Escañuela

Escañuela is a municipality that belongs to La Campiña and that occupies a little southeastern part. Its municipal district is made up a hundred per cent by farmed lands, depending on the olive single crop farming, since next to the Arroyo Salado of Arjona existed little irrigated expanses dedicated to herbaceous cultivations that are being colonizing, in the last few years, by the new fields of olive grove. The economic dependence on the olive grove and on the olive oil industry is decreasing, partly, due to the jobs that provide an important construction company located in the town.

The archaeological remains found in the surroundings of Escañuela stated the human presence in this town from III millennium B.C. In the place known like Pozo de Marisancho appeared dark pieces of pottery that belonged to the Copper Age. From the Iberian Age we can emphasize some interesting places, in Pozo de Marisancho Iberian pottery were found decorated with the same geometric motifs of circles.

During the Roman Age it took place the territorial division following the centurion system and the creation of rural towns. One of these examples is the Paraje de las Higueras.

Since the Castilian conquest, San Pedro de Escañuela, like was called this town until the end of XIX century, was inside the alfoz (a group of villages) of Arjona. According to the quote in the lists of the Sínodo in Jaén (1311) Arjona was the centre of an Archpriest, being Escañuela one of the parish belonging to Arjona.

In 1385 the town appears like Dominion of Pedro Ruiz de Torres. According to a document in the Archivo Histórico Provincial, in which appears this donation, the town has belonged to this lord previously. The attacks of the Nasrids to the lands of Jaén destroyed the place that would stay deserted. This event would entail the loss of the rights of Pedro Ruiz, who claimed again, to what Juan I agreed, although apparently without doing effective, an event that happened in Enrique III’s day.

In 1394 the heir of this dominion married with Fernando de Portugal, who formed with their possessions (Escañuela and Villardompardo) the Señorío de los Torres y Portugal. This descent would be related with the Condestable Lucas de Iranzo, who added the possessions of the Casa Villargordo, forming in this way a great Señorío (Manor) that would become Condado in XVI century with the denomination of Villardompardo. Escañuela belonged to this manor until the abolition of it by the Cortes de Cádiz in 1812.

In 1814-15 started the disintegration process of Escañuela with regard to Villardompardo, which culminated in the thirties with the full legal and territorial independence of Escañuela.

Monuments

Parish church of San Pedro Advíncula 

Gastronomy

Fried breadcrumbs. Salmorejo (a sauce of tomato, garlic olive oil, salt and crumbs). Ajoblanco. Sobas. Serranas’ beans. Pickled wild boar. Pickled partridge. Rabbit with bordonera sauce. Rabbit with thyme. Rabbit with jarón. Venison with bañusca. Asparagus in sauce. Hunting stews.

Sweets: Oatmeal porridges with honey. Pestiños (honey-coated fritters).

How to get there

You have to exit Jaén and continue: Road of Córdoba, then take the Motorway A-316. Take the exit towards: Torredonjimeno – Córdoba and the Motorway A-306 towards Córdoba, then the Motorway A-321 and you get Escañuela.

Distances

To Jaén 37 km 
To Arjona 9,5 km 
To Porcuna 24 km 
To Alharilla 18 km 
To Mudapelos 14 km 
To Villardompardo 6 km 
To Puente del Villar 10 km 
To Torre del Campo 22 km 
To Torredonjimeno 17 km