(Pink
dotted line
on the map)
This
route begins
at Plaza Nueva,
home to, among
other important
buildings,
the town hall
and the Palace
of the Belmonte-Segura,
from the end
of the 18th
Century. This
square is
the heart
of Orce, and
surrounded
by the buildings
of the central
areas. Around
them, further
up, the cave-house
area can be
found, where
the houses
are dug out
of the rock
- for centuries
the most popular
method of
housing in
the area,
and a unique
contribution
to the originality
of the urban
landscape.
The
first part
of the route
takes us to
the San Antón
hermitage,
passing under
the Castilian
Arco de la
Mimbrera,
and along
the back alley
which borders
the stream
of the same
name. Here,
behind the
walls of its
allotments
grow beautiful
hundred year
old Holm oaks,
typical of
the area.
In the boulevard
of the hermitage
the festivities
in honour
of the patron
saint are
celebrated
every 16th
January. They
feature very
peculiar traditional
dances accompanied
by the “Cascaborras”,
an emblematic
character
from folklore.
During these
celebrations
a suckling
pig, which
has been cared
for all year
by the locals
and can often
be seen wandering
freely through
the streets,
is sacrificed.
The
route continues
down towards
the Rambla
de Rozalay,
on the edge
of the Cerro
de San Marcos
(St.Mark’s
Peak), with
its crown
of cave-houses,
and later
heads for
the San Pedro
neighbourhood,
which also
has many cave
dwellings.
After going
uphill for
a long while
you come to
the top of
the area,
the mirador,
or viewpoint,
of Rapamonteras,
from which
a beautiful
view of the
village and
its surrounding
area can be
seen in the
distance.
The
route continues,
going down
again to the
bottom of
the town,
until it reaches
the tree-lined
Paseo de los
Caños,
the starting-point
for a tour
of magnificent
buildings
of the old
centre. The
magnificence
of many of
its buildings
is testimony
to the importance
and splendour
of Orce in
the 18th Century,
the area’s
true ‘Golden
Century’.
Along its
length you
can see la
Iglesia de
Santa María
(Saint Mary’s
Church), el
Palacio de
los Segura
(home of the
Municipal
Museum of
Paleontology),
and the magnificent
Castillo de
las Siete
Torres (Castle
of the Seven
Towers) a
relic from
Muslim times.
The
route finishes
by crossing
the secluded
area of la
Morería
(the old Moorish
quarter),
which with
its web of
narrow back
alleys even
today weaves
an air of
Moorish romance.
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