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Introduction to Jaén province
Jaén: 150 million olives, Renaissance architecture and Arab baths
Jaén, formerly one of the four kingdoms of Andalucía, is in the north-east of the region of Andalucía, and is perhaps one of the less “glamorous” of the eight Andalucían provinces. It doesn’t have a coastline, it doesn’t have a range of 3,000-metre-high mountains, it doesn’t have an airport… and to be fair, not as many people live here as in the other provinces of Andalucía: only just over 650,000, making it the second least populated part of Andalucía.
What it does have, though, is history, Renaissance architecture, spectacular landscapes, gastronomy, castles, battlefields, archeological treasure troves, free tapas and olives. Lots of olives. One estimate places the total at over 150 million trees. The province proclaims itself to be the “olive oil capital of the world”, and produces a third of all Spain’s olive oil: according to different sources, that’s between 10% and 20% of worldwide production.
The figure may seem surprising until you see the hillsides and lowlands of the region: rows and rows of olive trees stretch as far as the eye can see, covering all but the highest and steepest slopes, and no visit to Jaén is complete without stopping in at an “almazara” (or olive oil press and factory) to sample the province’s main speciality.
There are mountain ranges in the north, east and south of the province, including the much visited Sierra de Cazorla y Segura Natural Park, and in these mountains are the sources of the Guadalquivir and Segura rivers. While the Segura flows south-east towards the coast of Alicante and Murcia, the Guadalquivir runs east to west across the province, the river basin providing the setting for this massive olive-growing area.
Historically, the Carthaginian and Roman occupations of this part of Spain were followed by a period of Visigoth domination before 500 years of Arab rule. Following the Christian Reconquest of 1246 the influence of Jaén grew, most especially in the towns of Úbeda and Baeza: these twin cities have been proclaimed a UNESCO World Heritage site on account of the proliferation of Renaissance architecture which dominates the old centres, and in many ways the large central squares match the finest that Florence northern Italy have to offer.
The capital city of the province is home to one of Spain’s largest collections of Iberian objects , dating from around 500 BC, which can be seen in the city’s Fine Arts museum. The cityscape of Jaén is dominated by the spectacular Castillo de Santa Catalina, and there are also Arab baths, a 12th century monastery (Santa Clara), a magnificent Renaissance cathedral and many 16th century monuments, leaving visitors in no doubt as to the city’s historical importance.
As in the rest of Spain, local life is dominated by the fiestas. The Holy Week parades in Jaén and Úbeda are visited by tourists from all over Spain, and another event celebrated throughout the province is the “Cruces de Mayo” on 3rd May, when street altars are decorated with flowers to pay homage to the Holy Cross.
Gastronomically, it is no surprise to find that local dishes feature a lot of olive oil, for example “ajilimoje” spread (made with garlic, vinegar and eggs) and “pipirrana” salad (which includes onion, tomato, green peppers and cucumber). In among the olive groves there is also space for peaches, melons and figs, and meat-based stews are typical of both the mountain regions and the lowlands.
Culturally Jaén offers a wide range of attractions: from cave paintings to the Blues festival of Cazorla, from the typical green-glazed Mudéjar ceramics to the battle grounds of Navas de Tolosa (121) and Bailén (1808), and from the mountain villages of the Sierras to the university culture of Jaén itself, there is something for all visitors. Olives dominate the gastronomy, the landscape and, to a large extent, even the economy, but there are also castles from the times when Jaén was a frontier kingdom between the Christian north and Al-Andalus in the south to remind us that the area was not always of purely agricultural importance.
It doesn’t matter which side the visitor approaches from, there is plenty to enjoy in this unsung part of southern Spain.
For many administrative purposes the province is divided into nine comarques: these are Sierra Segura, Alto Guadalquivir, Sierra Magina, La Loma y Las Villas, El Condado, Norte, La Campiña , Jaén and Sierra Sur.
Cartagena
El Carmoli
Islas Menores and Mar de Cristal
La Manga Club
La Manga del Mar Menor
La Puebla
La Torre Golf Resort
La Union
Los Alcazares
Los Belones
Los Nietos
Los Urrutias
Mar Menor Golf Resort
Pilar de la Horadada
Playa Honda / Playa Paraiso
Portman
Roldan and Lo Ferro
San Javier
San Pedro del Pinatar
Santa Rosalia Lake and Life resort
Terrazas de la Torre Golf Resort
Torre Pacheco
Aledo
Alhama de Murcia
Bolnuevo
Camposol
Condado de Alhama
Fuente Alamo
Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort
Lorca
Mazarron
Puerto de Mazarron
Puerto Lumbreras
Sierra Espuna
Totana
Abaran
Alcantarilla
Archena
Blanca
Corvera
El Valle Golf Resort
Hacienda Riquelme Golf Resort
Lorqui
Molina de Segura
Mosa Trajectum
Murcia City
Peraleja Golf Resort
Ricote
Sucina
Condado de Alhama
El Valle Golf Resort
Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort
Hacienda Riquelme Golf Resort
Islas Menores and Mar de Cristal
La Manga Club
La Torre Golf Resort
Mar Menor Golf Resort
Mazarron Country Club
Mosa Trajectum
Peraleja Golf Resort
Santa Rosalia Lake and Life resort
Terrazas de la Torre Golf Resort
La Zenia
Lomas de Cabo Roig
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