Villanueva de las Torres

Villanueva de las Torres is a town in the Comarca de la Hoya de Guadix y Marquesado, in the province of Granada. Thanks to water taken from the river Fardes, which crosses the township, and the mild temperature, this region has been inhabited since the Paleolithic era.

Under the alluvial sediments in the area of the spa, there is a Neolithic settlement and Paleolithic remains which are of great interest. A few metres distant are several dolmens, demonstrating the antiquity of the region, with traces of flint arrowheads and pottery remains, and several authors have pointed to these valleys as natural corridors to the interior of the peninsula for the first megalithic cultures.

During Roman domination Villanueva has been shown to be very close to the Roman road ‘Herculea’, which was later called ‘Augusta’.

During the period of Arab rule the area was arable, operated under a system of landlords and tenants, which remained even after the reconquest in 1489. The earliest parish records are dated 1670, within these records the name of the municipality was interchangeable from Villanueva de las Torres to Don Diego, probably because the area was owned by Don Diego Torres in the XVII century. The first time that the name of Villanueva de las Torres was used was August 6th, 1686.

Monuments
Iglesia Parroquial (Parish Church, of modern construction.)

Archaeological
 Dolmens.
Termas. (hot springs)
Remains at Haza del Toril (Neolithic, Bronze).
Remains at Banos de Alicún (Lower Paleolithic and Mesolithic).

Urbanism
Plaza de la Fuente.
Banos de Alicún (spa).
Cave-dwellings.

Gastronomy

The municipality shares casseroles and desserts with the rest of the region, such as migas, las papas (patatas) a lo pobre, casseroless of peas and beans, pipirrana, el lomo de orza, products derived from pork, fried rabbit and various stews. A seasonal summer dish par excellence is gazpacho, a kind of cold soup based on water, oil and salt with bread pieces. (the recipe varies from place to place)

Directions

Leaving Granada . Take the A-92 heading to Guadix - Almeria - Murcia. Take the exit towards: Exit 276 - Diezma . Turn left: GR-NE-21. Pass Diezma and passing through Darro head towards Huelago and from here follow signs to Villanueva de las Torres.

Distances