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Antequera AREA : 810,40 km² ALTITUDE ABOVE SEA LEVEL : 577 metres AVERAGE ANNUAL RAINFALL : 551 l/m² AVERAGE ANNUAL TEMPERATURE : 15’3 ºC POPULATION, CENSUS 1994 : 39,842  
Antequera extends over the side of a small hill, between the Sierra del Torcal and an extensive agricultural plain. Crowned by the walls of its castle and by the Santa Maria basilica, Antequera offers the traveller who enters the Torcal road, an urban landscape, characteristic of the great towns of Andalucia. Numerous church towers stand out among a popular architecture of Arabic tiled roofs and chalk fronts. Its municipality, the largest in the province of Malaga (798 km²), occupies the central area of the region and extends from the limit of the province of Cordoba, to the north, up to the vicinity of the Montes de Malaga, in the south.
On the plain, the landscape is a meadow of cereals and plots, splattered with country estates which presage the nearby countrysides of Cordoba and Seville. And further form the meadow, by the east and west winds, the relief waves and ends up forming small hills covered in olive trees. An oustanding landmark over the landscape of Antequera is the Peña de los Enamorados, a small sierra separated by the Guadalhorce river and the nearby mountains, and which standing upright on the plain, joins the attractiveness of its slenderness to the legend of the Christian man and Moorish woman lovers, who ended their lives here and with it the lack of understanding of their love. The location of Antequera in the geographical centre of Andalucia and in the natural corridor which all along history has channelled the communications between the High and Low Andalucia, between Granada and Seville, has favoured an important passage of man and cultures all along history. Since the Bronze Age man decided to live in these lands, leaving his mark in Menga, Viera and el Romeral with funerial constructions, the population of Antequera has been continuous. In the past, the presence of the Roman rule outstands, to which the origins of the city of Antequera are due (the ancient Antikaria). Other towns surged around this city, like Arastepi and Singilia Barba, which were among the most important in the Roman Malaga. In the 8th century, after the conquest of the city by Abdelaziz-Ben-Muza, the town became Medina-Antikaria, and later Antakira. The Arabs constructed the walls of the Medina and Alcazaba, with the Torre del Homenaje (homage tower). But regardless of all the defences built, the city fell in 1410 before the Infante Don Fernando's troops. Having become a frontier city, it passed a difficult period, but once the Arab menace was over, the city enjoyed a period of demographic and urban expansion, as a consecuence of its natural location and a series of royal privileges, with a tendency to favour its growth. In the second half of the 16th century, it assumes a moment of major cultural growth in the history of the city. Temples and palaces are erected and around them the area we now know as the old part of town, which reaches its final structure in the 18th century. As an important contribution to the local economy in the 19th century, one would have to point out, the creation or boost in some cases, of the Antequeran industry of fabrics. During this century, the woolen industry was boosted together with other industries, such as tanning, iron and steel. But these attempts of industrialization could not compete with the imposing agrarian structure and tradition of the region. Today, Antequera has gone back to combining the agricultural character of its region with the reemergence of the industrial activity, basically located in the Poligono Industrial Comarcal.
The city of Antequera, its historic complex, is simply the combination of its historical past, manifest in a rich art collection composed by more than half a hundred monuments and singular buildings of religious and civil architecture which start in the Bronze Age and end in the 18th century. It is hard to describe, in just a few lines, the centuries of history that contemplate dolmens, collegiate churches, churches, convents, palaces, arches, doors, castle and citadel, chapels, stately houses, mansions and the urban stretch. As so many towns have passed by, especially Roman and Muslim, and remain integrated in the Corona de Castilla, the city grows Renaissance and Baroque, this being the last period which marks it the most, leaving great architectural and urbanistic works. Given the number of monuments and its complexity, this guide is limited to giving a brief account in the form of a route and the first proposal runs through the low city, starting from the San Sebastian square and ending at the Puerta de Granada. On this path are most of the enclosed convents of inpenetrable outer appearance which are full of works of art. Thus, we can find the collegiate church of Saint Sebastian and in the urban surroundings, the Casa de los Bouduré, the Nazareth Arch and a Renaissance fountain, outlined by Pedro Machuca in 1545. The church dates from the middle of the 16th century and has a plateresque front, work of Diego de Vergara (1548) and a brick tower - the highest in the city - which was built by the master Andrés Burgueño between 1701 and 1706. Inside, it is a museum of paintings and sculptures. The Incarnation convent (Carmelitas Descalzas), attatched to the colegiate church of Saint Sebastián, with its Moor, Granada church, has one nave and chancel above and Mudejar armour. The 18th century Nájera palace, which is now a municipal museum, outstands for its watchtower, as being one of the most beautiful of civil architecture of Andalucian baroque.The convent of the Catalinas (Dominicas) and its church, built by Burgueño between 1724 and 1735 has one nave, covered with a barrel vault and a chancel with a semiespheric dome. The San José convent (Carmelitas Desscalzas), faces the square of the Descalzas. The facade of the church is a genuine representation of Antequeran baroque and the interior of both the church and the convent are real museums, for the amount and quality of the pictorial works of art hanging there. The Palacio de los Marqueses de la Peña is from the end of the 16th century and is built below the Mudejar and Renaissance canon law. The Victoria (Mínimos) convent has a church from the first third of the 18th century which was built following a similar outline to some Roman baroque models, making it stand out from other works of Antequeran baroque. The convent of Saint Eufemia ( or the Mínimas) has a church which repeats the arrangement of the Victoria one, although it is older and has a peculiar base of mixed lines, which bestows it with more dinamism. The dome which covers the chancery is of great interest. The Santiago church, in Santiago square, presents a curious facade conceived as a two storey atrium. The Bélen convent has a church which dates from the 18th century and presents a simple facade preceded by a compass. The interior presents a rich decoration, based on baroque plasterwork and guards diverse sculptures and renowned paintings. As the last landmark of this route is the Puerta de Granada, a large brick archway built in 1748, and since its last restoration, its only adorments are the shields of the city and Fernando VI, and a Marian image in a simple niche. The cross and urns which crown the extremes are recent additions.
