Cehegín

Human settlement around Cehegín goes back at least 4,400 years. The limestone massif of Peña Rubia, southwest of the town, contains cave paintings in the "Siete Pisos" and "Del Humo" caves, along with collective burials from the Chalcolithic period. These paintings were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in December 1998, grouped with the wider rock art of the Levantine Arc of the Iberian Peninsula.

Later Bronze Age settlements have been found at Sierra de la Puerta and Cabezo del Trigo. The area's most significant ancient settlement was Begastri, an Iberian urban centre that the Romans elevated to the status of a municipium after the Second Punic War, making it one of the leading cities of southeastern Spain. Facing threats, possibly raids by Franks and Alemanni, its inhabitants demolished much of the city and built massive defensive walls.

After the fall of Roman authority, Begastri became an episcopal see from 560 AD, with bishops documented attending the Councils of Toledo. In 713, the city appears in the Pact of Tudmir, recording its surrender to the Umayyad Caliphate alongside Orihuela, Mula, Lorca, and others.

The old town of Cehegín has been declared a protected historic-artistic ensemble and is considered one of the best preserved in the Región de Murcia. The skyline is defined by the Igreja de Santa María Magdalena, on the Plaza de la Constitución, attributed to architect Jerónimo Quijano. Started in the 16th century and left unfinished until the late 17th, it was declared a National Monument and a Bien de Interés Cultural in 1982.

Nearby, the Renaissance Iglesia de la Concepción, consecrated in 1556, holds three naves supported on Tuscan and Ionic columns, a remarkable Mudéjar wooden ceiling with an octagonal ribbed vault, and painted inscriptions; it was declared a National Monument in 1980. On the western hillside above the Río Argos stands the Iglesia de la Soledad, a basilica-plan church dating from the late 16th and early 17th centuries. The Franciscan Convento de San Esteban, built between the 16th and 17th centuries, houses the image of Nuestra Señora de las Maravillas, the town's patron saint, along with a Baroque high altarpiece and a central cloister.

Among the secular buildings, the Baroque Palacio de los Fajardo, the former council house now serving as the Archaeological Museum, and the Baroque-Rococo Casa Jaspe all stand close together on and around the Plaza de la Constitución.