Village
Casas-Ibáñez is a municipality of La Manchuela, in Albacete, with 4,616 inhabitants (INE 2025), on the comarca's main axis, bounded by the Júcar and Cabriel rivers, on the border with the Comunitat Valenciana. Until 1833 it was part of the marquisate of Villena, depending on Jorquera, the year in which it gained its autonomy when the province of Albacete was created; today it is the seat of a judicial district of seventeen municipalities. Its municipal area has two zones, the Manchega plain to the south, with the Cerro de San Jorge, and an abrupt descent towards the Cabriel to the north, with areas such as La Ceja, La Terrera and La Hoya Gualí, with remains from the Bronze Age. It has a 17th-century Baroque church with an ivory Christ and the Rococo chapel of the Ochando family, and holds a pilgrimage to the hermitage of the Virgen de la Cabeza.
Monument
Parish church of Casas-Ibáñez (Albacete), dedicated to San Juan Bautista and built at the end of the 17th century and beginning of the 18th in Baroque style, the work of Sebastián Pérez de Ris and Juan Ruiz de Ris. It has a Latin-cross plan, with a crossing covered by a dome, side chapels and a flat chancel. The Ochando chapel stands out, in Rococo style, decorated with stuccowork and a lantern. Among the artworks it houses, an ivory Christ from the late 17th century and four canvases of the evangelists, painted in the 19th century, are especially notable.
Monument
The sanctuary of the Virgen de la Cabeza, patron saint of Casas-Ibáñez, is a simple building located about two kilometres from the town centre, surrounded by a park area. Every last Sunday of April it hosts the municipality's most crowded pilgrimage: the image is carried in procession from the sanctuary to the town's parish church, where it is received amid applause, the strains of the national anthem and displays of emotion from residents.
Nature
The Balcón del Ensueño is one of the most panoramic viewpoints over the valley of the río Cabriel, in the municipal area of Casas-Ibáñez, in the district of La Manchuela. The area is popularly known among residents as la Derrubiada, a name also used for this stretch of the valley. From the edge of the La Mancha plateau, the viewpoint offers one of the district's widest and most renowned views over the course of the Cabriel.
Nature
Two spots in the municipal district of Casas-Ibáñez: La Ceja is a viewpoint over the Manchegan plain and La Hoya Gualí a hollow opening towards the Júcar valley, with settlement documented since the Bronze Age.
Activity
The pilgrimage of the Virgen de la Cabeza, patron saint of Casas-Ibáñez (Albacete), is held on the last Sunday of April with the walk to the hermitage, located on the outskirts of the town, a simple building surrounded by parkland, about two kilometres from the village. That same evening the image is carried in procession to the parish church, where it is received to the sound of the national anthem. The following day the Solemn Mass is celebrated in honour of the Virgin and, in the afternoon, the flower offering and a procession through the streets of the municipality take place. On the night of 30 April, the local Tuna sings the mayos to the patron saint, one of the most deeply rooted traditions in the local festive calendar.
Activity
Main festivities of Casas-Ibáñez, held from 24 to 29 August in honour of San Agustín, combining religious events with trade fairs and cultural programming. They originated more as a commercial than a festive event, with days of mule trading and the purchase of farm tools; today they have a festive, entertainment-focused character, with an opening cavalcade on the 24th, bull and young-bull runs, open-air dances, exhibitions and music, a festive landmark of the district.
Activity
Feast of the Cristo de la Salud of Casas-Ibáñez, celebrated on the Saturday closest to 14 September with bonfires, a procession and the characteristic offering of alábega, the basil that residents present to the image.
Curiosity
The municipality, which depended on Jorquera within the Marquisate of Villena, gained its autonomy in 1833 and is today the head of a judicial district covering seventeen municipalities.
Historical milestone
Javier de Burgos's provincial division decree created the province of Albacete and completed the detachment of Casas-Ibáñez from the old Estado de Jorquera; the former hamlet ended up inheriting the comarca capital status that the mother town lost in 1874.
Food and drink
The vine growers of the uplands between the Júcar and the Cabriel recovered in the year 2000 the Manchuela denomination of origin, which covers reds of bobal and cencibel and whites of macabeo born in vineyards above 600 meters.