A walk in Arcos, with thanks to Casa Campana

Plaza de Cabildo, Arcos de la Frontera

Arcos de la Frontera: Walking tour

Here are the first five stages of the walking tour of Arcos devised by Casa Campana. If you wish to stay in the Old Town, AVA can arrange this for you.

The old quarter of Arcos resides on a clifftop. It's a maze of narrow streets leading to small squares, and its atmosphere is uniquely Andalusian. he myriad historical details n the heart of the old quarter , some of which are easily overlooked, provide us with a fascinating snapshot of the town's extremely long past. Let's start the tour at Plaza de Cabildo (shown above) - check out its stunning viewpoint scanning the surrounding countryside. The square, which was once used as a bullring, is a natural focal point for the visitor to Arcos de la Frontera, lying as it does right outside Santa María church - the town's touristic centerpiece...

Santa María church

Perhaps the best known sight for visitors to Arcos de la Frontera, Santa María (shown above) is a mixture of many different architectural styles. It was constructed over a period of six centuries over six centuries, and stands in plac of what was a mosque. The mosque was built by the Moor who occupied Arcos from 711 AD to 1262 AD. Look at the impressive, though unfinished neo-classical bell tower - the old one fell in the earthquake of 1755 (famous for destroying Lisbon). Its replacement was intended to be the tallest in Andalucia after Seville's, but the money ran out!

Castle

Towards the back of the square, take the steps leading up to the castle (shown above). Now in private hands, the castle dates back to the 11th century and was built by the Moors, who used it as a military fortress. Legend has it that the ghost of a Moorish woman still wanders along the castle battlements each moonlit night, in search of her lover. Rebuilding work went on in the 14th and 15 centuries under the Christians, a time when the first Dukes of Arcos used to live in the castle. Spain's renowned Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, spent some time in the castle with the Dukes shortly before travelling to Granada for the surrender of the Moors to the Christians in January 1492 (in the same year Columbus set sail for the Americas).

Carved stone

Back to the church. After passing the left hand side of the main façade Santa María church, you'll notice a large block of stone (shown above). Of Roman or Arab origin and probably a remnant from the Arab mosque which stood on this site, the stone is inscribed with a centuries-old tree motif. Could this be the Tree of Life, that ancient symbol seen in so many cultures? With its branches reaching into the sky, and its roots in the earth, the tree dwells in three worlds - a link betwen heaven, the earth, and the underworld, uniting above and below. It is both a feminine symbol, bearing sustenance, and a masculine, visibly phallic symbol - another union. Can you see the etched face in the tree?

Magic circle

Go down the first flight of steps, and in the pavement in front of the church you'll find the 15th century 'magic circle' (shown above). It is the only one to be found in the whole of Andalusia. You'll see there are 12 red stones and 12 white stones - the white ones have different constellations marked on them. The magic circle used to be kept inside Santa Maria, and when parents brought a child to the church for baptism, they would employ an exorcist to stand inside the circle (which acted as 'protection') and cleanse the baby of any evil spirits. It was also a holy symbol during the Moorish occupation of Arcos, and though local people do not revere the circle any more, it is said that Sufis, a sect whose roots and mystic beliefs may even predate the Moorish period, still come here as pilgrims.

There are fifteen more cultural stops on the walking tour.

The tour ends at this viewpoint