Nearby, is the Alcazaba, a national monument which is reached through the Plaza de Santa María and the Escribanos square. The largest part of the still conserved walls, date from the first half of the 14th century and materials from the Roman era were used in its construction. Its outstanding features are the towers of Homenaje, Blanca and the Puerta de Malaga. The convent of Carmen (Carmelitas Calzados) has also been declared a national monument, and presently only conserves its church, built between 1583 and 1633. Inside, there is a Mudéjar armour, and three altarpiece monuments in the chancel, 18th century works. Among other works of art, here is where they keep a 15th century Gothic virgin which was a presant from the Reyes Catolicos to the church-mosque of San Salvador, now missing. From the Arco de los Gigantes, and following the Herradores street, you arrive at the Plaza del Portichuelo, an urban complex of "great theatrical baroque", as some define it, with a close-up of the chapel-tribune of the Virgen del Socorro and the landing of the stepped street of Santa Maria la Vieja. And, as a white background, are the church and steeple of the Santa Maria de Jesus. This church belonged to the friars Terceros Franciscanos and had to be rebuilt in the 19th century after the French invasion. In the high altar’s cabin, there is an image of the Virgen del Socorro Coronada, of great devotion and one of the most marked passages of the Antequeran Easter. Descending from the Portichuelo down the steep Real hill, you arrive at the parish of San Juan Bautista, a building from 1584 and with a mannerist outline. Inside, there is the main altarpiece and in the chapel of Animas, is the image of the Cristo de la Salud y de las Aguas, from the beginning of the 17th century, which is no doubt, the most venerated image in Antequera. The Puerta de Malaga has also been declared a national monument and makes up the most characteristic expression of Muslim art in the city. On the front, there is a brick horse-shoe arch. The chapel of the Virgen de Espera is sheltered in the tower. The basilisc of Santo Domingo is what is left of the old convent of the dominicans, a work from the 17th and 18th century. The central nave has a Mudejar polychromed coffered ceiling and in the baroque style altarpiece’s side-chapel, there is an image of the Virgen de la Paz Coronada, also very popular at Easter. In the nave of the Epistle, among others, is the chapel of the Virgen del Rosario, with a sumptuos baroque side-chapel from the beginning of the 18th century. As a consequence of the city’s urbanistic expansion from the 16th century, a new artistic horizon is opened in the lower part which roams next to the old pathways of Estepa and Lucena, which are the main arteries of the city. In this area is the convent of San Agustin and its church by the architect Diego de Vergara, which dates between 1550 and 1566. The primitive coffering of the central nave, missing since the 17th century, was designed by the great Diego de Siloé. This church has an important second tower and inside there is an ample and deep chancel, covered by a Gothic crossing and remodelled in the 17th century with mannerist plasterwork. The Casa de los Pardo has the most beautiful facade of civil Antequeran architechture and is an interesting example of Andalusian mannerism. The interior was emptied and today have been made into offices. The Saint John hospital and church are other architectural examples of the end of the 17th century, with sober facades and exagerated baroque interiors. The convent of Ntra. Sra. de los Remedios is another national monument. The Remedios church has a high altar which is presided by a huge baroque altarpiece with Solomon columns of which its exuberance contrasts with the sobriety and simpleness of the temple’s exterior. The image of the Virgen de los Remedios, patron saint of the city, is an achievement from the beginning of the 16th century and was restored at the beginning of the 19th century. Following our course through the bottom part of the city, we find the Palacio Municipal, an old convent which belonged to the Terceros Franciscanos until the sale of the Church lands of Mendizábel and acquired in 1845 to place the Town Hall. The cloister courtyard, the stairs and the planum room, plus the mayor’s office, are the most representative parts. Further north is the bullfighting ring, built between 1846 and 1848, with an interesting musuem. Among the examples of civil baroque architecture are the palaces or stately houses of Count Colchado, Count Valdellano, Baron Sabasona, the Colarte house, the Marqui of Villadarias, which is no doubt the most important building. Other convent complexes and their churches are the Madre de Dios (Agustinas) from the mid 18th century whose church is considered to be one of the best examples of Andalucian rococo; the convent of Trindidad (Trinitarios