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Cómpeta AREA: 54,70 km² ALTITUDE ABOVE SEA LEVEL: 636 metres AVERAGE ANNUAL RAINFALL: 632 l/m² AVERAGE ANNUAL TEMPERATURE: 17’5 ºC POPULATION CENSUS 1994: 2.482  
From the mountains to the sierra, crossing the town, Competa is one of the most spectacular enclaves in the province. For mountain lovers, a course through the forest trail which leads to Venta Panaderos by the Casa de la Mina (mine house), can become an unforgetable excursion with splendid views of the Verde, Tres Cruces, Cisne and many other hills which make the Sierra Almijara into a marvelous natural scenery. At the foot of the town are the Axarquía mountains, with a humbler relief than the sierra, but no less beautiful. There, man has transformed the surroundings with vines scattered with white houses, many with the typical "paseros" where they lay out the grapes to dry and convert them into the exquisite raisin dessert. The abundance of springs, its situation as a passway in one of the old paths which crosses the sierra of Granada and Málaga, its good climate and shelter from the mountain against possible invaders must have favoured man’s presence in these lands since old. But the history of Cómpeta begins with the conquest of Vélez-Málaga in 1487. Soon after the Christian conquest, the Moors of Cómpeta joined the rebellion which their people started in the Axarquía making forts in the Peñon de Frigiliana. They endured various attacks from the Christian troops but on the 12th of June 1569 the fort fell, and although most of the defenders died, the ones that escaped continued harassing the Chrisitians for estates and church posessions, which forced the garrison's reinforcement in order to improve the control over the possible passage of Moors from Granada. From 1570, the lands are populated by old Christians from Sevilla, Baena, Estepa and Puente Genil, among other towns.
As well as walking through the steep streets of the town, in which the houses present the traditional Arabic style construction of one or two storeys and archway entrances, in the main square there is the parish church of the Asunción, built at the end of the 16th century and later restored. It has three naves separated by arches which rest on octagonal pillars. Outside, reformed after the damage of the earthquake in 1884, the front has a lintel archway and belfry pediment with a vaulted niche. But no doubt the complex gains a showiness with the neo-mudejar tower erected in brick, with four bodies, the second with chamfered angles and the top one surrounded by an iron railing, and shaped like a shrine with a semi-espheric dome. There are two chapels in Cómpeta, the one of San Sebastián and the one of San Antón, both from the 18th century.
No doubt the product most in demand is the wine with its own denomination, but there are also handicrafts from forge workshops, pottery and esparto grass weaving for household objects.
For its traditional craftmanship and quality, one has to first mention the wine, muscatel, semisweet or dry. Among the most outstanding dishes are the winter fennel broth and breadcrumbs fried with garlic. The fried pumpkin, Easter omelette which is generally eaten in the spring, loin with garlic, kid, pastoral roast, and broth based on chickpeas, potatoes, cod and vegetables (spinach), complete this interesting gastronomic offer .
The 3rd of May, day of the Cross, has all the tradition of the spring festivals, as with the Corpus Christi and the general adorment of the town. The popular fair takes place at the end of July with the pilgrimage of San Sebastián and on the 15th of August is the great wine fair, which during the last years, and each time more, is taking on a great popular strength which transcends the limits of the surrounding municipality and region. On the 7th and 8th of September is Candlemas which illuminates the countryside and estates.
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HISTORY AND LANDSCAPE
Places to Visit
Shopping
Gastronomy
FESTIVITIES AND TRADITIONS