Ocaña

Archaeological sites around Ocaña point to human presence as far back as the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic. In Roman times, a historian linked the site to the toponym *Vicus Cuminarius*. The dominant settlement in the wider Tagus valley through antiquity and into the Islamic period was nearby Aurelia (today's Oreja, in Ontígola), with Ocaña serving as a fortified position on the northern edge of the plateau above a ravine.

According to legend, the emir of Seville included Ocaña among the towns he gave as a dowry to Zaida when she married Alfonso VI in 1082. Alfonso VI later reconquered it around 1106. In 1173 the town passed to two magnates from Tierra de Campos, who repopulated it with settlers from the Oca region of Burgos. The Order of Calatrava held portions of Ocaña through the following decades. By 1184 Alfonso VIII had extended its legal privileges, modelling them on those of Toledo.

Ocaña became a royal stage: Juan II held court here in 1422, and Enrique IV in 1468–69. Isabel la Católica found refuge here during her exile from her half-brother's court, and her loyal supporters Gonzalo Chacón and Diego Gutiérrez de Cárdenas — both Ocaña knights — rose to prominence once she became queen. The town later hosted Juana I and Felipe el Hermoso. In 1709, during the War of Spanish Succession, Castilian troops surprised a Portuguese regiment here. Then in 1809, at the Battle of Ocaña, French forces under Marshal Soult defeated the Spanish army of General Aréizaga, opening the road into La Mancha.

Ocaña holds an unusually dense concentration of historic buildings, and a declaration as a *Conjunto Histórico* is currently being processed.

The **Plaza Mayor**, from the 18th century, was declared a *Bien de Interés Cultural* in 2002. The **Fuente Grande**, probably designed by Juan de Herrera, received national historic-artistic monument status in 1976. The **Palacio de Don Gutierre de Cárdenas**, a 15th-century palace, was protected in 1931.

Two parish churches carry layered histories: **Santa María de la Asunción** was built over a former mosque, and **San Juan Bautista** over a former synagogue. The **Torre de San Martín** was declared a *Bien de Interés Cultural* in 1993.

The town has several convents. **Santo Domingo de Guzmán** is Renaissance in style, begun around 1530 and completed in 1605. **Santa Catalina de Siena** is also Renaissance. **San José** and **Santa Clara** add to the count. The **Teatro Lope de Vega**, another Renaissance building, was formerly a Jesuit college.

Other points of interest include the **Rollo de Justicia** (a medieval justice pillar), the **Fuente Vieja** (possibly of Roman origin), two ermitas, and the remains of the Franciscan **Real Monasterio de Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza**.