The jewel in the crown of the Málaga region, 46 kms from the capitol and 577 meters above sea level.

Antequera is situated in a crossroad in the valley of the river Guadalquivir, between Granada district and the Mediterranean coast, at the foot of the Torcal and Abdlajís mountains. It was once the headquarters of the ‘Asamblea Constitucionalista’ of 1883 and given its geographical situation in the centre of Andalucia was the chosen capital of the ‘Comunidad Autónoma Andaluz’.

The dólmenes of Menga, Viera and Romeral attest to the antiquity of Antequera and the records and finding of the Roman town called Antikaria compounds this.

The city has a wealth of art and monuments, the largest being ‘la Iglesia Colegial de Santa María la Mayor’, a Renaissance temple built in 1502. Others include the parish of San Sebastian and many more from this same period.

The city has great commercial importance, at regional levels as well as provincial and the economy is seated in agriculture and cattle. The area grows great quantities of olives, cereal crops and has many fruit bearing orchards, and Artisan products are readily available.

There are excellent hotels in the area including the renowned Parador. During the year Antequera hosts the fiestas in honour of ‘Santa Eufemia’ and ‘la Virgin de los Remidios’ as well as the two ferias in May and August.

The remains of the Roman town of Antikaria indicates that this was the only seat of learning for the Pontiffs of Caesar in all of Spain, and although these foundations are of Roman times there are vestiges of pre history civilizations found in the archeology around the area.

There has been archeological artifacts found which proves Antequera existed in some form c. 2,500BC , however Professor Obermaier suggests that these artifacts come from longer ago, possibly as far back as 4,000BC. He refers to the caves of Menga, Viera, El Romeral and Alcaide for proof, the first three of which can be found nearby and the fourth in Villanueva de Algaidas.

We can be sure that there were Iberian and Phoenician settlements in this area even though no remains these establishments exist, however the Cartagenans left testimony to their presence in the settlements and edifices found at Cerro Léon and there is evidence of the Osqua who lived at Cerro Léon taking part in a battle between Asdrubal and the Roman Legions.

The dólmenes of Menga, Viera and El Romeral all attest to the antiquity of Antequera and the remains of the Roman town of Antikaria stress this.

After the treaty between the Gothig King Teodomiro and Abdelaziz-Ben-Muza-Ben-Noseir which took place in Orihiela, Arab troops entered Antequeraand established their settlements under the mantle of “Medina Antecaria”.

The importance which the King of Castilla bestowed on Antequera indicates the elevation in importance of the regional regent Fernando (who previously governed on behalf of his nephew Juan II) as from then on he became ruler in his own right and was henceforth known as Fernando of Antequera.

After the conquest the city was given royal status in November 1441.

Castle

Some walls remain of the old Alcazba (citadel) which is now a National Monument, the dome crested the tower dates from 1582 and is known as the Tower of Papabellota, which in it’s time looked out over the whole city.

Arch of the Giants

Constructed in Arabian style the ‘Arco de los Gigantes’ was dedicated to Felipe II in 1585, and within many Roman tablets and sculptures which came from the whole of the Antequera district were placed, it is considered an outdoor museum.

Plazuela de Santiago

The typical group of buildings is testimony to the outstanding achievement of the architecture of the Andalusian Baroque period of the XVIII century. Highlighted by the contrasting architectural elements of the Church of Santiago and that of Santa Eufemia: Santiago, the work of Cristóbal García, graceful and delicate and Santa Eufemia just the opposite, with its enormous but compact mass.

Descalzas means ‘the barefoot ones’

The highlight of this church is surely the magnificent façade of brick and stone which was erected in the first third of the XVIII century and attributed to Tomás of Melarejo. Inside is housed a wonderful collection of art showing exampleas of the works of Mohedano Bocanegra and the Mexican artist Antonio de Torres.

Iglesia de Belén

This magnificent Baroque temple which was consecrated in 1709 is overflowing with wonderful plaster works, also of note are the sculptures depicting Jesus fallen and San Bruno which are the creations of José de Mora.

Iglesia del Carmen

This National Monument was dedicated to the order of Carmelite nuns known as ‘la Orden de Carmelitas Calzados’ and was built between 1583 and 1663. In the interior will be seen the three altarpieces in the biggest chapel which are understood to be a fundamental insight of the reestablishment of the Andalusian Baroque movement.

Also of interest are the plaster works forming the dome and walls of the nave.

El Arco de la Estrella y el Torreón del Asalto

This is a corner around which can be seen the preservation of Arabic- Andalusian character.

