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Archidona is situated in the
northern part of Malaga province, in the
Antequera administrative
area 20 kilometres from that town, and it borders
on the province of Granada.
The town itself lies at the foot of the Sierra
de Gracia, which is 943
metres above sea level, and is surrounded by the
Conjuro peak, 1,013 metres
high, and the 971 metre-high Sierra de las
Grajas.
Its privileged position has
resulted in it having been settled at
various points throughout
its early history, the proof of which is in the
various names the place has
had over the centuries. The first tribe we have
some evidence of was the
Turdulo tribe, around 1,500 B.C. The Phoenicians
came later and called the
place "Escua", which means "The Principal Head",
and it is believed to be
these who began building the town walls.
When
finished, these made the
town one of the most difficult to conquer, and
during the Roman period it
was known as "Arx Dómina". The Moors finally
named it "Medina Arxiduna",
from which it gets its present name. It was in
Archidona that one of the
most brilliant eras in Spanish history began: the
Omeya dynasty in Andalucía,
and it was here too, at the end of the 9th
century and beginning of the
10th century, that the rebellion of the
Muladíes and the Berbers
took place, more usually known as the Mozarab
rebellion, under the
leadership of the Muladi Omar Ben Hafsun.
Peace came back to the town
under Abd el-Rahman III, first Caliph of
Cordoba. The influence of
the Cordobans was decisive for the well-being of
Archidona, and commerce,
industry and agriculture flourished. Following the
political disorder of the
Taife reign, Archidona and Antequera went into
decline, and the walls of
Archidona were eventually destroyed. The castle
was conquered from the
decadent Granada rulers in 1462, and the town we
known today began to take
shape in the 16th century. The first important
urban centre was the Villa
Baja, built on the initiative of the Ureña
family, having achieved the
sort of political power that had been enjoyed by
the people of the Villa
Alta.
The new colonists settled in
the calle
Carrera district, which was
always the focal point of the town. The
hermitages of Santa Catalina
(later Convento de la Victoria), Columna and El
Nazareno were built about
that time. Thanks to Sur in
english
The town of Archidona continues to
grow and the advent of the European Union has seen a diversity of
cultures descend on Andalucia, with a small number of those choosing to
settle in the Archidona area. The result being a buoyant
real estate market. Fortunately there are several excellent real
estate agents in this area who specialise in country properties.
All of the real estate agents
offer properties for sale, rural property, town houses, cortijos, farms,
fincas, land and any number of other types of real estate.
Property management is
also available for those who wish to purchase a property to let or to
rent out for a separate income. Project management for
building renovations as well
as full constructions
are not a problem as there are plenty of
good builders in the area.
www.builderspain.com |
