CUEVAS DEL ALMANZORA IS 15 MIN DRIVE FROM ARBOLEAS.
Cuevas del Almanzora
Population circa 10,700 Market day - Tuesday and Thursday Situated
in the fertile Almanzora Valley downstream from a defunct dam, Cuevas
del Almanzora is one of the oldest towns in the area. Taking it's name
from the numerous artificial caves in the surrounding hills, many of
which are still inhabited by poor and wealthy alike, it was once a very
affluent mining centre when silver was discovered in the Sierra
Almagrera mountains in the early 19th century. Evidence of
it's glory days can be seen all over town: elegant homes of the mining
magnates, grand churches, avenues and statues, especially in the Plaza
de la Constitución and around the town Hall. At
the top of the town sits a castillo, a fortress/palace from the 16th
century originally built in the Gothic style but expanded in 1770 in a
neoclassical design. The grounds house several current-day functions. The Casa de la Tercia, a granary built in 1773, now houses the Cuevas Archaeology Museum and the Archive and Municipal Library. The
Marquis Palace, the two-storey mansion built as a symbol of military
power of the Marquis de Vélez is now home to the Museum of Contemporary
Painting and Sculpture. The oldest construction is the Torre del
Homenaje (keep), thought to be medieval, which is attached to the
palace by a long-gone drawbridge. Other places of interest
include the Parish Church de la Encarnación (18th century), the Convent
of San Antonio (1651) and Hermitage of San Pedro de Alclalá. The entire
area is abundant with prehistoric reminders of the area's long past,
especially the Fuente Álamo in the foothills of the Sierra de Almagro,
inhabited from 1900 BC to 1300 BC.
| CALBARDINA | AGUILAS | ALBOX | ALMERIA | ANTAS |
| ARBOLEAS | BEDAR | CABO DE GATA | CUEVAS DEL ALMONZORA |
| GARRUCHA | HUERCAL OVERA | MOJACAR | PALOMARES |
| ROQUETAS DE MAR | SAN JUAN DE LOS TERREROS | SORBAS | TABERNAS |
| TURRE | VERA | VILLARICOS | ZURGENA |
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