Lebrija

Legend says Bacchus founded Lebrija near the Atlantic coast, though archaeology tells a more layered story. Prehistoric remains point to a Chalcolithic settlement, and the town's deepest documented roots are Phoenician — six gold incense burners known as the Candelabros de Lebrija, now in the National Archaeological Museum in Madrid, were found here. By Roman times the town was known as Nabrissa Veneria, an active mint and a Latin-law municipality.

After the Visigoths came the Moors, who rebuilt the Roman walls and gave the town the name Lebri-sah. Fernando III of Castile took it in 1249, though Muslim forces attempted to recapture it twice more, in 1263 and 1340. In 1255 a royal family feud brought fighting to its doorstep when the Infante Enrique briefly used Lebrija as a base against his brother Alfonso X.

Alfonso incorporated the town into the Crown of Castile in 1264, and it was granted city status in 1294. The town has always grown east from its fortified hilltop, the only direction the steep escarpments allow.

The Church of Santa María de la Oliva is the town's main landmark, alongside the castle ruins and the small shrine of Santa María del Castillo on the hill above. Several other religious buildings survive: the churches of Santa María de Jesús and San Francisco, four chapels, and the convent church of the Concepcionistas, which contains a retablo mayor made between 1729 and 1731. A flamenco museum, an archaeological site at El Fontanal, and the Centro de Interpretación Nebrija round out the main sights.