Malpartida de la Serena: Church, Festivals and Dehesa

Culture and History

The parish church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción is a 16th-century building made of rubble masonry and dressed stone. It has a single-nave layout, a chancel with a ribbed vault and a gallery supported by four granite columns. It is protected as a Bien de Interés Patrimonial, and the restoration work has been completed. Historical materials, clearly structured interior spaces and the granite columns together shape its architectural appearance.

The Castillo del Equivocao has cyclopean walls made of roughly dressed blocks, laid without mortar and wedged with small stones. Archaeological investigations at the Castillo del Equivocao uncovered Roman roof-tile and pottery fragments as well as handmade pottery, indicating settlement predating the construction of the cyclopean complex. In the Carta Arqueológica de Extremadura, the Castillo del Equivocao is recorded as a Roman Recinto-Torre. Visible construction techniques, Roman finds and indications of an even earlier settlement thus come together at this site.

A funerary stele for Lucila Norba recalls earlier Roman settlements and is now reused as a lintel in a house. Malpartida de la Serena was founded around 1256 by García de Barrantes, a knight of the Order of Alcántara.

Other place names for planning your trip include: Trujillanos, Mérida, Puebla De La Calzada, Fuenlabrada De Los Montes, Granja de Torrehermosa, Higuera De Llerena, Don Benito and Benquerencia De La Serena.

Festivals and Cultural Events

The San Isidro pilgrimage leads to the Dehesa de Malpartida, where there is a chapel. During the pilgrimage, participants sing folk and religious songs; prizes are also awarded for the best floats.

The Semana Cultural has been held in mid-August since 1995 and includes theatre as well as exhibitions of painting, sculpture, crafts and photography. The Semana Cultural programme includes regional dances, music, flamenco, oral traditions and local history.

The patron-saint celebrations in honour of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción take place from 8 to 12 September.

Regional Cuisine and Produce

Dishes served at the San Isidro Romería include chops, Spanish omelette, devilled eggs and paella campera.

The traditional matanzas held annually in Malpartida de la Serena produce preserved pork products such as ham, chorizo, loin and salchichón. The vineyards in the surrounding fields produce Pitarra wine, which is sought after by locals and visitors who know its quality. In terms of food, a festival dish, preserved meat products and wine from the surrounding fields thus stand side by side.

For trip planning, different highlights can be combined in Malpartida de la Serena: architectural history and archaeology alongside regular cultural events; dishes, preserved products and Pitarra wine complement the landscape shaped by dehesas and grain cultivation. The specific themes allow visitors to choose according to their personal interests.

Landscape

The municipal area of Malpartida de la Serena extends across a landscape shaped by dehesas and grain cultivation, characteristic of the comarca.

For the broader travel overview: Badajoz.