Logbook · 8 places

What to see and do in Bornos

What to see and do in Bornos (Sierra de Cádiz, Cádiz): 8 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 3 Monuments · 1 Nature · 1 Activities · 2 Historical milestones

How far each place is from the centre of Bornos

Convento del Corpus Christi y Monasterio de los Jerónimos 550 m
Reservoir of Bornos 2.2 km

Towns near Bornos

What to see in Espera 7.8 km · 7 places
What to see in Villamartín 9.9 km · 4 places
What to see in Arcos de la Frontera 9.9 km · 4 places
What to see in Prado del Rey 17 km · 3 places
What to see in Algar 20 km · 7 places
What to see in Puerto Serrano 21 km · 7 places
What to see in El Bosque 22 km · 3 places
What to see in San José del Valle 24 km · 16 places

Spain › Andalusia › Cádiz › Sierra de Cádiz › Bornos

What to see and do in Bornos

Bornos
Village
Bornos is a municipality in the province of Cádiz, at the foot of the Sierra de Bornos and the Sierra del Calvario, beside the Guadalete river, at 182 metres above sea level and with around 7,500 inhabitants. Human presence dates back to the Palaeolithic, and the ruins of Carissa Aurelia, a Roman municipium with the right to mint its own coinage, attest to its Iberian and Roman past. The present-day town, which grew up around the Fontanar fortress, was taken by Christian troops in the mid-13th century; in 1398 it was sold, along with its castle and its lands, for 3,000 doblas to the adelantado Per Afán de Ribera I, initiating a Ribera lordship that lasted until municipal independence. Its main natural attraction is the Bornos reservoir, with trails such as that of the former Jerez-Almargen railway and the bridge of the 21 arches.
Castillo-Palacio de los Ribera
Monument
The palace of the Enríquez de Ribera family, in Bornos (Cádiz), was built in the 16th century on the site of the old Fontanar castle, of Arab origin, of which only some stretches of wall and the keep remain. Per Afán de Ribera the Elder, adelantado mayor of Andalusia, bought the castle in 1398, and in the 16th century the Enríquez de Ribera family transformed it into a Plateresque palace under Fadrique Enríquez de Ribera, first Marquis of Tarifa, who hired Spanish and Italian artists. The square keep is organised into different rooms; the palace has a porticoed courtyard with round arches and a late Gothic doorway with cardina-leaf decoration. Between 1992 and 1995 it was restored through an Escuela Taller, which also recovered its Renaissance and Arab garden.
Reservoir of Bornos
Nature
The Bornos reservoir, on the Guadalete river, is the main natural attraction of the Cádiz municipality that gives it its name, in the Sierra de Cádiz, and offers water sports and swimming activities. Nearby is the Cola del Embalse de Bornos, a natural area with a jetty fitted out for water sports. One of the town's trails runs along the shore of the reservoir, following the route of the former Jerez-Almargen railway, today turned into a route for walkers and cycle tourists.
Convento del Corpus Christi y Monasterio de los Jerónimos
Monument
Religious heritage ensemble of Bornos including the Convento del Corpus Christi (sixteenth century), the Monasterio de los Jerónimos (sixteenth century), and the Ermita de la Resurrección, from the same century.
Torre Fortificada de Fontanar
Monument
Defensive tower of Arab origin, renovated in the Renaissance period, part of the civil heritage of Bornos alongside the neoclassical Casa Consistorial of 1830.
Venta de Bornos a Per Afán de Ribera
Historical milestone
After the thirteenth-century Christian conquest, Bornos was sold in 1398 to Per Afán de Ribera I, beginning the Ribera family's seigniory over the town.
Carnaval de Bornos
Activity
Carnival declared of Tourist Interest of Andalusia, held 40 days before Holy Week; also on the festive calendar are the San Laureano festivities (first weekend of July) and the Festival del Lago, a rock event held since 1980.
Yacimiento arqueológico de Carissa Aurelia
Historical milestone
Ancient Ibero-Roman city that attained the rank of Roman municipium and the right to mint coinage under Vespasian; it preserves columbaria and a fourth- to fifth-century paleo-Christian tombstone. The site, declared a Bien de Interés Cultural in 2003, extends across the municipal terms of Bornos and Espera.