The
municipal territory of Campillos stretches over a region
of broad plains, which is only interrupted by a few low
hills that provide topographic relief to the landscape,
and also in a way mark its boundaries.
They
do not rise to great heights-Barrancos, the highest hill,
has an elevation of 663 metres-but they do lend a certain
variety and some points of reference to the surroundings.
These lands, then, are very suitable for raising grain
and olives, and these crops in fact do occupy most of
the municipality except for the hilly zone, where low
brush and scrub grow.
In the southern part of the municipality, the scenery
is enriched by the Guadalteba and Guadalhorce reservoirs,
under whose waters lies the now extinct village of Peñarrubia.
This collection of reservoirs, which extends into adjoining
municipalities, gives to this territory a very different
perspective from what is usual for dry land farming districts.
A protected area of 1,946 hectares near the village centre
consists of a collection of shallow lakes (Dulce, Salada,
Capacete, Camuñas, etc). Although these wetlands
are dry for many months of the year, they have been designated
a Reserva Natural (Nature Reserve) by the Environmental
Agency of the Assembly of Andalusia due to their high
ecological value.
Campillos’
favourable location as a middle point between Eastern
and Western Andalusia, between the Mediterranean and the
Guadalquivir, and equally distant from towns of the historical
importance of Ronda, Antequera and Osuna (province of
Seville), has encouraged the passage of people and goods
over these lands since very ancient times. Thus, judging
from remains found in different places in the region (Castillones,
Capacete, Capitán, Moraleja, La Mezquita, Aljibejo
and Romeroso, among other sites), human settlements have
followed one after the other practically without interruption
since the Neolithic age.
Especially large numbers of Roman coins have been found,
belonging to the ages of Octavius, Claudius, Trajan and
Constantine, showing the existence of a number of settlements
that must have been destroyed by the Germanic invasions.
Despite
all these antecedents, however, the first note we have
of the origin of present day Campillos is that in 1492,
under the repopulation policy of the Catholic Monarchs,
the village was founded by people who had come from Teba
and Osuna.
Not long afterward, in the second half of the sixteenth
century, the population had increased to the point that
it was necessary to extend the urban nucleus. This time
it was done in a more orderly manner, that is to say by
laying out the new streets in straight lines. The population
of Campillos came to exceed that of Teba, to which it
was legally subordinate, and in 1680, it was granted the
privileged status of royal burgh.
Recently, in 1975, the territory that until then had belonged
to the municipality of Peñarrubia, the village
that disappeared beneath the waters of the Guadalteba
reservoir, was incorporated into the municipality of Campillos.
Outstandings
Visits:
The Nuestra Señora del Reposo church is the most
noticeable monument in this village. It was built in the
early sixteenth century (1506) and modified in the eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries. Its magnificent baroque façade
is considered one of the most interesting and showy of
the entire Antequera region. The interior is divided into
three naves, with exuberantly decorated chapels. The main
altar is remarkable. It is made of pine, with eight Ionic
columns, and is overlooked by the statue of the Virgen
del Reposo (Virgin of Repose), a notable figure by the
seventeenth century Granadino School. The clock in the
bell tower was made in 1631 by the Carmelite Friar Miguel
del Santísimo Sacramento of Antequera.
The San Benito hermitage, built in the seventeenth century
and modified in the eighteenth, the eighteenth century
Nuestra Señora de Belén hermitage, that
of Santa Ana (sixteenth century) and of San Sebastián
(seventeenth century), the last of which was financed
by the local livestock producers, complete the historic
and artistic itinerary of Campillos.
People who are interested in archaeology can make a visit
to the sites of Capacete (a Roman villa and bathhouses),
Castillón de Gobantes (from the Roman epoch), Cortijo
La Cuesta (a Roman necropolis) and Los Castillones, where
there are ruins of a Roman town.
How
to Get There:
Leaving from the city of Málaga, capital of the
Costa del Sol, take the A-357, which leads straight to
Campillos without the necessity of a single change. If
you come from Antequera or from some other point in that
region, you only have to take the A-92 and then connect
with the A-384. The first village this latter road passes
through is Campillos.
Interesting Facts:
Surface Area: 187.8 square kilometres
Population: about 8,000
What the natives are called: Campilleros
Monuments: the Nuestra Señora del Reposo church,
the hermitages of San Benito, Nuestra Señora de
Belén, and Santa Ana, and the Roman archaeological
sites of Capacete, Castillón de Gobantes, Cortijo
La Cuesta and Los Castillos
Geographical Location: in the western part of the Antequera
region, 30 kilometres from that town and 70 from the provincial
capital. The village centre sits 500 metres above sea
level. The average rainfall is 510 litres per square metre
and the annual average temperature is 15º C.
Tourist Information: Town Hall, Avenida Santa María
del Reposo, 7 (29320). Telephone: 952 722 168; Fax: 952
723 105