traveldk.com

This town, wonderfully rich in history and cultural importance, is also small enough to cover easily and enjoyably on foot. It has a delightfully contrasting mix of sights, from the architectural splendour of the great mosque – with a Christian church oddly sprouting out of its centre – to the whitewashed glories of the old Jewish quarter, the splendid Alcázar, and the frankly morbid museum dedicated to the bullfight. There are other engaging museums as well, featuring works of art by both Old Masters and local artists, and ancient artifacts evoking the area’s influential past.

Ignore the downtrodden outskirts as you approach this town – once you get to the historic centre you will realize that it is one of Andalucía’s most remarkable splendours. The keynote here is architecture – an entire district of mostly Renaissance edifices built for local nobility in the 16th century. One of Andalucía’s greatest architects, Andrés de Vandelvira, was the genius who gave most of these structures their harmonious forms (see Baeza and Úbeda).

Like nearby Úbeda, this smaller town is also a jewel of Renaissance glory, but includes earlier remains dating back to the Moors and, before them, the Romans. The town radiates a sense of tranquillity as you walk from one cluster of lovely buildings to another. Again, much of the beauty owes its existence to Vandelvira (see Baeza and Úbeda).

The building of the first palace here dates from AD 936, commissioned by Caliph Abd el-Rahman III, the Emir of Córdoba and the man who brought the city to glory. He named it after his favourite wife, Az-Zahra (the Radiant). Though it is little more than a ruin now – sacked in 1009 and rediscovered only in 1910 – at one time this pleasure-dome incorporated a zoo, ponds and gardens, baths, houses, weapons factories and barracks, markets, mosques, a harem of 6,000 women and accommodation for 4,000 slaves. Decorated with ebony, ivory, jasper and marble, it even had a pool of mercury that created dancing lights on the walls and ceiling.

Originally the site of a Roman fortification, the present fairytale castle goes back to the 14th century, when it was embellished in Gothic style. Before that, it had been a Moorish structure dating from AD 740 that had survived four centuries of Christian sieges. Magnificent views from the battlements take in the whitewashed town below. Legend holds that ghosts of those who died while imprisoned here haunt the eight monolithic towers.

Attractively laid out on an undulating series of five hills at a bend in the river, this ancient town sports a Baroque tower and a handsome 15th-century bridge. Other sights include a good Museo Arqueológico Municipal and the eccentrically kitsch Casa de las Conchas, a shell-encrusted folly that the owner will be happy to show you around.

The far north of Córdoba Province is fertile grazing land for farm animals, as well as deer and wild boar. Most importantly, it is a “land of acorns”, densely clad with holm oaks and therefore a prime zone for raising the famed Iberian black pig. In October, the creatures are fattened up on acorns and their meat is elaborately cured to produce succulent jamón ibérico or pata negra , the local product rivalling that of Jabugo in Huelva Province.

This town is the centre of Córdoba’s wine-making region, where the word amontillado originates, meaning “in the style of Montilla”. The wine produced here is like sherry, but nuttier and more toasted – and since the region is hotter than around Jerez, the grapes ripen more intensely and the wines need no fortifying. You can taste the difference for yourself at Bodegas Alvear, Montilla.

This modern provincial capital is set off by the dramatically placed ramparts of the mighty Castillo de Santa Catalina (see Castillo de Santa Catalina, Jaén City), originally Moorish, and the immensity of its double-towered cathedral by Vandelvira (see Capilla Real and Catedral, Granada). You can fully experience the castle and its spectacular views of the city and surrounding olive groves, as it now houses a parador (see Paradors). Another rewarding stop is the Museo Provincial, especially to see the country’s finest collection of 5th-century BC Iberian sculpture.

The Fortaleza de la Mota that dominates this once strategic town is unique in Jaén Province in that its original Moorish castle was built by the rulers of Granada. It is mostly in ruins now, but it still preserves the original seven gates. Inside, built on the remains of a former mosque, is the Gothic-Mudéjar church of Santo Domingo, which uses the former minaret as a belltower (see Fortaleza de la Mota, Alcalá la Real).