Villanueva de Alcardete

The most important monument of this village in terms of its historical and artistic value in undoubtedly the Parish Church dedicated to Santiago Apóstol (Saint James the Apostle).

Although in documents of the Order of Santiago (Saint James) dating to 1241 there is already mention of this church, referring to a transaction regarding tithes between the Bishop of Cuenca and the authorities of the Order of Santiago, it is really in the first half of the 16th century when there is evidence of its construction, by the stonemason from Biscay, Martín de Verdolaza. The works were financed to a great extent by the Prior of the Order of Santiago, Don Fernando de Santoyo, born in this village and who was buried in the Capilla del Santísimo (Chapel of the Most Holy Sacrament).

The architectural style is not definite, given that, though the vaults are Gothic in shape, the walls are nevertheless smooth, made of masonry and with few windows, a feature characteristic of the Romanesque period. The mix of these styles and the grandiosity of the scale together with the svelte columns (with regular ashlars and a diameter of 1.5 m) contrasts with the simplicity and absence of adornments.

Its main walls face the four cardinal points and feature, toward the East, the main altar made of gilded wood with and a clear Renaissance influence. This altarpiece includes an image in polychrome stone of the Virgin of Piety, patron of this village and the equestrian statue of Saint James the Apostle, in whose honour the parish is named, was well as ten columns which frame three thrones in the centre.

Inside, the main surface is formed by an almost square rectangle as well as four side chapels, two of them built at the same time as the church, and the other two built more recently.

Four large, simple columns help the walls support the vaults of the temple that divide he church in three naves, the central nave being wider than the two side naves. These columns are joined at the highest point by means of Roman arches, and in the narrow section by open ogival arches, forming a vault supported by nerves that form truly delicate filigree.

Outside, visitors can admire the large buttresses that support the weight of the vaults and the tower houses a winding staircase made of stone ashlars. The entrance doors are Renaissance with certain Baroque touches and on them is an enormous ogival arch.

This beautiful structure is located in the centre of the village, surrounded by a stone and pebble area known locally as “Los Pretiles”, which make this spot next to the grandiosity of the monument one of the village’s most attractive spots for visitors.

Going down Calle Mayor, you will arrive at the Park, which takes its name from a tone monument that sits on four square steps: 'El Rollo', the Pillory.

In old times, the Pillory was a sign of jurisdiction, that is, it indicated that the place had its own justice and it belonged to someone, though later on it would be used for punishing and exhibiting prisoners, though only for villagers and never for nobles or the clergy. This is why, over time, the Pillory became a symbol of the oppression of the people, as well as of the existence of “two different yardsticks”: villagers were sent to the Pillory, but never nobles or clergymen.

It is made up of a cylindrical shaft, with four semi-columns attached as cords; the capital is simple with traces of floral motifs. Four forged cantilevers arise from the upper part, similar in shape to small dog’s heads, hence the popular name by which they are referred to in this village: “Los Perretes” (“The Little Dogs”).

Its shape and location make it one of the most popular meeting places, for both young and old villagers, especially during summer afternoons and evenings.

But undoubtedly, one of the most pleasant walks visitors can enjoy is crossing the Clemente Bridge over the river Gigüela, a tributary of the River Guadiana, which it joins in Tablas de Daimiel.

The construction of this bridge was on the old road from Alicante to Cartagena, being the most populated area of Villanueva in its beginnings, as it brought together the country estates of Alcardete, Cardetum and La Ventosa.

Although there are doubts as to its origins, the solidity and harmony of its construction place it in the Roman period, in the light of the ceramic artefacts found nearby, and given that the features of its construction fit this period

It features 6 spans with Roman arches in each of them, which, together with the trees and the reeds on the banks of the Gigüela, make it one of the most attractive and most visited spots in this village. It was renovated in 1994, as it was in a poor state due to excessive use, being a necessary crossing point to reach different areas of the municipality.

We leave the bridge behind and walk towards San Isidro Hermitage, erected on a hill, only a few metres away from the currents of the river Gigüela.

Its construction was carried out on land granted voluntarily and gratuitously by Don José Collado Castell, and dates from 1950, founded by the will of the Brotherhood of Farmers to provide shelter to the Saint that protects their fields.

Built with small donations from all the neighbours, the building materials and doors are said to come from the old Convent of the Capuchins, currently the Cemetery.

The building has a rectangular plan, featuring a unique nave and an Arabic tile roof. It is accessed through a lintelled door, preceded by a portico with a three sided roof supported on two svelte pillars. It is adorned by a small arch built on the wall, where there is a small bell that tolls every year on May 15th, Saint Isidore’s feast day.

Its interior is lit by two small windows adorned with iron crosses, open in each of the leaves of the door, which is nailed and conserves its original lock, under a wooden lintel, which is supported by the jambs ending in capitals with vegetation motifs.

