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The
decision to choose a strategic site for founding a village, which was so customary
in ancient civilizations, is strikingly evident in the case of Archidona.
Its urban district grew up under the protection of the El Conjuro peak (1,012
metres) and the Gracia and Las Grajas mountain ranges, which are more than
900 metres high. The locality not only benefited from, and suffered the consequences
of, its watchtower-like location overlooking an extensive territory but also
from its situation in the natural pass that linked the cities of Granada
and Seville.
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for sale in Spain in or near Archidona please contact us.
Traces of the presence of prehistoric man in the region have been found in several caves in the El Conjuro mountains but it was the Phoenicians who, with their society already organized, settled in these lands and started construction on the walls of the city (to which there are later Carthaginian, Roman and Arabic additions) and who called it Ascua. The Romans changed the name to Arx Domina, which under the Arabs evolved into Medina Arxiduna.
From the time of the expulsion of the Carthaginians Archidona belonged to Andalusia and experienced a period of great expansion, a bonanza that ended with the Germanic invasion. The area began a period of recovery with the arrival of the Arabs that would have it rank as one of the most important cities in Andalucia during the first Islamic era, when it came to be the capital of what is today the province of Malaga.
During the uprising headed by Omar Ben Hafsun in the late ninth and early tenth centuries, Archidona lived through some turbulent years, until in 907 the Emir Abd Allah conquered it. Now under the Caliphate of Cordoba, there were again years of prosperity with the development of agriculture and commerce. It is noteworthy that it was in Archidona in the year 756 that Abd al-Rahman I, the only survivor of the Omeya dynasty, was crowned as the first independent emir of Damascus. With the division of Muslim power among the Taifas kingdoms and the many resultant confrontations, however, ruin and abandonment overcame these lands until in 1238 they came under the Nazarite kingdom of Granada.
After a period of relative calm came political stability and an economic reawakening of the region, which lasted until the first probing movements by the relentless Christian troops who were preparing for the conquest of Granada after the surrender of the adjacent territories. It would be another half century after the fall of Antequera in 1410 before Archidona finally passed into Christian hands on July 28, 1462. In the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries the village began to form the urban layout, that with few changes, we know today.
Fiestas
It is during the Semana Santa (Holy Week) celebration that Archidona outdoes
itself; not for nothing is this a tradition with 500 years of history. From
Palm Sunday until Resurrection Sunday the brotherhoods march through the streets
of the old quarter to the Plaza Ochavada, where the thrones and statues (some
of them of true artistic merit) reach their greatest splendour. To the processional
marches Archidona adds other rituals whose origins are hard to pinpoint but
without which the Semana Santa could not be imagined. Such is the case with
“La embajá del ángel” (“The embassy of the
angel”), enacted by a child dressed as a little angel who announces
the Passion of Christ from the balcony of the La Victoria church.
The patron saint fiestas honouring the Virgen de Gracia (Virgin of Grace) are held from 14 to 19 August. As well as a full cultural and entertainment programme, this fiesta includes a pilgrimage to the sanctuary of the Virgin, located in the highest part of the village.
The Feria del Perro (Dog Show) has been designated
as of National Tourist Interest and has achieved an enormous popularity. It
is attended by lovers of the canine world from every corner of Spain, ranging
from expert hunters seeking a good specimen to people who only want to buy
an animal companion. There are beauty contests, races, ball games and demonstrations
of other skills by the dogs.
Food
Due to its geographic proximity to Antequera
it is not strange that the most typical dish in Archidona is also porra (a
chilled soup), although with a taste and texture different from the porra
antequerana. Besides porra, Archidona’s cuisine presents such characteristic
dishes of the region as cazuela moruna (Moorish casserole), olla (a thick
stew) and guisado de papas (stewed potatoes), to which might be added gazpacho
and ajoblanco (chilled soups) and pimentón (paprika), which rival maimón
(an Andalusian soup with olive oil), papandujas de bacalao (a codfish dish)
and escabeche de pescado (a fish sauce with spices, olive oil and vinegar)
in popularity. As for sweets and confectionery, Archidona offers the rosco
de medio punto (a semicircular pastry), aceitaos, bollos de manteca (a kind
of bun) and gachas de mosto (a kind of soup made from flour and seasonings,
to which wine is added).
How to get there:
The N-331 (A-45) leads straight from Malaga
to the A-92, which is the route that must be followed towards Granada
to get to the A-6200 turning that leads to Archidona.
Tourist information:
Town Hall, Paseo de la Victoria, 1 (29300). Telephone: 952 714 480; Fax: 952
714 165. Tourist Office, Plaza Ochavada, 2. Telephone: 952 716 479
Property for sale Archidona
Archidona Property
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