It is loosely translated to the ‘ Turret of the Assault’, because at this spot the Infante Don Fernando, the conquistador of the Moors in 1410 led his troops and was able to breach the walls, a feat which lead to his ability to win the battle.

The Infante Don Fernando was famed for saying “Salga el sol por Antequera” (the sun leaves from Antequera), this phrase was used by the Conquistador when he expressed to his men his total resolve to conquer Antequera and take it for the King of Castille.

Real Colegiata de Santa María la Mayor

This National monument was built between the years 1514 and 1550. It has the most beautiful façade of all of the churches in Antequera and is considered the most important Renaissance building in Antequera.

The interior highlights the three naves separated by iconic columns and the wooden cladding of the time. The largest chapel is covered with elegant architecture of the Gothic style.

Among the dishes which form the varied and rich gastronomy of Antequera the best known ones are; “porra antequerana” (Antequera soup), “migas” (a traditional Spanish dish of breadcrumbs), “chivo o cabrito a la pastoral” (kid and goat dishes), and “gazpacho” and among the desserts “bienmesabe”, “angelorum” and “higos con nueces” (figs with nuts), not forgetting the famous mantecados, polvorones (Traditional Christmas biscuits) and alfajores (a rich pastry made with butter).

Gazpacho soup is something that all the different counties in Andalucia have in common, its origins are hard to discover, some say it is Arabic and others disagree and think the origins could be Semitic as there is mentioned in the Bible of a meal made from very similar ingredients. Among all the variants in the different counties, the one made in Antequera is renowned.

The festive calendar in Antequera is spread throughout the year; the following are the more significant dates:

Carnival time

This is an explosive time of happiness before the more reverential time of Semana Santa (Easter Holy Week) and is celebrated in many places with parades of people in masks and disguises with the whole town taking part in one way or another.

Easter Week

In the Holy Week of ‘Semana Santa’ (Easter) the parades in Antequera have their roots in antiquity, there are elements of art, history, tradition and faith. One of the great joys of Antequera is that written records of past celebrations of Semana Santa remain and can be adhered to, unlike the losses of literature suffered by many other Andalucian municipalities.

Spring Fair

Celebrated during the days of 31st May to 3rd June

August Feria

This is the most important ‘feria’ celebrated in the Antequera calendar and always includes the 21st August.

In the old Bullring (1848) they celebrate with bullfights using traditional swords. In the surrounding areas are funfairs, sideshows and stalls of every kind.

8th September

Festival of our Patron Saint “Nuestra Señora de los Remedios”.

On the evening before the festival the image of the Sacred Virgin is carried in a procession around the streets. There is traditional celebratory dance on this evening too.

On the outskirts of Antequera approx 15 kms from the city centre is a place of outstanding natural beauty, a land that time has forgotten – called El Torcal. The landscape is formed in breathtaking ways and provides a wonderful natural show of huge passes, imaginary temples, and monumental rock formations. Experts call this landscape ‘Karstico’, a Yugoslavian geographical word which has come to determine these types of geology. The imposing rock, known as ‘Camorro de las Villaneras Altas’ is the highest point at El Torcal and is 1,600 meters above sea level.

El Torcal was declared a site of National importance in 1929 and a National Park on 27th October 1978. It is, without doubt a stunning and adventurous place to visit when in the area, and it is understood that Pemán remarked," it is almost impossible to think that the Creator didn't have a joyful sculptural and figurative intention when He created this”.

The vegetation of this area is poor, but varied; ivy and ferns are plentiful and lichen makes a fine film over the stones in hues of pinks and browns which gives a unique coloration to the landscape.

Among the animals that are plentiful in these heights, are rabbits, dormice and foxes, etc., but the moist stunning sights to be seen are the different species of birds which call El Torcal their home; from the hunting birds like the eagle and vulture to the smaller ‘gragilla’, ‘colirrojo’ and goldfinch etc.

On the outskirts of Antequera can be found the three most important ‘Dólmenes’ (Burial grounds) in all of Spain. These monoliths belong to the Copper age and prove the existence of civilization in the area 4500 years ago.

The dólmenes of ‘Menga’ was discovered in 1842 and has been declared a National Monument. It is 21 meters long with a 5 meter width and the size of the well preserved stone slabs in the construction makes this one of the grandest burial sites in the world and is covered with a barrow of stones and earth and dates to 2500BC.

The inner dólmen of ‘Viera’ is one of the most carefully constructed monoliths and has been dated to approximately 2000BC.

The ‘Dolmen del Romeral’ is the most comprehensive example in the group, with a long gallery and two circular chambers of different sizes, covered with false dome. It is dated c1800 BC.