Carpet of flowers
made for the Corpus festival |
Casabermeja is situated on
the Las Pedrizas road at just under 20 kilometres from Malaga. It is in the
heart of beautiful countryside, surrounded by the mountain ranges of El
Torcal, Cabras, Co and Los Camorolos. This last range is the source of the
Arroyo Coche and the river Guadalmedina. the mountains form a circle,
offering a year-round spectacle of colours that range from springtime greens
to autumn golds and winter browns.
The origin of the town goes back to pre-historic times, to judge by various
archaeological finds made in the area. Among these are remains discovered in
the stone burial grounds at Chapera and the Cortijo del Hospital, along with
rock paintings found in the Mogea hills and in small caves near the Cortijo
Cabrera. The Moorish presence is evident from Mozarab settlement remains in
the areas of Chapera Alta, Colmenar, and Jotrón. Casabermeja was then a
fortress on the defensive line of the territory dominated by the Bobastro
leadership at the time of the Omar ben Hasún rebellion. The Moors called
the place Q´sar Bermeja, meaning the Red Castle, and the name later stuck
to the urban area. Nevertheless, local legend has it that the name derives
from Queen Isabel’s reaction to seeing the small village for the first
time: ¡Qué casa bermeja! (What a red house!)
The ruins of the Torre Zambra and an old wall built over one even older are
the only remains left of the Moorish presence in the area. The first written
reference to the town appears after the fall of Malaga, in a letter sent by
the Catholic King and Queen confirming the granting of Villa status to the
town, later confirmed by their daughter Doña Juana in 1509 and 1529, and
again by the Emperor Charles V in 1550. Another important date in the
history of the town was May 5th, 1630, when a Royal Decree granted the
residents of the town permission to buy out the Villa.
Places
to be visited
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Church
of Nuestra Señora del Socorro
The Church of Nuestra Señora del Socorro is situated in the
centre of the town, and comprises a group of buildings around the
mail structure. These are the sacristy, the tower and lateral
naves with smaller rooms built on. Further construction was done
in the 17th and 19th centuries on the earlier 16th century church,
enlarging the entire group. The outside of the church was built in
bricks and rubble, its most outstanding element being the
five-storey tower, separated by cornices. The square-based tower
is bevelled at the upper corners, and the doorway simple, with a
semicircular arch on pillars topped by a cornice.
The Torre Zambra
This Moorish tower, dating from the 13th century, is situated four
kilometres from the town, close to the ancient Camino Real (Royal
Road) to Malaga. Apart from its undoubted historical value, it is
also an outstanding vantage point from which to view the
surrounding countryside, where one can much of the provinces of
Malaga and Granada, and on a clear day, the coast of North Africa.
Writers like Cervantes and Vicente Espinel have mentioned this
view in their works. To get to the tower, take the old road from
Casabermeja to Malaga from the Hermitage of El Chorro.
Cemetery
The old cemetery, favourite subject for passing photographers on
the main road, was declared to be of Historic and Artistic value
in 1980. It looks like a miniature city of the dead, the differing
shapes of its tombstones making it a really memorable sight.
The Pictorial Complex of Peñas Cabrera
This collection of amazing natural shapes carved out by the wind
over many centuries of erosion is situated close to the
Guadalmedina river about four kilometres from the town.
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| Where
to eat |
Restaurante
Casabermeja. Specialising in typical mountain dishes,
stuffed pumpkins, mushrooms in the Malaga style, fried bread
crumbs, egg plant with cane honey, soups, omelettes with black
pudding, spring onions, Malaga rock salmon and rice with lobster.
Autovía Málaga-Madrid, Km. 15, Salida 148. Tel: 952 758 425 and
952 758 640.
Restaurante La Posada.
Specialising in fried bread crumbs, cabbage dishes and rabbit in
garlic. C/ Real, 5. Tel: 952 758 229.
Restaurante El Corte. Autovía
Sevilla-Málaga, Km 151. Tel: 952 758 429.
Casa Cañá. Specialising in
fried bread crumbs, callos (pigs’ trotters and snouts), fried
cod, steak and omelettes. C/Real, 27. Tel: 952 758 404.
Venta Pedro. Situated close to
the road- Vva. de la Concepción, Km. 3. Tel: 952 758 135.
Mesón La Pedriza.
Specialising in game, fried bread crumbs and lamb foot. C/Paseo
Puerto de la Horca, 17. Tel: 952 758 051.
Venta La Huerta. Specialising
in paella, kid and fried bread crumbs. Ctra. de Colmenar, Km 1.
Tel: 952 758 129.
Restaurante Bar Juani.
Specialising in home cooking, fish and sea foods, and tapas.
C/Fuente de Abajo, 12. Tel: 952 758 656.
Restaurante Bar Alba.
Specialising in home cooking, tapas, and steak in the
"Alba" style. C/Puerto de la Horca, 1. Tel: 952 758 513.
Mesón del Lugar. Specialising
in barbecued meats and tapas. C/Puerto de la Horca, 45. Tel:
952 758 178.
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| Where
to sleep |
Hotel
Casabermeja. 11 bedrooms. Autovía Málaga-Madrid, Km.
15, Salida 148. Tel: 952 758 425 and 952 758 640.
Hostal La Posada. C/Real, 5.
Tel: 952 758 229.
Pensión El Taxi. Paseo del
Puerto de la Horca, 11. Tel: 952 758 022.
Hostal El Corte. Autovía
Sevilla-Málaga, Km 151. Tel: 952 758 429.
Rural
Accommodation in the province of Malaga
(in
Spanish)
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Facade of an old
house |
FIESTAS
Casabermeja has a very busy festive
calendar, the first of the season taking place on January 20th with the
festival in honour of the town’s patron saint, San Sebastián. The
romería of San Marcos takes place on April 25th, when the people of the
place traditional head out into the countryside and eat baked cakes. The
Fiesta de Las Cruces (Crosses) is on May 3rd. June sees the traditional
Corpus festival, which lasts four days and in which the streets and houses
are decorated in flowers. Worth seeing are the highly ornamental altars
made for the Stations of the Cross during the procession of the Santísimo
en la Custodia. In May too is the festival of San Juan, complete with huge
bonfires, and one of the most important of all the festivals in this town
is the Cante Grande, the oldest of the Flamenco music festivals in the
province of Malaga. It takes place on the last Saturday of June. The town’s
feria is during the first week of August, and a vital part of this is the
cattle fair. The Holy Week celebrations are also very important here, and
among the most curious festivals in Casabermeja are the Churripampa
dancing festival and the verdiales, a very important musical form of the
Malaga Mountain region.
GASTRONOMY
Casabermeja offers a large number of local
dishes that are eaten all the year round, these including the traditional
Plato de los Montes, rabbit in garlic and kid in pepper. In winter the
people like to eat fried bread crumbs and drink the local mosto wines.
Gazpacho is the dish of the summer. There are also lots of delicious
pastries and breads, including the chickpea bread rolls and the baked cakes
on San Marcos Day. Most of the other pastries are made with aniseed, these
being the borrachuelos (liqueur-soaked Christmas buns), magdalenas (sponge
buns), sponge cake, wine doughnuts and olive oil tarts.
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