It boasts a beautiful stone font, built in to the North wall; the altar is located in the western wall, and is where the figure of the Saint is located throughout the year, looking onto the mosaic flooring in a chessboard pattern.

Families and visitors gather on the prairie of Saint Isidore, next to the Saint’s hermitage. As background music, the refined traditional jota music provides a soundtrack to the feast day. Food and drink stalls are everywhere on this day, and locals lie back on the grassy prairie and enjoy Saint Isidore’s feast day.

We leave the field and go up the river slope, crossing the “Puente de la Carreterilla” (Little Road Bridge), and reach the most prominent building at the entrance: the San Roque Hermitage (Saint Roch Hermitage), which used to be referred to as “beyond the walls”, as it is located outside the village centre.

Locals say that many newborn babies were left at its doors, who were then taken in and cared for by the richest families in the village.

The first works on this hermitage were started in 1575; it was then necessary to resort to the king’s help, given the scarcity of resources in the municipality.

The king donated wood from his lands to build the roof and ordered converse Jews from Granada to carve it; this gave the woodwork on the collar-beam roof over the central nave, the aspect of a synagogue; the side naves are covered by simple roofs.

Originally, the walls were rendered and painted on the outside, making its cover a real arabesque, more in line with a Muslim temple than with a Christian place of worship.

It collapsed on July 1976, and was subsequently renovated from 1976 and 1982. The renovation works consisted mainly on the walls, changing the wood in both side naves – though not in the central nave, given its architectural value -, as well as a complete renovation of the altar and the floor in the entire hermitage.

Its location, next to the municipal park and walks, make it one a favourite meeting spot for locals, as well as one of the most loved buildings in this town, especially on August 16, feast day of Saint Roch. At sundown, the area is flooded with the warm aromas of lavender and thyme.

A few metres away from the Hermitage, visitors will find the Municipal Park, covering over one hectare. Its trees and conservation offer a beautifully appropriate contrast with the surrounding land, making it one of the most frequented areas in the village, and a perfect place for enjoying the sunset and taking spectacular photographs. The effect is especially stunning when there are clouds in the sky, providing that 'glorious breakthrough' photographers are always seeking, with the outline of the hermitage in the background - a beautiful image for visitors to remember this spot.

We have reached the town centre, and we see two women with wide smocks, coming down the street and stopping to chat with their neighbours. We are on Calle del General Labarra, known in the village as Calle de la Tercia, as it is the street where Casa Tercia is located, as well as the old village granary building, known as Pósito de Simón de Villanueva, both built in the 16th century.

For information on Casa Tercia, we have to refer to the Historical Archive, which makes reference to the tithes, the taxes paid by Spaniards in that period. They were generally paid in cash except for the grain tithe which was paid in kind. This “bread tax” used be the archbishoprics’ most important tax in financial terms, and in order to receive and store it, a network of granaries known as “Casas Tercias” was built across Spain.

Originally, these houses had floors which were raised from the ground by means of vaults, which made it possible to protect the grain from the humidity and its space was formed by parallel naves separated by arches on pillars.

The Spanish church received from the Christian faithful the tithes of the produce they produced. This tithe was abolished in the first third of the 19th century during Mendizábal’s liberal reform. The law established that all the men in the kingdom should give tithes of bread and wine earned to the church. Of all the tithes received by the church, two ninths of all produce and taxes were granted by it to the Crown as concessions and apostolic graces: these were termed Royal Tithes. Once they had been collected, the produced first had to be stored, and then divided and distributed. The storage of the wheat extended for several months, waiting to sell it at the most favourable price.

The “Casa del Pósito” also stored wheat from the king’s grain, and that of private owners. This house sold and lent grain to farmers. It also lent money and functioned as a bank.

The building features ashlar buttresses covered by a stepped lean-to roof, which form irregularly distributed gaps, as well as a two-sided ceramic tile roof.

After this historical incursion, we leave Casa Tercia, and the first thing we see is the Pilar Abrevadero (Watering Point Pillar), on Calle Goya.

Cylindrical in shape, and covered by fan-laid tiles, its inside has a well from which water was extracted by means of a mechanism pulled by mules. The water was reached the outside by means of a cane, which poured onto the stone troughs, which the animals used for drinking. This area became a favourite place for farmers to meet and chat on their way back from their day’s work. Three windows light up the inside of the building, which still today conserves the old well, which can be seen through the thick glass flooring of the building, nowadays made into an exhibition space.

We leave the Pilar Abrevadero and continue our walk along Calle Mayor until we get to Plaza de la Constitución, the nucleus that used to host the village’s great events, such as fairs, festivals, markets... The stands and stalls would be set up on the gravel, providing colour to the street, and the smoke from the churro shop would seep into every corner of the bandstand, where the band would play typical tunes.

