VILLARTA DE LOS MONTES

Description

At the easternmost point, located in the Sierra de la Umbría, in the mountains of Toledo, and far from other towns in the Siberia, we find the town of Villarta de los Montes. Nestled in a rugged landscape, but of great beauty, we find abundant pastures in which livestock graze, among oaks, rockroses and other plant species.

Villarta de los Montes, like the towns of Herrera del Duque, Fuenlabrada de los Montes and Helechosa de los Montes, is part of the Cíjara Regional Reserve, one of the best preserved natural areas of the Iberian Peninsula, which undoubtedly It stands out for its enormous hunting biodiversity, which includes wildlife of smaller and larger game such as deer and wild boar, as well as many protected species.

Without leaving the natural environment of Villarta de los Montes, we also find the Paraje del Castañar. This is an area in which abundant water flows down from the rocks, being used in summer as a bathing area. In this area, ideal for hiking trails, we find a natural pool. It is the natural environment of Villarta de los Montes one of its strengths, abundant dehesas, as well as the great variety of plants, not only trees such as holm oak, cork oak, gall oak or oak, but also shrubs such as rockrose , the strawberry tree, the heather, the broom or the lavender. Framed in this privileged natural environment we also find another place of great beauty for the visitor: Las Hoces.

Already inside the village, in the extreme northwest of the town, the Parochial Church of Santa María Magdalena stands out as a point of interest for the visitor. This is a simple building, with an austere exterior in which its front and its quadrangular tower stand out. Also its interior is sober, with a single nave whose apse is crowned by a beautiful dome. Next to this church, we find a fountain, known by locals as "El Chorro Viejo".

Another emblematic construction of Villarta, in the swamp of Cíjara, is the so-called "Old Bridge" or "Medieval Bridge of the Mesta", of great importance in the past times for the circulation of cattle, for this purpose it was built for the Mesta, forming part of the Cañada Real Segoviana. It is a bridge of Mudejar style, masonry and brick, with more than 225 m in length and 16 main arches. The visibility of the bridge depends on how low the waters of the reservoir are, because in times of greater flow it is covered. This bridge is a vestige of the importance that Villarta de los Montes had in the transhumant livestock sector, given its belonging to the Mesta as a crossing area, keeping other constructions of the town the classic typology of those related to the meseta gullies.

Beyond the aforementioned bridge, we find a resting place of the Mesta in which the Hermitage of Our Lady of the Antigua is based, of Mudejar style and perimetrated by arcades, that lodges in its interior a Romanesque carving of S. XIII of the virgin that gives name to the temple -and that in turn is the patron saint of the town-, as well as a baroque altarpiece whose paintings are attributed to Juan Correa de Vivar. A baroque dome was added to this temple in the eighteenth century, adding a dressing room. In the month of May is celebrated, on the Saturday closest to the Feast of San Isidro, a pilgrimage around this hermitage.

The abundant fishing that characterizes the area impregnates the cuisine of Villarta de los Montes, throwing culinary varieties such as salmorejo of grilled fish or fish stewed with onion and vinegar. Slaughter products are chorizo in pringue, pestorejo or torreznos. Elaboration linked to the hunting is the tasajo, and there is no lack of the table of Villarta de los Montes other dishes spread in the region as ajoblanco and gazpacho, in addition to the typical dishes villarteños as soups of cachuela, “Berrendas” soups, the “crumbs” , the asadillo, the cagao de gato, pistos, calderetas and similar. And to complete the tasting and sweeten the palate, nothing better than sweets with honey from the area, candelillas, cannelloni and canutos.

Finally, some of the most important festivities of Villarta, such as "The Halberds” stand out, this being a Carnival celebration, and the "Feast of Tizne", which is celebrated in January and in which several bonfires take place, from whose embers the soot to smudge the people there banded together, in a most playful atmosphere.

Bar

• EL ANDALUZ I                                            

Adress: PLAZA DE ESPAÑA 10B.06678 Villarta de los Montes, Badajoz.

Teléfono: 924 641 659

• BAR PLAZA                                                

Adress: CALLE SAN PABLO, 1. 06678 Villarta de los Montes, Badajoz.

• GRANO DE ORO                                      

Adress: Avenida de Extremadura. 06678 Villarta de los Montes, Badajoz.

• BAR PIPE

Adress: Plaza de España, 10. 06678 Villarta de los Montes, Badajoz