History & Culture

Andalucía fits everyone's romantic image of Spain. Reaching down from the high and forbidding plateau of Castile, across the south of Spain to the shores of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, Andalucía divides into eight provinces: Huelva, Cádiz, Málaga, Sevilla, Granada, Córdoba, Jaén and Almería.

Here one expects every woman to be a Carmen in gypsy dress, a carnation behind her ear, and every man a swaggering Don Juan. Every cliché, of course has an element of truth, and in Andalucía there is so much color and contrast, vivaciousness, variety and imagination that fact and fiction are constantly blurred. There is a special beauty to such images, and Andalucía is indeed spellbinding with its air perfumed by jasmine and orange blossoms, its soleful flamenco music and its thrilling bullfighting tradition.

As befits a land that bewitches its visitors, Andalucía traces its ancestry to the mythical kingdom of Tartessos, which is said to have been the height of refinement and culture. Greeks and Phoenicians made sporadic appearances in the region's distant past (Cádiz was in fact founded by the Phoenicians) and the Romans followed them and stayed for centuries. Andalucía was a jewel in the Roman imperial crown, and much the same occurred when the Muslim invaders established a glittering court first in Córdoba and then in Granada. When Granada, the last Muslim possession in Spain, finally fell to the Catholic Kings at the end of the fifteenth century, it was the turn of Castilian nobles to be enchanted by Andalucía's charms. When America became all-important for Spain, Sevilla was the hub for discovery, conquest and administration of New World Spanish colonies.

Gastronomy

Andalucía's splendid climate allows life to take place out of doors, and eating tapas at outdoor cafes is a favorite pastime. Freshly caught fried and grilled seafood and icy cold gazpachos are the cornerstones of Andalusian cooking, and honey and almond based sweets, a legacy of the Moors, are ever-popular and still made by convent nuns, as in centuries past.

Attractions

Andalucía's villages -both along the coast and in the mountains- are brilliantly whitewashed and laden with red geraniums and purple bougainvillea that grace balconies and courtyards. Its cities are ancient and their old quarters -especially the Santa Cruz district of Sevilla- still evoke their Moorish and Jewish pasts. Fiestas fill the calendar all over Andalucía, and they are colorful and heartfelt events celebrated with typical Andalusian flair. Holy Week processions, the April Fair in Sevilla, the Horse Fair in Jerez de la Frontera, and Carnival in Cádiz are prime examples.