Cártama
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Cártama is a town and municipality in the
province of Málaga The province of Málaga ( es, Provincia de Málaga ) is located in Andalusia, Spain. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the south and by the provinces of Cádiz to the west, Seville to the northwest, Córdoba to the north, and Granada to ...
, part of the autonomous community of
Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...
, southern
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
. The municipality is situated approximately from
Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...
. It is one of the most extensive towns in the province, covering c. . Cártama has a population of approximately 15,000 residents.


Geography

Situated in the heart of the
Guadalhorce The Guadalhorce (from Arabic وَادِي (''wādī''), "river" + Latin ''forfex'', "scissors") is the principal river of the Province of Málaga in southern Spain. Its source is in the Sierra de Alhama in the Province of Granada, from which ...
valley, at the foot of two small sierras, and surrounded by thousands of orange and lemon trees, its territory forms part of the Hoya de Málaga, from the provincial capital. It stretches across both banks of the river. From its main vantage point, the Hill of the Virgin, can be seen the different communities which make up the town: Cártama Pueblo, the ancient town with a 3000-year history and streets laid out in
Moorish The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or se ...
style; Estación de Cartama, which has its origin in the 1865 railway station; El Sexmo, Doñana, Aljaima and the Sierra de Gibralgalia, with views of the whole valley as far as
Coín Coín () is a town and municipality in the Province of Málaga, Spain, c. 33 km west of the provincial capital, Málaga, and about 30 km north of Marbella. The town has an official population of 22,000 inhabitants. Foreigners now mak ...
,
Álora Álora is a town and municipality in southern Spain in the province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Located c. 40 km from Málaga, on the right bank of the river Guadalhorce and on the Córdoba-Málaga railway, withi ...
,
Casarabonela Casarabonela is a town and municipality in the province of Málaga, part of the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg ...
and Málaga itself. The original town, Cártama Pueblo, stretches across the steep side of the Hill of the Virgin (240 m over the sea level). Its buildings and roads follow the contours of the hill, and reflect the varied topography of the area. One of the town's most well-known features is the iron bridge (the "green bridge" or ''puente verde'') over the
Guadalhorce river The Guadalhorce (from Arabic وَادِي (''wādī''), "river" + Latin ''forfex'', "scissors") is the principal river of the Province of Málaga in southern Spain. Its source is in the Sierra de Alhama in the Province of Granada, from which ...
, and which provided access between Estación and the
pueblo In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...
before its replacement by a more modern road bridge. This area has been restored as a recreational area, and an extensive riverside leisure area is now planned.


History

The strategic position that Cártama holds, on a natural route from the coast to the interior, made it an obvious place to settle. The area has been successively occupied by
Iberians The Iberians ( la, Hibērī, from el, Ἴβηρες, ''Iberes'') were an ancient people settled in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian peninsula, at least from the 6th century BC. They are described in Greek and Roman sources (among ...
,
Tartessians Tartessos ( es, Tarteso) is, as defined by archaeological discoveries, a historical civilization settled in the region of Southern Spain characterized by its mixture of local Paleohispanic and Phoenician traits. It had a proper writing system ...
,
Phoenicians Phoenicia () was an ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient thalassocracy, thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-st ...
,
Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
,
Visigoths The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is ...
, Byzantines and
Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...
until it was finally conquered by the Christians in 1485. It was one of the last Moorish strongholds to fall to the army of King
Ferdinand the Catholic Ferdinand II ( an, Ferrando; ca, Ferran; eu, Errando; it, Ferdinando; la, Ferdinandus; es, Fernando; 10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), also called Ferdinand the Catholic (Spanish: ''el Católico''), was King of Aragon and Sardinia from ...
. The Phoenicians, who were already established in Málaga, made incursions to the interior via the river. They gave the town its first recorded name, ''Cartha'', which means "concealed city" or "hidden city". Later, the Romans renamed it ''Cartima'', founding the town in 195 BC, and providing it with strong defences. The Roman occupation lasted for six centuries, and during this time it was one of the principal towns of the province. Based on the sheer volume of archaeological sites – mosaics, sculptures, burial grounds and road remains have been found – the area must have been heavily populated. The baths of Cartima, with their fabled curative powers, were famous during this period.


