This surprising and picturesque La Axarquía village stretches across one of the slopes of the looming Sierra de Tejeda range, while its municipal territory extends to the vicinity of the La Maroma peak (2,065 metres), considered the “Roof of Málaga”.

The visitor arriving in this region finds himself immersed in a landscape that is simply spectacular, both for the mountains themselves and for the panoramic views to be seen from every point. A pine forest, broken by rocky expanses on its upper levels, covers the northern part while in the south the landscape has more in common with the dominant terrain of La Axarquía, although it does not cease to be rugged. Here one sees hills covered with vineyards and olive groves, occasionally mixed with fruit and citrus orchards and market gardens.
To the twenty-first century mind the location of the village has to seem arbitrary, but the fact is that its placement is due to two factors that were crucial in the Middle Ages: abundant water in the area and, if the need should arise, the possibility of serving either as a safe refuge or as a strong natural defensive position.

 

 

Remains discovered in the region known as La Fáfara show the presence of primitive man in this territory, and it should be kept in mind that it is relatively close to the Boquete Zafarraya (Zafarraya Gap), a natural pass from the most remote antiquity between the coast and the interior of the Peninsular. It is also more than probable that both the Phoenicians and Romans passed through this area since they did through others very close to here.
Nevertheless, one must look for the origin of the village as such to the Arabic era, when the first nucleus of population, Canillas Azzeitún, was created. The village preserves this name with a slight variation. It is known that it belonged to the Kingdom of Granada, but the exact date of its conquest by the Christian troops is unknown. The Moorish rebellion, however, is very well documented, especially a strange occurrence in which romantic, political and military factors interacted.

 

The chronicles state that a Moor named Al Muezzín, who assisted the Alpujarreños in the famous sixteenth century uprising, came to Canillas looking for his wife who at the time was the slave of a Christian. Al Muezzín promoted the uprising in Canillas de Aceituno and some of its men, emboldened by the cause, killed eight Christians who happened to be in an inn. Upon being informed of the act, the Judge of Vélez imprisoned an unknown number of Moors and tortured and stripped them of their possessions, thus causing the uprising to become generalised. Once it was put down, the Moors were expelled from the village and the castle was destroyed by orders of Felipe II.
The locality was repopulated by Christians from Archidona, Antequera, Lucena and Cabra, and apparently also from Andújar. This would explain the devotion to the Virgen de la Cabeza, who is the patron saint of both Canillas de Aceituno and of Andujar.

 

How to Get There:
Turn off the Mediterranean Expressway (A-7; N-340) in the direction of Vélez Málaga on the A-335, the road that runs through the La Axarquía region. After travelling some 10 kilometres, you will see the turning for the MA-125, which will lead directly to Canillas de Aceituno.

 

Outstandings Visits:
The Mudéjar-style San José church was built in the sixteenth century. It is a very simple structure with a rectangular floor plan and a wooden roof. It was restored in the first third of the eighteenth century and the belfry to the left of the main façade is from that period. It is also of very simple construction and houses a single bell.
The hermitage of the Virgen de las Angustias (Virgin of Anguish), patron saint of La Viñuela, is in the Los Ramírez neighbourhood. It is said to have been built by the C-335 contractor in 1888. According to tradition, the new road had to pass by a small cave in which some images of saints were kept and where teamsters would stop. The contractor, who was from Granada, promised that if the road project was completed without mishap, he would erect a hermitage at some place near the cave in honour of the patron saint of his birthplace, the Virgen de las Angustias. This is the origin of the hermitage, but before it was built, it was necessary to reach an agreement between the residents of Canillas de Aceituno and La Viñuela as to which municipality it would be in. The people from the latter locality won, and since that time the Virgen de las Angustias has shared the patron saint honours with San José Saint Joseph).
The Torre de la Atalaya (Watchtower) is a sixteenth century lookout tower that was built, like so many others, to defend the territory, Zalia in this case, from coastal invasions. It has a circular base and is 9.5 metres tall. Here again tradition has something to say about this, namely that it was built in a single night with materials from the surrounding area and with water from the River Guaro. This tower had a partner on the Agudo hill, but only ruins remain of that structure.
The most noteworthy archaeological sites in La Viñuela are located on the Los Asperones hill, at Los Castillejos and at the Herrera workshop. Among other items, large pots for storing olive oil have been found as well as millstones for grinding olives, which clearly indicates the importance of olive oil in this area in Roman times.

Interesting Facts:
Surface Area: 42 square kilometres
Population: about 2,000
What the natives are called: Canilleros
Monuments: the Nuestra Señora del Rosario church, Casa de los Diezmos (Tithe House), and the medieval cistern
Geographical Location: in the northeast part of the La Axarquía region, 17 kilometres from Vélez Málaga and 51 from the provincial capital. The village sits at 650 metres above sea level. Its average rainfall is 670 litres per square metre and the annual average temperature is 17º C.
Tourist Information: Town Hall, Plaza de la Constitución, 1 (29716). Telephone: 952 518 002