. The area maintained its status as a great center of the countryside and in this Iberian era an aristocracy emerged with heroic political models, as did other Mediterranean regions. This elite, to perpetuate its stretch, represented its exploits and its origins, by passing on to us the wonderful sculptural ensemble of the warriors of Cerillo Blanco, who are already emblem of this culture. These sculptures were in a sacred enclosure on the hill of the Alcores, but shortly after their erection they were buried in the necropolis of Cerillo Blanco.
The Roman Obulco was the origin of the current Porcula, confirmed by the epigraphic findings and texts of Plinio, Ptolomeo and Estrabón. During the republic and the first Empire the city was of great importance and enjoyed some autonomy, as it coined its currency.
When the second civil war between Caesar and Pompey was about to end, a uprising led by the children of Pompey broke out on the Peninsula. In the face of this situation, Caesar was forced to quickly mobilize his legions towards the rebel areas. The chronicles report that it took only 27 days to travel the distance between Rome and Obulco, an example of the impressive logistics capacity of the general.
Once in Obulco, Caesar reorganized and concentrated his troops there before marching towards Córdoba, where the famous battle of Monda would take place. The triumph in this confrontation definitely consolidated its power.
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Water Footprint
The Water Hole is a road through Porcra and its surroundings, whose main thread is the water, that is, the water system in Porcra from early times to the present. It is proposed, therefore, a tour of the missing water tank of San Cristóbal and the current one of the street of the Cross; the so-called El Albercón street; Maria Bellido and his role in the Battle of Bailén (1808); the Roman Cisterna de la Calderona, as well as the different pillars and aljibes located, these already, outside the urban town of the Pilar, the Pilar, the Pilar and the Pilar, the Pilar, the Pilar, the Pilar, the Pilar and the Pilar.
Route of the Stone
The Route of the Stone proposes a tour of one of the most unique and defining elements of Porcilla: its golden sandstone. This rock, which has been taken from the local quarries for over 6,000 years, has been the leading thread in the history of the municipality, since with it the most emblematic monuments have been raised from the Iberian era to the present.
The quarry in Porcra is a millennial trade that has never been interrupted. Already the Iberians of the ancient Ipolca-Obulco used this stone for their sculptures, such as the well-known pieces of the set of White Cerrillo, which show an extraordinary technical domain. In Roman times, the local sandstone was again a protagonist in public buildings, foundations, decorative elements and hydraulic conductions. Later, during the Middle Ages and Modernity, it continued to be used in walls, churches, noble houses, civil spaces and hydraulic works, becoming the material identity of the city.
The route invites you to know the historical quarries, where still today the stone is extracted in a artisanal way, maintaining techniques that have passed from generation to generation. There you can see how you cut, size and prepare this material that has shaped Porcra for millennia.
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