A COUNTRY HOUSE TO DISCOVER

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THE CONCEPT AND ITS PROMOTERS

     On farmland belonging to their family since the turn of last century XX, Pura Morillo and Juan Eugenio Mena have converted a farmhouse, located near Azuaga (Badajoz), into a beautiful rural house full of rustic Estremaduran charm, so that visitors may both enjoy their stay and take a good rest.

     There was an urgent need to refurbish the farmhouse. So, in 1998, to prevent the farm falling into ruin, we decided to convert the place where we had so often enjoyed our holidays into a rural guest house. It is a quiet spot with special charm and character, an attractive homely space with all modern comforts.

     We hope your stay, whether short or long, will be memorable and that you will be able to discover the features and the culture of Estremadura. And if you are satisfied, please, let your friends know.

 Casa rural en primavera

ACCOMODATION

chimenea cortijo      The style of this hip-roofed, single storey house is plain and functional, with four bedrooms (one of which is the old wine cellar), a living/dining-room with a large hearth which has been refurbished in the traditional regional style, and a stable converted into a kitchen and bathroom.

     Each bedroom features, through its atmosphere and decoration, one of the specific Mediterranean crops of the region.

      Behind the main building, there are sheds for cattle and a large yard, or walled patio, where, on one side, what might be the oldest building of the whole farmstead, the dovecote, is located. This round brick shelter has a pentagonal roof, and it stands on a circular hut made of stones.

instrumentos de labranza       In one of the above-mentioned sheds, one can see a small, but illustrative exhibition of farming implements and tools used in that area.

     Outside, there is also a barbecue, and, in the vegetable garden, a reservoir for summer bathing.

THE FARMHOUSE

bodega del cortijo      It is not a large farm, but it has the buildings and spaces typical of an agricultural structure from the south of Spain. Both the olive grove and the fallow land are evidence of it. It even had a wine cellar in one of the rooms. So, for at least a century, three of the main Mediterranean crops were grown here: wheat, vines and olives. The dovecote enhances the peculiar character of the house.

     The location, 1.200 m. from the edge of the village of Azuaga, is a place visited by walkers, sports enthusiasts and hikers.

     Both from the front of the house and from the threshing floor (nowadays a sports area) there are pleasant views of the village and surrouding areas.

exteriores casa rural      By the lane called Camino de las Curtidas and the vegetable garden, there is a traditional waterwheel and a reservoir which have been refurbished.

     In the northen part of the property, next to the olive grove, flows the Bembézar, a stream with low water in summertime, along which grow large rosebays.

SIGHTSEEING IN THE REGION

plaza constitución Llerena       The country house is located at the far South-east of Estremadura, to the North of Cordova and Seville, in the middle of a transitional landscape of vast plains from the south of Badajoz and foothills of the above-mentioned Andalusian provinces. These are almost flat cereal-growing areas with some olive groves, with many scattered farms, on one side, and holm-oak woods and thickets typical of Sierra Morena, on the other.

     In the vast plain of Azuaga, rise the rivers Matachel and Bembézar, which are tributaries of the Guadiana and the Guadalquivir respectively. The former flows northward across a gentle slope, and the latter meanders across the flatlands, southward, down to the mountain range of Cordova.

     The province is full of beautiful typically white villages, with Gothic and neo-classical churches, many squares and some very well conserved examples of Mudejar architecture, in particular the square with arcades of Llerena, and the remains of walls. The towers and steeples are emblems of each place. 		plaza ayuntamiento Azuaga

mina Jayona      In Azuaga, the visitors will see remains of the castle on Miramontes Hill, and in Reina, there is an Arabic castle with an impressive view, at the bottom of which stretch out the Roman ruins of Regina, a town with theatres and palaces, that reached its peak during the 1st century AD.

      The ancient Jayona Mines are located some 40 Km away, in Fuente del Arco. In 1998, they were declared a Natural Monument by the Regional Government of Estremadura. Today, the old narrow gauge FEVE railway linking this village to Peñarroya-Pueblonuevo is being converted into a Green Path.

      In Berlanga, the Quinientas Forest Park is worth seeing with its pine grove and abundant fauna. In the countryside, it is easy to make out flocks of cranes, great bustards and ducks, as well as groups of little bustards in wintertime.

      Azuaga has always been an agricultural town, but a few decades ago it started to develop mining activities. The rich Regional Museum of Ethnography is worth visiting, as well as the Mudejar Nuestra Señora de la Merced church and the striking Gothic facade of the Nuestra Señora de la Consolación church.


Links to towns of the region:


     Ayuntamiento de Azuaga
     Ayuntamiento de Casas de Reina
     Ayuntamiento de Fuente del Arco
     Ayuntamiento de Llerena
     Ayuntamiento de Maguilla
     Centro de Desarrollo Rural Campiña Sur
     Asociación de Turismo Campiña Sur
     Mueso Etnográfico de Azuaga
     Quirobel Spa Balneario Urbano de Azuaga
     Corredor Ecológico y de Biodiversidad-Río Bembézar
     Monumento natural Mina de La Jayona
     Yacimiento protohistórico Cancho Roano en Zalamea de la Serena

     CALLEJERO DE AZUAGA		   
contador de visitas