t Córdoba’s Puente Romano, stretching across the Río Guadalquivir
t Córdoba’s Puente Romano, stretching across the Río Guadalquivir
Experience Córdoba and Jaén
The areas that are now called Córdoba and Jaén have been inhabited since prehistoric times, but their histories took a turn with the arrival of the Romans. The importance of these settlements was cemented when Córdoba was made the capital of the Roman province of Baetica (which roughly corresponds to the area defined as Andalucía today).
Although the Romans left their mark on these regions, it was under the Moors that they flourished. Córdoba became the centre of the Iberian caliphate, and swiftly became perhaps the largest and most culturally significant city in all of Europe. Its excellence in scholarship, particularly science, mathematics and literature, was felt throughout the continent.
With the reconquista in the 13th century, Córdoba and Jaén were subsumed into Christian Spain, and with Christian wealth and might focused further north, they declined. Both areas were invaded and occupied by the French during the Peninsular War from 1808 to 1814. More warfare was not far away as just over a century later the Spanish Civil War ravaged Andalucía. Jaén in particular was brutally punished for siding with the ultimately unsuccessful Republican cause.
Today, tourism is a major part of both areas’ economies, and Jaén is renowned as one of Spain’s, if not the world’s, best producers of olive oil.