Discover Longares: Mudéjar, Festivals and Wine

The parish church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción in Longares is protected as a Bien de Interés Cultural (BIC) and classified as a monument. The Mudéjar Tower of Longares is a Christian defensive tower that can be dated to around 1390.

Culture and History

The present-day parish church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción is a Renaissance building erected over a Romanesque church; construction began in 1526. The mummy of Doña Isabel de Ledesma is located in the Chapel of San Pedro. The Plateresque retable was made at the end of the 16th century by the sculptor Domingo Tarín and gilded by Estarmolín.

The tower is a free-standing square brick structure. Its interior is divided into six storeys with barrel vaults. Another historic entrance is the Puerta de Zaragoza, which was rebuilt in 2002; visitors can see three of Longares’s five former entrance gates.

At the crossroads of the road from Longares to Calatorao stands the Fuente de los Machos, a fountain made of dressed stone blocks by Francisco Rocha. It belongs to a group of similar 16th-century fountains in the region.

Festivals and Routes

The Dance del Paloteo of Longares was recognised as a Fiesta de Interés Turístico de Aragón on 5 December 2005. It takes place twice a year, on 2 September and 8 September, as part of Longares’s patron-saint festivities. As a processional Dance del Paloteo, it follows a set route of approximately 400 metres through the streets.

A PDF entitled “Paseos de arquitectura popular” is available for download. Longares is also one of the municipalities on the Ruta del Vino Campo de Cariñena. Along its route, medieval and Renaissance architectural monuments as well as notable examples of Mudéjar art can be seen; the route includes the named walk “Paseo Longares”, with a downloadable route.

Those focusing on architectural history will find various construction and furnishing elements in the church, retable and tower; the festival dates and processional route, by contrast, represent local customs. Walks and the wine route complement these two approaches with routes and regional wine connections.

Geographical Location

Longares is located on the Autovía Mudéjar A-23, 38 kilometres from Zaragoza and 8 kilometres from Cariñena, between Muel and Cariñena. The distances place the town between the provincial capital and the nearby wine-growing town.

Practical Information

Longares has a free motorhome parking area, which opened in spring 2022. It offers drinking water as well as disposal facilities for black water and grey water.

More Destinations

Other destinations include Villalba de Perejil, Terrer, Zuera, Mequinenza, Daroca, Villalengua, Uncastillo and Fuendetodos.

Wine

Longares hosted the third consecutive edition of the outdoor tasting “Vente de vinos: Maridando Patrimonio” on 19 August. At this tasting, four wines from the D.O.P. Cariñena were paired with several artisanal products made in a wood-fired oven.

For the overall travel overview: Saragossa.