Logbook · 9 places

What to see and do in Villamalea

What to see and do in Villamalea (La Manchuela, Albacete): 9 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 3 Monuments · 1 Nature · 1 Activities · 1 Curiosities · 1 Historical milestones · 1 Food and drink

How far each place is from the centre of Villamalea

Cave of los Ángeles 2.6 km
Church of Nuestra Señora de la Anunciación de Villamalea 5.1 km

Towns near Villamalea

What to see in Casas-Ibáñez 8.3 km · 11 places
What to see in El Herrumblar 8.5 km · 6 places
What to see in Fuentealbilla 11 km · 7 places
What to see in Cenizate 12 km · 6 places
What to see in Villarta 13 km · 6 places
What to see in Villalpardo 14 km · 8 places
What to see in Alborea 15 km · 7 places
What to see in Ledaña 15 km · 5 places

Spain › Castilla-La Mancha › Albacete › La Manchuela › Villamalea

What to see and do in Villamalea

Villamalea
Village
Municipality of the comarca of La Manchuela, in the province of Albacete, whose life has revolved around the Cooperativa Vinícola San Antonio Abad, founded in 1946 and turned, above all from the 1960s, into the platform from which the winegrowers organised themselves against the Franco regime, which earned the place a reputation as a red village. Through the district run the viaducts and tunnels of the never-completed Baeza-Utiel railway, and among its popular events is a bed race through the streets.
Church of Nuestra Señora de la Anunciación de Villamalea
Monument
Church of Villamalea that combines Gothic foundations with Baroque extensions built mainly in the 17th century. It consists of a single nave with a semicircular apse, covered by a barrel vault with lunettes and transverse arches, side chapels with groin vaults and a choir raised at the foot of the nave. Outside, the 18th-century tower stands out, along with the side doorway, a round arch framed by pilasters. Belonging to the Diocese of Albacete, within the archpriesthood of La Manchuela, it was declared a Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection) on 22 December 1992, with the code RI-51-0007372.
Hermitage of la Concepción de Villamalea
Monument
The hermitage of la Concepción de Villamalea, in La Manchuela (Albacete), stands in the centre of the town and is well preserved; it is the oldest building in the town centre. Chronicles place its construction at the start of the last third of the 16th century. Inside it retains the original structure of the roofing, which forms a wooden coffered ceiling.
Viaducts of the Baeza-Utiel railway
Monument
Remains of the never-completed railway line crossing the municipal district of Villamalea, with two large viaducts, thirteen tunnels and various ancillary structures.
Cave of los Ángeles
Nature
The Cueva de los Ángeles is a cave and a small rain-water gully located about seven kilometres northeast of Villamalea (Albacete), one of the municipality's main local tourist attractions. The water follows the course of streams and gullies until it flows into the río Cabriel, and was traditionally used by market gardeners who built their houses nearby for cultivation. The cave is about seven metres deep and takes its name from the shape of some of the stones inside it, which popular tradition associates with angels' faces. Several hiking routes pass through the site, which has been restored to ease access and ensure its conservation.
Villamalea International Bed Race
Activity
A quirky competition organised by the El Guijoso cultural association in which teams in fancy dress push beds through the village streets.
The San Antonio Abad Wine Cooperative
Curiosity
Founded in 1946 out of economic necessity, from 1953 onwards the cooperative became the village's central institution and a sounding board for the farming consciousness of the whole comarca.
La cooperativa como trinchera antifranquista
Historical milestone
The farmers' cooperative founded in Villamalea in 1946 became, above all from 1961 onwards, the legal platform from which the village's communists organized the vine growers against the regime, which earned the place a reputation as a red village.
El champiñón de La Manchuela
Food and drink
The compost sheds and the old cellars of the comarca sustain more than a thousand operations that make La Manchuela the leading mushroom-producing area in Spain; alongside the button mushroom, oyster mushroom, king trumpet and shiitake are grown here.