Descalzos), (1672-1683) of classist baroque; the convent of San Zoilo (San Francisco), from the beginning of the 16th century and declared a national monument. Its church is of late Gothic and was remodelled in the 17th century, introducing numerous mannerist plasterworks. Inside, the central nave has Mudejar coffering and guards a collection of works of art such as the Hispanic-Florentine altarpiece of slabs from the 16th century, the image of Jesus of Nazareth of the Blood and the so-called Cristo Verde, a Gothic-Renaissance style crucifix. Other monuments in this last course through the city are the chapel-tribune of the Cruz Blanca, dedicated to the Virgen del Socorro as in the Portichuelo; the parish of San Pedro, as one of the largest temples and which, together with the the churches of Santa Maria and San Juan Bautista, form a complex of Renaissance column temples. Among the works of art conserved in San Pedro are the baldachin chancel (1609) for the colegiate church of Santa Maria, and a polichromed wooden image of the Inmaculada from the napolitan school. Regarding religious architecture is the church of Ntra Sra. de Loreto, in the old school of the Compañia de Jesus (Recoletas), which was started in 1693 with a monumental stone facade. The interior of the temple, which isn’t finnished, is richly decorated with painted white plasterwork. Outside the city, on the way to Malaga and Granada, is the complex of Dolmen de Menga, Viera, and El Romeral. The first is dated from about 2500 B.C.; the second, which is smaller but in better shape, from 2000 B.C. and the third, the most evolved and with a long gallery and two circular rooms, is dated from about 1800 B.C. The visit to Antequera would not be complete without visiting the municipal museum, situtated in the Palacio de Nájera. where the Efebo de Antequera is jealously kept, considered to be "the most beautiful out of the peninsular ground" and probably of Europe, as was shown in a Roman bronze exhibition in Berlin in 1987. Other places of interest include the Karstic complex in Torcal and the Peña de los Enamorados for the legends they bare. And archaelogical vestiges of the Roman area are Sigilia Barba, Capacheras precinct, Aratispi, Carnicería, Los Moros, etc.. - and a series of highlands, caves, etcetera.
The great tradition of craftmanship in precious metals in Antequera has given way to other skills, such as leather, esparto grass, glass, pottery, vegetable fibres, iron, wood, etcetera.
Among the most representative dishes in the Antequeran gastronomy are the 'porra' fried batter and the 'molletes' buns for breakfast, 'chanfaina' stew and cold meats. But it is most famous for its pastrymaking which are mainly made in convents and traditional ovens. The best examples are 'alfajores' nut rusks, angelorum, meringue, dates with walnuts, 'polvorones' and 'mantecados' lardy cakes.
Among all the festivities, Easter stands out for its antiquity, singularity and tradition. The thrones are carried on the shoulders of the "hermanacos", who inherit their place under the framework from grandfather to nephew. Some of the processions are very emotional and spectacular when they ascend the steep streets by running. The last day in May and the first two days of June, they celebrate the spring fair and at the end of July a flamenco night. The patron, Nuestra Señora de los Remedios, is celebrated on the 8th of September and in August is the annual fair.
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History and Landscape
Although the landscape is generally plain and not very rugged, Antequera has
important sierras in the municipality, among them the Torcal. A limestone sierra, in which
the stone has been moulded by the water, making shapes which the imagination can see as
giants, monsters, screws, castles and even stone cathedrals. It seems as though nature's
monumentality is competing with what man has left in the city.
Places to Visit
The second route, through the old part of the city, begins with the Royal
Colegiate Church of Santa Maria La Mayor, which has been declared a national monument, and
is no doubt the most significant in the city of Antequera for its magnificence and for
being in a high position from which it dominates the urban landscape and the Antequera
lowland. It was built between 1514 and 1550 as the first example of Renaissance in a
monument in which Gothic was still prevailing. Styles which are combined in some parts of
the majestic building and in which Roman ashlars were used, the same as in the 16th
century Arco de los Gigantes (the giant’s arches) which was erected over an old
Nazarí doorway. It must be emphasized that the proffesorship of grammar and latinity
originated from the Antequeran poetry group of the Golden Age, was created in the Royal
Colegiate Church which today, is not open for worship. 
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FESTIVITIES AND TRADITIONS