Alcaudete

The municipality of Alcaudete, with a population of nearly twelve thousand inhabitants, is located at the extreme western edge of the Sierra Sur in an area renowned for its agriculture. The principal economic activity is based on olive farming and the production of olive oil. Alcaudete is graced with many beautiful and historically important buildings. The castle that overlooks the town was built in the 8th and 9th centuries. Its unique shape is adapted to the steep cliffs which it occupies and it has no fewer than six towers. The Church of Santa Maria was constructed between the 15th and 17th centuries in the Gothic Mudéjar style. Its two monumental portals are decorated with monstrous columns, flora and fauna, and heraldry- a veritable extravagance of fantasy.