Holiday apartment in Cazalla de la Sierra: nature, history and wine culture

Cazalla de la Sierra combines paths through the landscape and old town with traces of the royal court, monastery and church architecture, as well as the history of wine and spirits. Nature, local history, art and religious traditions appear here as clearly distinct themes of the town.

Nature and paths

The Las Laderas circular route leads from Cazalla de la Sierra along an old path to the Rivera del Huéznar and returns via another historic path. The route forms a mosaic of orchards, olive groves and Mediterranean woodland. In this way, it connects two historic routes with different landscape features without losing their connection to Cazalla de la Sierra and the Rivera del Huéznar.

History in the townscape

The guided tour “Cazalla convertida en Corte” begins at Plaza del Concejo and leads through the old town of Cazalla de la Sierra. The “Ruta Turística Básica Cazalla” also starts at a central square: it begins at Plaza Mayor, runs along Calle Virgen del Monte and ends at the Convento e Iglesia de San Francisco.

The old Azahín quarter, formerly the Jewish quarter and now known as Virgen del Monte, preserves parts of the stately homes in which Philip V resided with his court in the summer of 1730. In that same summer, Cazalla de la Sierra became a royal court when Philip V travelled there with the royal court. The town’s history is therefore connected not only to individual buildings, but also to its former role as a place of residence for the monarch and his court.

Art and religious architecture

The Monasterio La Cartuja de Cazalla comprises several rooms, including a basilica that leads to a cloister from which the other rooms can be accessed. Since 1990, the Monasterio de la Cartuja has housed the art museum Centro de Cultura Contemporánea la Cartuja de Cazalla de la Sierra. Its permanent exhibition comprises more than 100 works. They are displayed in the central cloister, in various monastery rooms and in the gardens.

Plaza Serendipia contains a sensory botanical garden with more than 50 species, explained through legends or myths.

The Parroquia de Ntra. Sra. de la Consolación stands on the remains of an earlier Almohad wall and combines Renaissance, Mudéjar and Baroque elements. The Iglesia de San Benito dates from the late 16th and early 17th centuries. It has a distinctive triangular tower designated as a “Monumento de Interés Artístico”.

The Ermita Ntra. del Monte is an example of Baroque architecture. During the pilgrimage to the Ermita Ntra. del Monte, celebrated in August, the image is brought to Cazalla and remains there until its return in October.

Wine and distillation

The Centro del Aguardiente de Cazalla is a museum-style building dedicated to the history of Cazalla de la Sierra through its wines and spirits. Bodegas Tierra Savia presents another facet of this theme: the winery produces its wines naturally, is located in the historic centre of Cazalla de la Sierra and offers guided cellar tours and wine tastings on weekends.

The history of distillation is also linked to specific places and years. One distillery has been housed in the storage rooms of the Convento de San Francisco since 1869. A distillery was founded in 1896 on the site of a 16th-century inn. By prior arrangement, one distillery offers group tours; for one distillery, groups of at least eight people are specified.

Other destinations that you can visit afterwards include Pilas, La Puebla De Los Infantes, La Rinconada, El Garrobo, Aguadulce, Palomares Del Rio, Castilblanco De Los Arroyos and Lebrija.

To the main travel overview: Seville.