Puerta de Cordoba, Carmona, Spain
Andalucia City Break Travel Ideas Spain

Spain: Wandering in Andalusia’s Carmona

I love Seville and the Andalusian region of Spain but on my last visit I was looking for something a little different. I found it in the tiny city of Carmona, which enjoyed wealth and prominence during Spain’s golden age of discovery and exploitation in the New World but also reflects nearly 5,000 years of human occupation.

In fact Carmona is one of Europe’s oldest urban sites, sitting as it does on a natural stronghold – a plateau above the Vega (plain) of the River Carbones. There is evidence of Paleolithic habitation and by the Iron Age a Tartessian settlement had been established here. Then came the Phoenicians, the Carthaginians and Roman conquest.

Carmona is truly one of Europe’s hidden gem destinations!

Carmona, Spain

It was called ‘Carmo’ at the time and now it is only a 20 minute taxi ride from Seville airport. It has medieval and baroque architecture, palaces and churches a plenty, including San Pedro (15th century), which has a tower modelled on the Giralda bell tower of the Cathedral of Seville.

Carmona cathedral, Spain

I came to rest at Casa de Carmona, where I found all the history, elegance and genuine charm I was seeking. This is a real 16th Century renaissance palace, a double storey of arches surrounding a potted courtyard garden, all the walls red with the typical el mago wash and filled with brilliant sun and dark shadow. A grand staircase leads up to the bedrooms and on the ground floor is a cosy sitting room, lined with book cases and portraits. Here Felipe Guardiola Medina and his family offer genuinely warm hospitality.

Casa de Carmona, Spain

Late morning on a Sunday and the Placa San Fernando in Carmona bustles with families sitting and strolling, overlooked by the tall date palms, wrought iron balconies and tiled roves covered in yellow lichen. The smell of coffee, freshly cooked churros and thick chocolate wafts across. Blue and brown tiles decorating the façade of Bar Goya are glinting in the sun. Dunking my churros in the gloopy chocolate I considered all there is to see and do in Carmona.

Placa San Fernando, Carmona, Spain

The city museum is worth a visit to discover how Carmona, like most of southern Spain, has been subject over the centuries to Roman, Islamic and Christian rule, with a few Visigoths thrown in for good measure. And not forgetting the Tartasians and the Turdetaninians!

Carmona Museum, Spain

You can see how the Spanish love of warm, bright colour goes a long way back – houses were once painted inside and out in vibrant blues and reds centuries ago. Now the narrow streets are mostly lined with pure white houses, punctuated by tall orange trees loaded with fruit even in February.

Streets of Carmona, Spain

More history is accessible just outside Carmona, among the ruined tombs of the Roman Necropolis, dating from the 1st and 2nd centuries, where high-ranking citizens would have been buried amid a conspicuous display of wealth. There are both ancient Tartessian funerary monuments and Roman tombs, some of which were built like villas with colonnaded arches (some of the statues are in the Carmona City Museum). The walls would have been bright with frescoed birds, dolphins and flowers, similarly to those found in Pompeii.

Roman necropolis, Carmona, Spain

There are magnificent views over the campo from one of the magnificent city gates – the Puerto el Cordoba. This was originally a Roman construction – with classical Corinthian capitals – and an overlay of late 18th century architecture.

The Puerta de Sevilla gate is also impressive, its bastion were built originally by the Carthaginians around 230–220 BC, with later Roman modification.

Puerta de Cordoba, Carmona, Spain

After a day of sight seeing it was time for some tapas bar crawling. The welcome was warm and I recommend the Meningalia bar and the local wine – Ribeiro del Duero.

Tilework in Carmona, Spain

A day trip into Seville is easy from Carmona with an hourly bus service but there is enough charm and character in Carmona to fill a memorable weekend break in Spain.

By Natasha von Geldern

Have you visited Carmona? Do you recommend any other towns or villages in Andalusia?

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7 Comments

  1. You make it all sounds so enticing! Oh, I can’t wait to get back to Spain soon and enjoy every little descriptive word you used in this post!

  2. If one thing can lure me to Europe it’s probably going to be the architecture. I’m just not a fan of cities, but interesting buildings like these ones pictured in your post…they might change my mind one day.

  3. I totally missed this place even though I was in the Ronda- Seville area. Love the photo with the orange tree and the blue wall is a beauty.

  4. Ah, Spain – such a wonderful destination as you’ve described…really want to go back, especially to some of the lesser known destinations.

  5. Very pretty. I haven’t been much in Andalucia, save from the towns along the coast, but would very much like to see Granada and Seville, and this little gem as well.

  6. So charming! I’ve spent a lot of time in Andalusia, but I’ve never heard of Carmona. I love it!

  7. Pingback: Discover the Alhambra with Washington Irving - Book Film Travel

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