The first renovation was carried out in 1972, with Felipe Verdúguez Ovejero as the director of the project, which includes a new structure featuring a central fountain surrounded by grass, trees and rose bushes, as well as stone and tile benches, providing a touch of colour to the town.

Due to several problems caused in the floor as a result of the root action of the tree species used, in 1994 a second renovation was carried out, consisting in a new construction, rectangular in shape, and a perimeter rail made of handmade ironwork on a masonry wall, ideal places for cooling down in the hot summer nights.

There are also resting places with ironwork and wood benches, but what most stands out is the music stand surrounded by Ferdinand style lamps and gardened areas surrounding the entire structure, comprising deciduous trees which let in the sunlight in winter, as well as other smaller perennial species. The scene is completed with two olive trees, which, together with the buildings surrounding it, make this square a privileged spot in the village.

The most noteworthy buildings around this square include La Posada, an old house with legends of love and death.

As Villanueva is on the routes to Murcia, Cartagena and Valencia as well as to Toledo and Madrid, it was frequent for travellers to pass through in carts, on horseback or on foot, who were often assaulted and killed if they were staying far from the village. However, the most interesting detail regarding its origins would seem to date it to around the 16th century – it is said that the Catholic king and queen spent a night here on their route elsewhere around 1500.

Cervantes' imagination included this building in the second part of his Don Quijote (Chapter LXXII).

This chapter tells of the encounter with Don Alvaro de Tarfe: Don Quijote and Sancho go back to their land and their village, along the Vereda Real, to keep their word, having been defeated in Barcelona by the Knight of the Mirrors (Bachiller Carrasco) who has demanded he stay at home for a year without seeking further adventures.

At the end of a hot August, and Sancho having accepted to whip himself to break a charm on Dulcinea, they would descend to the banks of the River Gigüela with beech trees, ashes and walnut trees, spending their first night of Penitence in the fresh leafiness of El Escardillo.

Immediately after this first night of Penitence, the village mentioned by Cervantes is Villanueva de Alcardete, with its inn on the Plaza Mayor next to the fortress church, where Don Quijote would meet Don Alvaro de Tarfe and the declaration before the then mayor of Villanueva, that they were the real Quijote and Sancho, and not those he saw in Zaragoza, where he came from.

They would all come out of that inn together, Don Tarfe and his servants towards Granada and Quijote and Sancho Panza towards their village, spending two nights of Penitence until Sancho had been whipped 3,300 times as arranged.

With a rectangular floor plan, and two levels separated by a stone fascia, this building is structured around a patio with three porticoed sides with columns made of wood. The patio walls are made with ashlars and masonry, and also features a moulded wing on the upper floor.

The “Plaza de los Pretiles” is a good place to admire this popular-style building, especially the access door in the main façade, and the grilles on the large windows of the ground floor, making it one of the most remarkable buildings in the village.

Also within this area, visitors should visit the Town Hall, the Local Chamber of Agriculture, the Academy of Music and the Archive, all of them a result of several reforms made in buildings which were used for other activities: education, culture and leisure, etc.

We cross the 'Esquina de la Torre' (the Tower Corner), a picturesque setting where the breeze is ever present, being the place of convergence of the village’s four sectors, and take the Callejón de las Brujas (Witches’ Alley) towards another small square: la plaza de la Cruz Verde, where as the traditional jota song goes “we sit on the stand”, in this case to take a rest and remember the old fountain and kiosk which children used to come to for their sweets, now gone.

We leave this square and continue following the route of popular festivals along Calle Cervantes, finding firstly Nuestra Señora de Gracia (Our Lady of Grace) Hermitage, old church with a latin cross floor plan.

It is Neoclassical in style (18th century) and has a single nave with five sections, covered by a barrel vault with lunettes. The transept has a hemispherical dome on pendentives and the wings are covered with a simple barrel vault. The entrance is at the bottom, through a skeen arch. Throughout the years it has been used for different activities, among them that of library and concert hall for classical music.

We continue walking down this route, not forgetting to stop off at the Casino, known as “La Sociedad”, one of the oldest bars in the village, which, like all bars, gets quite crowded at peak hours, when the village elders like to meet and chat for hours.

After some light refreshment, we leave the bar and go towards the Bullring, built in 1955.

The bullring is the result of long and arduous work of locals through personal contributions: labour, stone, sand, wood, etc., although the land was bought by the owner Don Luciano Verdúguez Cicuéndez, for 20,000 Pesetas.

It was opened on April 23, 1956, at 5 in the afternoon, with a novillada (bullfight with young bulls), with bullfighters Abelardo Vergara, Abelardo Vergara, José Gómez Calviñero and Angel Tomillo de la Parrilla.