Village
Albalate del Arzobispo is the cultural capital of the Bajo Martín, in the province of Teruel, with 1,936 inhabitants (INE 2025), set on the foothills of the sierra de Arcos, on the left bank of the río Martín. Its name comes from the Arabic al-balat, 'the road', to which was added the memory of its belonging to the archbishopric of Zaragoza. In two rock shelters above the river, cave paintings of Levantine and schematic style are preserved, with a group of six figures holding hands in a dance. From the Eneolithic period, burial caves are known with skeletons and pottery. From Roman times walls remain, and next to the hermitage of San José, the Ruta de las Lastras runs across a rocky platform with cupmarks and channels carved into the stone. Its urban centre is declared a Conjunto Histórico-Artístico (a Spanish heritage designation for historic urban ensembles).
Monument
A Gothic castle-palace of the archbishop of Zaragoza, in the historic-artistic ensemble of Albalate del Arzobispo, in the comarca of Bajo Martín (Teruel). It stands on a small plateau on a rise from which the first nucleus of the town developed, in radial layout and encircled by the río Martín. The municipality, set on the foothills of the sierra de Arcos at 342 metres above sea level, takes its name from the Arabic al-balat, 'the road', while the addition recalls its former belonging to the Zaragoza archbishopric. The castle-palace is listed as a Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection) by virtue of the Ley 3/1999 del Patrimonio Cultural Aragonés and the Order of 17 April 2006 of the Government of Aragon, which approved the list of Aragonese castles and their locations.
Monument
The church of the Asunción de Nuestra Señora, in Albalate del Arzobispo (Teruel), is a Mudéjar temple built in the 16th century (1581-1589) on the site of an earlier church, of which only the first three storeys of the tower are preserved; it has been listed as a Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection) since 2001. On the south-west corner stands out the Mudéjar tower, square in plan on the first storey, fitted out as a chapel, and octagonal on the remaining four levels, decorated with diamonds and corner details in projecting brick. The floor plan, with three naves of four bays and a straight chancel, is covered with star-ribbed vaults and lit by paired round-arched windows; inside, the mural painting of the camarín of the Virgen de los Arcos stands out, attributed to Juan José Gárate.
Curiosity
Los Chaparros and Los Estrechos are rock shelters with rock art located in the Sierra de Arcos, in Albalate del Arzobispo, in the Bajo Martín region, along a signposted 8.3-kilometre route through the canyons of the Martín river. At Los Chaparros three phases overlap: fine geometric strokes in faint red of the linear-geometric style, Levantine figures in vivid violet-red tones, and schematic figures at the edges, with trees, quadrupeds, archers and pregnant women; a secondary panel adds around twenty engraved motifs dating from the late Middle Ages to the 19th century. At Los Estrechos, figures in red and black are seen, both Levantine and schematic. The site has been UNESCO World Heritage since 1998, within the rock art of the Mediterranean Basin.
Nature
The río Martín runs for 98 kilometres through the provinces of Teruel and Zaragoza and gives its name to the Bajo Martín comarca. It rises west of the sierra de San Just, in the municipal district of Martín del Río, and is a right-bank tributary of the Ebro, into which it flows at Escatrón. Upstream of Albalate del Arzobispo, between that town and Montalbán, it runs through the Parque Cultural del Río Martín, which preserves groups of rock paintings declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998; before reaching its lower stretch, the river passes by Peñarroyas, Obón and Alcaine.
Activity
The traditional bull runs of the main festivities of Albalate del Arzobispo, the cultural capital of the Bajo Martín.
Activity
Patron saint festivities of Albalate del Arzobispo from 24 to 28 September, in honour of the Virgen de Arcos; on Cuasimodo Monday a pilgrimage is also held to its sanctuary.
Monument
In the municipal district of Albalate del Arzobispo there are several hermitages: that of Santa Bárbara, today in ruins with only the walls standing; that of el Calvario, in las Canterías; and the santuario de la Virgen de Arcos, from the 15th-16th centuries with 17th-century Baroque additions, on a promontory of the sierra de Arcos ten kilometres from the village.
Activity
The year's quintos open Albalate del Arzobispo's winter festival with the bonfire of San Antón, the first of the so-called santos capudos; the barrio de las Cantererías also celebrates San Blas with the blessing of the roscón and the singing of albadas.
Nature
Viewpoint over the valley of the River Martín from Albalate del Arzobispo.
Monument
The town hall of Albalate del Arzobispo, facing the church, is a classicist building of three storeys plus an attic; its lower gallery of wide arches, known in the village as 'el almudín', dates from the first half of the 18th century, and the façade of the main floors, with a continuous three-bay balcony and neoclassical pediments, from the second half of that century.
Activity
Fair devoted to black truffle in the Bajo Martín, held in Albalate del Arzobispo.
Activity
Albalate del Arzobispo opens its winter festival with the bonfire of San Antón, the first of the santos capudos; in several villages of the Bajo Martín, San Blas, on 3 February, is celebrated with the blessing of the roscón and the singing of albadas.
Monument
The bridge over the river Martín in Albalate del Arzobispo was built in the 18th century, at the same time as the church of San José.
Historical milestone
After reconquering the town in 1149, Ramón Berenguer IV donated the town and the castle to Bishop Bernardo of Zaragoza. The mitre kept the dominion for more than six centuries, which explains the municipality's surname since 1318.
Historical milestone
On 21 March 1836 the Carlist bands of Ramón Cabrera confronted the government troops in the vicinity of the town. Albalate suffered repeated harassment throughout the First Carlist War because of its position in the Martín valley.
Historical milestone
Born in Albalate in 1870 and deceased in 1939, Juan José Gárate devoted his painting to the types, the customs and the landscapes of Aragon. His work figures today in Aragonese public collections and in the heritage of his native villa.
Food and drink
The fruit trees of the vega produce yellow peach of the late variety, bagged one by one on the tree during the summer to protect it. It is the practice that characterises the fruit covered by the designation of origin of the Bajo Aragón.
Food and drink
The dry-farmed vineyard, planted on poor soils alongside the olive and almond groves, feeds family wineries that make garnacha reds and wines for local consumption. The harvest takes place at the beginning of autumn in small plots.