RUTA VÍA DE LA PLATA

STAGE 4: ZAFRA - LOS SANTOS DE MAIMONA - VILLAFRANCA DE LOS BARROS

Difficulty: Medium/Low

Distance: 21,0 Km.

 

CONTENTS:

• STATEMENT
• WHAT TO EAT
• SHOPPING
• WALKING, PEDALLING AND HORSE RIDING
• ALTERNATIVE ROUTES
• SURROUNDING AREA

STATEMENT OF THE ITINERARY

From the Tourist Hostel in Zafra we take the streets called Ancha and San Francisco in the direction of the nearby town of Los Santos de Maimona, using the San Francisco tower, which rises up at the end of the street of the same name, as a reference point.
The route rises as it passes through country houses and pine forests, marked out by the green-yellow signs, until we arrive at Los Santos de Maimona, approximately 4.5 km from the Zafra Hostel. At the entrance to the town we find an H3 which provides information about the town and the most important points on our route towards Villafranca de los Barros.

Los Santos de Maimona, which in the Middle Ages belonged to the Santiago Order, was originally called Segeda Augurina by the Romans in 50 B.C. The interesting sites to visit include the sixteenth century Ntra Sra. de los Ángeles parish church with its impressive Plateresque façade, the old Encomienda house, which is now the Town Hall, and, on the outskirts, the eighteenth century Ntra. Sra. de la Estrella sanctuary.

On the road to the municipal cemetery, once we have crossed the old bridge, a green-yellow sign to our right shows us the way to go, which is slightly uphill between stone walls, orchards and country houses. From this path we can see to our right the tower of a factory which makes liqueurs called "orujo", and shortly afterwards on the left we are accompanied by the San Jorge Mountain range. Some water tanks are useful reference points.

At around 7 km from Los Santos de Maimona, in the municipal area of Villafranca de los Barros, a sign to our right indicates that there is a Vía de la Plata Tourist Hostel around 400 m from the turn off. This is the fruit of a magnificent restoration of an old olive mill. In this beautiful building we can find the traditional rooms dedicated to the tasks involved in olive extraction and around it we can find countryside which is typical for the Tierra de Barros district.

Returning to our route, we continue on for a few kilometres until we cross the railway line using a level crossing without barriers. After walking a few metres along the A-66 we turn to our right and follow the route marked out by some yellow signs. Shortly after passing behind the San Isidro Hermitage we arrive at Villafranca de los Barros.

This town belonged to the Santiago Order and in the middle of the fourteenth century it was given the rank of “cabeza de encomienda”. According to some historians it could also be the roman mansion (official stopping point) known as Perceiana which was on the route between Emerita and Italica. Its Ntra. Sra. del Valle parish church is from the sixteenth century, and the completely white La Coronada Hermitage is from the fifteenth century.

WHAT TO EAT

This stretch offers the traveller the chance to sample wonderful lamb and kid dishes. It is also worth trying is la prueba de cerdo (grilled marinated pork) and the famous "chanfaina" or stew, of lamb or pork, cold dishes such as gazpacho, escabeche (vinegar marinade), salads, calabacines rellenos (stuffed courgettes) and exquisite fish ratatouilles.

Iberian ham, cured meats and excellent cheeses abound in the restaurants in the area, all washed down with the excellent and famous Tierra de Barros wines, the most famous examples being those from Almendralejo, Villafranca de los Barros and Hornachos. Small game dishes are enjoyed in many of the towns that we pass through on this stretch.

Homemade, artisan and convent sweets can be found in Almendralejo and Villafranca de los Barros. The liquors are increasingly famous and varied. Almendralejo is the most important centre in terms of the quantity of production and it even makes cava. Almenderalejo and Villafranca de los Barros also produce magnificent table olives, oil and sweets as well as delicious puff pastry and almond sweets.

SHOPPING

Almendralejo is a good place to buy pottery, ceramics and leather goods, not forgetting of course its magnificent wines, liqueurs, sweets, cavas, olives, oils and sausages and cold meats.

Hornachos, as well as being a place to buy excellent wine, is famous for its high quality products derived from the Iberian Pig.

Excellent embroidered products can be found in Los Santos de Maimona and also in Ribera del Fresno, which also makes wrought iron and locksmith products.

WALKING, PEDALLING AND HORSE RIDING

The area is a privileged location in which to go hiking or take a bicycle ride. Rural paths, which take us between vines and oak groves, lead us to charming towns such as La Lapa. There are established routes, such as the Duques of Feria route. This route is full of typical Extremaduran countryside, oak groves, pastures and castles, from which we can make out a large proportion of the district.

ALTERNATIVE ROUTES

To find out about the area the Vía de la Plata passes through in a little more depth we recommend:

Towards La Serena

From Almendralejo we move on to the district of La Serena to discover one of the areas with the longest stretch of freshwater shores in Spain thanks to its many reservoirs. In passing we can enjoy its incredible gastronomy with the lamb, La Serena cheeses and turron being famous across Spain.

SURROUNDING AREA

The Vía de la Plata moves away from Zafra and seeks out the plains of the first towns in the Tierra de Barros district, leaving behind the altitudes of the Los Santos de Maimona mountain range and entering wide open areas dedicated to the cultivation of crops, the most important of which are grapes and olives. These provide the raw materials for the flourishing agricultural and food industry in the area. The most important products are olives, olive oil and the excellent wines that, as do the other wines produced nearby, bear the label Denomination of Origin “Ribera del Guadiana”.

Olive mills and wineries have always been part of the agricultural life in this southerly section of Tierra de Barros, which is also home to fascinating towns full of history which lie alongside the Vía de la Plata and still retain civil, religious and military buildings from the time of the Arab occupation and above all from the centuries during which the Santiago Military Order ruled these lands.
A good example of this is Fuente del Maestre which held the rank of “Cabeza de encomienda” and was named after Master (Maestre) Lorenzo Suárez de Figueroa, which contains buildings that today are of great historical and artistic interest, such as the eighteenth century casa consistorial and the La Candelaria parish church.

Very close by is the town of Feria with its beautiful fifteenth century castle constructed by Lorenzo Suárez de Figueroa, at the start of the rule of what was called “Señorío de Feria”. This town has been declared a National Town of Historical and Artistic Interest and at the start of May is holds the Santa Cruz festival which has been declared a Regional Extremaduran Festival of Interest to Tourists.

A few kilometres away we find Salvatierra de los Barros, famous for its pottery, and Salvaleón, famous for its wonderful Iberian Ham products.

To the east, and not far off our route, is Hornachos, formerly the Roman town of Fornacis, in whose surrounds we can visit the Sierra Grande de Hornachos mountain range, declared a Special Conservation Area and a Special Bird Protection Area (ZEC and ZEPA).
In this area visitors can also find Bronze Age schematic style cave paintings and the remains of an Arabic castle, the architectural evidence of what was one of the most important sites of Moorish culture in Spain.

Ribera del Fresno, which was “cabeza de encomienda” in the Santiago Order, has an Interpretation Centre for Hornachuelos. This site was an oppidium (fortified city) of the Beturia and dates from the mid second century BC to the end of the first century AD.