Cuevas de San Marcos

What to See in Cuevas de San Marcos

The San Marcos church is by far the most representative monument in the village. Its construction dates from the seventeenth century but in the eighteenth it underwent very extensive alterations resulting in a harmonious union of baroque and neoclassic styles, with its monumental façade being of the latter style. Its interior is composed of three naves with barrel vaults, and the exterior is noteworthy for its three-level bell tower crowned by a very pointed roof covered with eye-catching glazed ceramic.

The chapel of El Carmen, more modest than the parish church, was built in the eighteenth century. It has a single nave and a brick tower with a ceramic roof. In the interior, the hexagonal "camarín"(niche) with lantern is interesting.

The Cueva de Belda (Belda cave) is undoubtedly the place in this area that most attracts the attention of visitors. It is a huge limestone cavity abounding with stalactites and stalagmites that are scattered around three interior lakes. The prehistoric remains that have been found here are extraordinarily important, but perhaps this archaeological site’s "star attraction" is the "ídolo oculado" (large-eyed idol). It is only seven centimetres tall and is carved from a phalange bone of some animal whose species has not been determined.

Medina de Belda

The Noria de la Aceña sits in an idyllic spot at Cuevas de San Marcos. The waterwheel dates back to the last decades of the eighteenth century. It was constructed with iron, but originally, it had wood buckets. Visitors can still watch its movements and listen to the rhythm of the paddles in the stream of water.

The iron bridge of Luis de Armiñán has a peculiar feature: riveting rather than welding keeps its parts together. In 1910, when it was constructed to connect the south of Córdoba with the north of Málaga, it was a major engineering project.

 

Cuevas de San Marcos’s Museo Arqueológico Municipal

, the local archaeological museum, embraces a long period of time ranging from prehistoric times to the late Middle Ages. Although the Palaeolithic and Neolithic artefacts as well as the tools from the Bronze Age are remarkable, the findings at the Iznájar reservoir from the Punic-Roman period stand out. Roman glass and loom weights, among other objects, have been unearthed. The archaeological site of Medina Belda has contributed a huge collection of pottery from Islamic and Visigothic Spain. The Museo Arqueológico is a dynamic, education-oriented museum that serves as a centre of learning., on the crest of the Camorro mountain range, is another very interesting archaeological site. At one time the city of Belda occupied this site and, according to some chronicles, consisted of 200 houses, but scant trace of them remains today. There are also the ruins of a tower and water- tank.

Cuevas de San Marcos’s Fiestas and Gastronomy

Cuevas de San Marcos has a large enough cookbook to satisfy any taste. Porra and gazpacho (cold soups), so native to this area, head the list of traditional dishes, but immediately following them one must list sopa de gato ("cat soup", but it has nothing to do with that animal, since it is made from onion, tomato, peppers, bread, black pepper, saffron and fried olive oil with garlic), migas (a dish made from fried bread crumbs), salmorejo (a sauce containing olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper), sobrehúsa (a kidney bean preparation), ajoblanco (a cold soup), gachas (a soup made of flour with seasonings), escabeche (a sauce for preserving fish) and relleno (turkey and ham with bacon, stuffed in a length of tripe).

The local confectionery is worthy of the main courses, and special mention should be made of roscos de huevo and roscos de vino (spiral pastries made, respectively, with eggs and wine), tortillas de pascua (a type of omelet), pan de cortijo (farm-style bread), borrachuelos (a type of muffin), gachas de mosto (gachas with wine), carne de membrillo (quince preserves), embustes and flores de leche (a kind of custard). And finally, as an aid to digesting the traditional Cuevacho fare, try a glass of licor de membrillo (quince liqueur) or rasolí, two locally made drinks.

More information About Cuevas de San Marcos

Legends About Cuevas de San Marcos

Legend has it that at the time of the Christian Reconquista the devil was living at the Belda cave, at the very bottom of this natural hole. Cuevachos, as the natives are called, feared this evil being and thought the stink of sulphur that came out of the cave was the smell of the devil. Even a group of Christian knights who stood at the entrance for the night could not overcome their fear. A friar was sent by the governor of Antequera to put an end to such nonsense. "With this cross I am tying you up!," cried the priest, and he tied immediately the devil to the ground with a rope made from jaramago fibre. Since then, the devil has left Cuevas de San Marcos residents alone and every year they "tie up" the devil with a similar rope as that used by the priest as a nice way to show gratitude.