Frigiliana: A Journey through Andalusia's White Village
Discover the charm of Frigiliana, a picturesque village in Andalusia, Spain. Learn about its ancient aqueduct, narrow streets, and rich history.
The village of Frigiliana, Andalusia, Spain
On the way to a typical white town of Andalusia - Pueblos Blancos, - to the village of Frigiliana (Spanish: Frigiliana) - we passed a remarkable ancient structure - the Aqueduct of Águila. 38 arches, 4 floors! Immediately, the French Pont du Gard, Roman amphitheaters in France and Spain, and other antiquities come to mind.
The Aqueduct of Águila in Andalusia
Alas! The Aqueduct of Águila is relatively fresh: it was built in the 19th century to supply water to a local sugar factory. Of course, the aqueduct still works today: it supplies water to the residents of neighboring villages.
Snow-white village of Frigiliana
The snow-white village of Frigiliana appears suddenly, after a turn off the highway you suddenly see a white cloud on the mountain. The bus stops in a small square at the very beginning of the town. And then the street stretches upwards, inviting the traveler to follow into the unknown, into the beautiful, into the ancient...
From the first steps, you understand that the village was like this even in the time of the Moors, who built it. Narrow streets, small houses, lots of flowers - all this has existed for so long that it is difficult to say when exactly one of the most picturesque white villages of Andalusia took on its final shape.
Andalusian Frigiliana reminds me of this girl - "serious, in a white dress." Serious because this settlement has such a history: the Arabs did not want to give up their Frigiliana to the Spaniards during the Reconquista and fought for it until the end. By the way, several azulejos on the walls depict milestones in this history. For example, fragments of the battle at El Peñón de Frigiliana.
San Antonio Church, Frigiliana village in Andalusia
Winding through narrow streets and admiring the bright colors of flowers against the white background of buildings, suddenly you come across the San Antonio Church (Spanish: San Antonio), built in the 17th century.
Once there was a serious confrontation between two civilizations and two religions. In 1569, the Arabs were finally defeated. Historians report that 3000 of them were taken prisoner, 2000 were killed, and another 2000 fled. They also write that after defeating the Arabs, they were deprived of some important rights: to wear national clothes and to write and speak Arabic, and they were not allowed to cultivate good land.
Even though Frigiliana is a small town, it has an archaeology museum, a Phoenician necropolis, souvenir shops...
In one of the shops, there was... a wine museum. Well, where would we be without it? The owner has a sense of humor. So on one of the barrels, prices for different wines were written. That is, from one barrel you could pour both Moscatel Dolce and Manzanilla, and homemade wine...
Andalusian Frigiliana is famous for its local ceramics, and glass painting. In the former 16th-century palace, there is a workshop for packaging bitter honey from sugar cane. What it tastes like - I don't know, I haven't tried it.
...And Moscatel is good.
Article author: journalist Grigory Pasko for Fénix Today
