Ayuntamiento de Villanueva de Algaidas
C/Constitución, 16
29310 Villanueva de Algaidas, Málaga
Telephone: 952-743-002 http://www.ayto-algaidas.es/
About The Area
Located in the north east of the Antequera region, in a landscape
primarily made up of hills and ridges which are home to olive
groves and cereal fields. It dates back to the 18th century, when
the buildings which began to appear around the Franciscan monastery
eventually formed a village.
Villanueva de Algaidas was the birthplace of
the famous sculptor Ortiz de Berrocal, whose works are housed
in an interesting museum in the village.
Also of interest are
Los Alcaides Necropolis, and the caves of Sierra de Arcas and
El Pedroso.
Four villages in the province of Malaga are
called "Villanueva": Villanueva de Algaidas, Villanueva
de Tapia, Villanueva del Rosario and Villanueva del Trabuco. All
four are located in the north east of the province, the former
two further to the north, between the municipal boundaries of
Cuevas de San Marcos and Archidona and near the border with the
province of Granada to the east; Villanueva del Rosario and Villanueva
del Trabuco are in the north of the Axarquia region and are also
adjacent to Archidona and the province of Granada.
These four
villages were all founded at practically the same time in the
18th century on the orders of Charles III as part of a plan to
repopulate areas of Andalusia which were practically uninhabited
and which, as a result, often served as highwaymen’s safe
havens and lairs.
However, the municipal area of Villanueva de
Algaidas dates back to much earlier times, as witnessed by the
prehistoric remains at Los Alcaides necropolis.
The term “Algaida” seems to suggest
an Arabic presence and is possibly derived from "al-gaida",
meaning “dense forest”.
The village as we know it today appeared as
a result of the founding of a Franciscan monastery next to Burriana
Stream, now almost entirely destroyed. The original settlement
was known as La Atalaya. Gradually, a number of agricultural colonies
began to appear -such as La Rincona and Zamarra- which eventually
combined to from a village under the name Villanueva de Algaidas.
