Alozaina

Location

Sierra de las Nieves

Alozaina and Church of Santa Ana in the background

Click to enlarge images below:

Interesting Facts of Alozaina

Surface Area: 34.5 square kilometres

Population: 2,200

What the natives are called: Pecheros

Outstanding Sights: Santa Ana church, Arco de Alozaina (Alozaina Arch), María Sagredo castle, Hoyos de los Peñones Mirador Park, Fuente el Albar, Jardines Picasso, Jorox

Geographical Location: between the River Guadalhorce valley region, to which it belongs, and the Ronda highlands, 52 kilometres from Málaga and 41 from the city of Ronda. The centre of the village is 386 metres above sea level and the average annual precipitation in the region is 700 litres per square metre. The average temperature is 17 º C.

Alozaina’s territory extends from the Sierra Prieta range in the north to the Río Grande valley in the south, linking the eastern watershed of the Ronda Mountains with the River Guadalhorce valley. These are two very different regions that give this district remarkable scenic diversity.

The most spectacular spots in the municipality of Alozaina are on the slopes of the Sierra Prieta. In this region one finds La Ventanilla, which is reached by the Cuesta de Pino Alto forest trail. This trip is a feast for the eyes but it might be considered just a preparation for the sight awaiting the traveller, at the moment he looks out over the Guadalhorce Valley, lying at his feet in all its splendour.

The word Alozaina might mean "fortress" or "healthy or good place" or it could be a female name related to Husein, the good one. There are documents naming it Alhosayna or Jorin or Jorol in the ninth and tenth centuries. The village is halfway from the plains to the mountains. The landscape is made of olive groves, fruit orchards and crop fields against the backdrop of Sierra Prieta, whose mountaintop reaches 1,525 metres above sea level.

Relics in the form of hunting weapons discovered in the cave called Cueva del Algarrobo or Cueva de las Vacas indicate that the first human settlement in this region dates back to the Upper Palaeolithic period, and in Cueva de la Mesa a burial site and a tiny trumpet made of gold from the Bronze Age have been found. At present, they can be seen in the Archaeological Museum in Málaga.

The "Villa de Alozaina" became a chartered town on October 12, 1492. On July 8, 1568, led by Lorenzo Alfaquí and El Jubeli, six hundred rebels of Moorish origin attacked the village while the men were away working in the fields. The women defended the village. Out of them, María Sagredo stood out for her courage. She defended the castle, killed a Moorish soldier and hurt many of them with her arrows. Moreover, she threw honeycombs at them and finally they ran away. "María, the flies from your country bite really hard!," they cried. The event is recorded on Alozaina's coat of arms.

In 1977 Alozaina received the 1st National Award to Town Embellishment, granted to Spanish towns.

Road Directions

If you are coming from Málaga, take the A-357. Immediately after Cártama take the A-355 towards Coín and then the A-366, on which the village is located.

Full graphical path: http://bit.ly/nqdTtV

Tourist Info

Alozaina
Ayuntamiento, Plaza De La Constitución, 3
Alozaina
Málaga
29567

Tel: +34 952 48 00 13

Fax: +34 952 48 09 23

Send an email

Website:

Informacion

Socios

What to See in Alozaina

The Santa Ana parish church, built in the eighteenth century on an older structure, is a must-visit building. It follows a Latin cross floor plan and wooden roof even in the transept. At the end there is a gallery on a segmental arch. The church is on Iglesia Street. Phone (+34) 952 480 007 to check opening hours and visit hours.

and its interior is composed of a single nave with a solid wooden roof. A red brick doorway with a semicircular arch on Tuscan pilasters constitutes the most noticeable decorative feature of the façade, on which can be seen a glazed tile inscription commemorating the conquest of the village in 1484. The tower has a square base but becomes octagonal at the belfry level.

The Alozaina Arch at the entrance to the village is of quite recent construction (1951) but has become one of the village’s most noted features, perhaps because it is a sort of homage to the Moorish era whose remains can be seen in many parts of the village.

The locality’s ancient castle took the name of María Sagredo, the heroine who defended the village from the Moorish invasion with commendable courage. Only part of a tower and vestiges of the wall remain from the original structure; the rest is the result of reconstruction carried out in the mid-twentieth century that allowed it to be restored for public use. Besides its historical significance, the castle is most important as an exceptional vantage point at whose base stretches the Hoya de Málaga (Málaga valley).

At Hoyos de los Peñones, some two kilometres from the urban centre of Alozaina in the direction of Casarabonela, is found one of the few vestiges in all of southern Spain of the Mozarabic era: a hermitage cell carved out of a rock around the ninth or tenth centuries. In its very leafy surroundings there are also numerous tombs at different levels. The River Jorox Valley is a little meadow that begins at the rural hamlet of Jorox. In this small village the tourist can visit the Veracruz chapel and the La Mesa high plain, procession places visited in early May.

The Parque Mirador surrounds the former local castle. It affords views of the contrasting landscape made of Sierra Prieta and the plains of Málaga.

Tourist Info

Alozaina
Ayuntamiento, Plaza De La Constitución, 3
Alozaina
Málaga
29567

Tel: +34 952 48 00 13

Fax: +34 952 48 09 23

Send an email

Website:

Informacion

Socios

Alozaina’s Fiestas and Gastronomy

The carnival is held in late February and in Alozaina it displays very distinctive characteristics. In keeping with tradition the villagers take to the streets armed with sacks of flour for no purpose other than dumping it on whoever crosses their paths, which always makes for good fun.

Semana Santa

The patron saint fiestas in honour of Santiago (Saint James) and Santa Ana occur on 25 and 26 July. Fireworks, competitions, athletic contests, concerts, a livestock fair and the processions of Santiago on 25 July and of Santa Ana the next day are some of the events scheduled for these dates and they are notable for their huge public attendance.

The olive oil fair comes in September, coinciding with the celebration of the day of Dulce Nombre de María (Sweet Name of Mary), whose image is borne by women through the streets of the village. Besides its religious element, the fiesta consists of a complimentary sampling of fresh olives in the village square, where there is never a lack of good music and good atmosphere in general.

Alozaina’s Gastronomy

Alozaina’s gastronomic tradition is especially rich, probably due to the fact that it sits halfway between two regions (the Guadalhorce valley and the Ronda highlands) in which the culinary art is deeply rooted. Conejo al ajillo or conejo con tomate (rabbit, either with garlic or tomato) is one of the most characteristic dishes in this region, as is ajo porro frito con huevos (thick garlic soup with eggs). Gachas (a soup made with flour and seasonings) potaje de garbanzos con bacalao y ajos (chickpea stew with garlic and codfish), gazpacho and gazpachillo (varieties of cold vegetable soup) and various other kinds of soups can be added on an equal footing to the first mentioned dishes. As to pastries, we can’t fail to mention the excellent pan de higo (fig rolls) and rosquillas de miel (spiral pastries with honey).

(Holy Week) has its big day on Good Friday, the day the meeting between the Nazareno (Nazarene) and the Virgen de los Dolores (Our Lady of Sorrows) is staged. As in other places in the province of Málaga a number of Passion passages are acted out here by amateur actors, and end with the crucifixion of Christ at Calvary.