Frigiliana

Interesting facts
Area: 40
Number of inhabitants: 2.200
Descent: Frigilianenses
Monuments: Church of San Antonio, Ingenio azúcar, Moorish Castle
Geographical situation: In the Axarquía, 56 kilometres from malaga at 435 metres above sea level
Tourist information:
Town Hall, C/ Real, 80. 29788 . Phone: 952 533 002 Fax: 952 533 434

Frigiliana is in the eastern part of the Axarquía region, on the southern slopes of the mountains, just on the border of the Sierras de Tejeda y Almijara Nature Park. To the north-west the municipality borders on Cómpeta, to the west, Torrox and to the south, Nerja. Due to its geographical position, Frigiliana has a very special micro-climate, with an average annual temperature of 18 ºC. This means that the winters are mild and the summers warm. The rainfall is low, annually around 600 litres a square metre. All of this makes the spot a unique natural paradise. The town's annual feria takes place during the first week in August, beginning on August 5th.The village of Frigiliana itself grew up around its fortress, the Lizar castle. The upper part of the village is formed by an intricate layout of narrow streets, with numerous attractive balconies hanging with brightly-coloured flowers. Steep, cobbled passages, sometimes with steps, lead to the Mudéjar district, the best-preserved area of Moorish architecture in the whole of Andalucía. Another unique corner is a cul-de sac called Calle El Torreón, opposite the Town Hall. Although the best-preserved remains in the municipality date from the days of Moorish rule there is also evidence of human habitation in prehistoric times, specifically from the end of the Neolithic period, around 3,000 years BC. There are also traces of Phoenician and Roman settlements. The name of the village dates from this latter period, as it comes from the Latin "Frexinius", to which the suffix "ana" was added. The final result was, therefore, "Frexinius ana", meaning "Frexinius' farmhouse". But it is the Arab culture that really gave the village its present form, as it grew up around the hamlet dating from the ninth and tenth centuries.
At this time Frigiliana belonged to the Nasrid kingdom of Granada, its economy being based on the production of oil, raisins, figs and silk from silk worms. After the arrival of the Catholic Monarchs, in 1485, a campaign to repress Moorish practices was set up, with the enforced conversion of the Mudejar Arabs to Christianity. They then became known as Moriscos. They were never accepted by the Christians, however, so in 1568 rebellion broke out all over the kingdom of Granada, ending in the Battle of the Rock in Frigiliana. Over 7,000 Moors were slain and the ones who survived were expelled in 1570. From the seventeenth century onwards Frigiliana began to acquire a proper political, social and economic organisation. The population started to grow, from 160 inhabitants in 1640 to 3,200 in 1887, a historical record which has never, even nowadays, been beaten. The last years of the nineteenth century were marked by a rise in the number of gangs of bandits, the great earthquake in 1884 and the phylloxera plague that hit the vineyards. At present, Frigiliana is a very respectable town with its own traditions and customs, where one can enjoy a stay at any time of the year.


Outstanding visits
Archaeological sites
Among the historical remains in the municipality are strata from Neolithic days until the Bronze Age in the Cave of the Bats. There is also a Phoenician burial ground at Cerrillo de las Sombras which goes back to 800 BC. The Middle Ages is represented by the ninth century Arabic castle, which was mainly destroyed after the Battle of the Rock, although the foundations and traces of the wall have survived.
Church of San Antonio
The main buildings in present-day Frigiliana are the parish church of St Anthony, built on the site of an old shrine in 1676 by Manrique de Lara, the family owning the village from May 1640 onwards. There is also a sixteenth century Renaissance palace, which bears the same family name although it is popularly known as El Ingenio, or the sugar mill, as it currently houses the only cane sugar factory in Europe.
Hermitage of Ecce Homo and other monuments
Other buildings include a tiny shrine, built in the sixteenth century to the Holy Christ of the Cane, an old fountain dating from the 1600s, a silo built in 1767 and the seventeenth century Apero Palace. This was originally built as stables and is nowadays used as the Casa de Cultura.
Where to sleep
Hotel Rural. Hotel Rural Los Caracoles. Lista de correos de Frigiliana.C.P.29788. Phone: 952 030 680.
Hotel Rural. Hotel Rural La Posada Morisca. Phone: 952 534 151.
Hotel. Hotel Las Chinas. Plaza Capitán Cortés, 14. Phone: 952 533 073.
Fiestas and gastronomy
FIESTAS
The local fair starts around August 5th every year, with a display of local dances. There is also a flamenco competition, which takes place in May and June. The feast day of the village's patron saint, St. Sebastián, is celebrated on January 20th, and that of St Anthony, on June 13th. The Holy Week processions are an important occasion in the village, with La Soledad being one of the highlights, the religious image being accompanied by a procession of women in mourning.
GASTRONOMY
Local culinary specialities include fried kid in almond or garlic sauce, salt cod cakes and cabbage broth. Among the desserts are sweet potatoes with cane sugar. The delicious local olive oil and muscatel wines produced in Frigiliana must not be forgotten either.