Main sights

The Hermitage of Our Lady of the Remedies (''La Ermita de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios'') is situated on the Hill of the Virgin and which has been designated a building of historical and cultural interest. It was built on the site of a previous Hermitage from the 15th century, and is a very beautiful building with an approach which winds up the hill above the pueblo, and which commands superb views of the surrounding area. A remnant of the Roman period is the 2nd-century AD column, called the Humilladero Cross, after for the forged iron cross attached to its top. This well-preserved column is an important reminder of the "Cartima Municipium", and for this reason is incorporated in the town's
heraldic crest A crest is a component of a heraldic display, consisting of the device borne on top of the helm. Originating in the decorative sculptures worn by knights in tournaments and, to a lesser extent, battles, crests became solely pictorial after the ...
. It was saved and placed on its current site in 1752 to mark the excavations carried out then by the Marquis de Valdeflores, as an inscription in its base testifies. The castle dates from the 10th century, when the city was ruled by the Moors. It sits astride a ridge which dominates the surrounding area, and offers wonderful panoramic views. Between the 13th and 15th centuries its strategic situation meant that it became one of Málaga's more important defences, guarding against access from the Guadalhorce valley, which was one of the easier routes to mount an attack on the capital. Its construction is typically military, with a double defensive enclosure; the first had ten towers, while the second, nearer the town, had eight towers and another walled tower. It was well equipped to resist siege, as it had two wells, dug in the time of the
Caliphs A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
. The castle's capture by the
Catholic Monarchs The Catholic Monarchs were Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of Spain. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being bot ...
in 1485 is recorded in the bas-reliefs of the Coro in the
Cathedral of Toledo , native_name_lang = , image = Toledo Cathedral, from Plaza del Ayuntamiento.jpg , imagesize = 300px , imagelink = , imagealt = , landscape = , caption ...
, which testifies to Cártama's importance at the time. Once the Christians recaptured Málaga, however, the castle fell into progressive decay. The Church of
Saint Peter the Apostle ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupati ...
, built on the site of the old
mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
after the Christian capture of the city. It is still standing and has recently been extensively refurbished.


Famous people

In the street Calle Viento is the house of the poet José González Marín, who was born in Cártama in 1889 and died there in 1956. On the same street is the house of Jose Alarcon Lujan, who was born in the town in 1821 and died there in 1902. The house is an elegant mansion which still preserves the architectural beauty of the period.


Traditions

Cártama is famous for its festivals and ''
ferias In the liturgy of the Catholic Church, a feria is a day of the week other than Sunday. In more recent official liturgical texts in English, the term ''weekday'' is used instead of ''feria''. If the feast day of a saint falls on such a day, the ...
''. The carnivals occur during February, but the main festival of the year takes place in April to honour the town's
patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...
, La Virgen de los Remedios. The statue of the Virgin is carried down the mountain from its chapel in the Ermíta to its temporary home, the Church of Saint Peter the Apostle. On 23 April the Virgin is paraded through the town, and pilgrims come from many miles around, and even from abroad, to witness the procession and make offerings. The fiesta is followed by a cattle fair. This fiesta has recently been designated a "Fiesta of National Touristic Interest" by the Tourist Board of Andalusia. In May, Estación holds its feria to celebrate the
Saint's Day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...
of its patron, San Isidro. The most notable feature is an extensive parade, which accompanies the image of the saint to the banks of the River Guadalhorce, where a celebration is held throughout the day. Prizes are awarded for the best decorated street. On the first Sunday in May the town holds the Verdiales festival, which is a traditional country song and dance festival with competing groups from Álora,
Pizarra Pizarra is a town and municipality in the province of Málaga, part of the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. The municipality is situated approximately 30 kilometres from Málaga. It is located in the center of the province and ...
,
Almogía Almogía is a town and municipality in the province of Málaga, part of the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , nati ...
and Cártama taking part. This event, held at the Ermita de las Cruces, has been declared an "Event of National Tourist Interest". There are many other annual events, including the return of La Virgen to the Ermita in early June, the festival of
San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...
in late June, and the September Cattle Fair. The El Sexmo fair, held in the second week of September, lasts for four days. The Día de los Canastitos is held on Saint Ann's day on the banks of the
Río Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...
and features people arriving with baskets of fruit and bread, and the Verdiales which feature the old wheel dances.


References


External links


Cártama City Council Website

Malaga Metropolitan Transport Consortium Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cartama Municipalities in the Province of Málaga