The
territory of the municipality of Benarrabá, watered
by the Rivers Genal and Guadiaro, presents to the visitor
a landscape forested with cork oaks, evergreen oaks and
pines on the one hand and on the other olive groves and
grain fields, crops that give away along the riverbanks
to citrus trees, vegetables and orchards.
These
lands as a whole possess the diversity that is characteristic
of a varied mountain terrain rich in contrasts. It is in
the watershed of the River Genal, though, that the landscape
reaches levels of outstanding beauty.
The urban district faces the valley of the River Genal.
It sits on a knoll on which has been laid out a fascinating
maze of streets and alleys in whose background, bends in
the street permitting, can be seen the verdant nearby forest.
There is no reliable evidence of human settlement in these
lands before the arrival of the Arabs to the Iberian Peninsular,
so every indication is that the place was founded during
the Muslim era, apparently by descendants of the Bann Rabbah
(Sons of Rabbah) tribe of the Berbers, thus the name of
the town.
These
first settlers constructed a fortification on the slopes
of Mount Porón that dominated a landscape that included
the neighbouring towns of Jubrique, Gaucín, Algatocín
and Genalguacil. This was responsible for the fortress becoming
the best point for observing and defending a large part
of the valley. There are those who say, perhaps letting
their imaginations run wild, that that castle had an underground
connection with those of Casares and Gaucín. After
the Christian Conquest, these lands passed directly into
the hands of the House of Medina Sidonia.
One of the most important and best-documented historic occurrences
in this place is in fact connected to the House of Medina
Sidonia. In 1636, the ninth duke of that illustrious name
passed through Benarrabá on the way to Montilla where
he was going to pick up his wife, Juana Fernández
de Córdoba, whom he had married by proxy. The retinue
passed through the place with such pomp and ostentation
that it went down in local history as a notable event.
Outstandings
Visits:
Since the Arab castle on Mount Porón no longer exists
this town’s most outstanding monument is the parish church
of San Sebastián. It was built in the first half
of the eighteenth century and later underwent numerous alterations.
Its interior is divided into three naves separated by semicircular
arches resting on quadrangular pillars. In the square, main
chapel, the decorated dome stands out for its multicoloured
gesso works relating to the Assumption and the martyrdom
of Saint Sebastian and other saints.
On its main façade the church has a curious lobed
arch that ends in a triangle, while the tower is notable
for its roof covered with blue glazed ceramic. The church,
taken as a whole, is built to a very harmonious plan and
shows great architectural simplicity.
The Cristo de la Vera Cruz hermitage dates from the seventeenth
century and has also been the object of later alterations.
Its floor plan is a single nave where a valuable polychromatic
wooden altarpiece made in the eighteenth century is displayed.
The sombreness of this small church’s exterior is relieved
somewhat by a graceful belfry with a single bell window.
How
to Get There:
If the traveller is in Ronda or its environs, the easiest
way to get to this town is to take the A-369 (Ronda-Algeciras
road), and once past Algatocín to take the MA-538
to Benarrabá. If he is starting from the Costa del
Sol, it is advisable to go by way of the AP-7 (N-340) to
Manilva and there to take the A-377 to Gaucín, where
it connects with the A-369 and Benarrabá is then
reached by the aforementioned MA-358.
Interesting Facts:
Surface Area: 26 square kilometres
Population: about 600
What the natives are called: Benarrabeños
Monuments: the parish church of San Sebastián, Santo
Cristo de la Vera Cruz hermitage
Geographical Location: in the southern part of the Mountains
of Ronda, 157 kilometres from the city of Málaga
and 37 from Ronda. The urban district lies 520 meters above
sea level. Average annual rainfall is 1,260 litres per square
metre and the average annual temperature is 14.3º C
Tourist Information: Town Hall, Calle Pósito, 7 (29490).
Telephone: 952 150 077; Fax: 952 150 208
