Village
Municipality of the comarca of Monte Ibérico-Corredor de Almansa, in the province of Albacete, set in the strip disputed between the crowns of Castile and Aragon: it capitulated peacefully to James I in 1244 and the arbitration of Torrellas of 1304 assigned it to the kingdom of Valencia, from which come the bars on its coat of arms. In 1706 it was razed by troops arriving from Villena and Philip V reduced it to a place dependent on that town until in 1736 he returned its independence, by then incorporated into the kingdom of Murcia, an administrative link that lasted until 1982.
Monument
A parish church combining Gothic, Baroque and neoclassical features, with a tower completed in 1756 and Rococo ceramic tilework.
Monument
The sanctuary of the Virgen de Gracia stands in Caudete on what tradition places as an ancient Visigothic Benedictine monastery. Its origin dates back to the 15th century, although the largest extension, in Baroque style with Greco-Roman influence and a lantern dome, was carried out between 1741 and 1792; it was declared a Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection) in 1992. The façade features trompe-l'œil frescoes painted in 1907 by Agustín Espí Carbonell, depicting the apparition of the Virgen de Gracia and San Blas, patrons of the town, said by tradition to have been found on 16 December 1414 in the tomb beneath the camarín. This, lined with 18th-century Valencian tiles from Alcora, houses the present image, carved in 1941 after the fire that destroyed the original Romanesque carving in 1936.
Monument
The Carmelite Convent of San José, of the Discalced Carmelite order, was founded in 1586 in Caudete. It preserves a Baroque cloister from the 17th century with Tuscan ashlar columns and semicircular arches. Next to it stands the church of the Carmen, partly rebuilt in the 20th century on the 17th-century floor plan, in a complex raised after the town regained its autonomy in 1736.
Monument
Caudete Castle stands on a hill in the centre of this town in the province of Albacete. The original building, of Islamic origin, was raised in the 12th century when the Almohads arrived in al-Andalus, possibly on top of an earlier taifa-period structure. From the castle ran the town wall, with three gates: those of Murcia, of the Villa and of Valencia, the main access to the main square. The War of the Two Peters (1356-1369) erased its Andalusi forms, and it was rebuilt by the Castilians in the 14th century. It lost its residential use in 1422, when the town was sold to Alfonso V of Aragon, and its military function in 1469 with the union of Aragon and Castile. Between 1740 and 1870 it served as the parish cemetery.
Monument
The Sala de la Villa is the town hall of Caudete (Albacete), built between 1759 and 1764 during the building boom the town experienced after regaining its independence in 1736. It served as a chapter hall until the early 20th century, a role it has resumed in recent decades. Its south façade displays the coat of arms of Caudete, richly ornamented in Rococo style and crowned by a sundial, while the arches of its ground floor, a former exchange hall, stand where the Valencia gate once was.
Monument
Neo-Mudéjar bullring of Caudete, built in 1910 by Juan Arellano and Francisco Albalat Navajas in limestone and solid brick. Its façade is decorated with more than two hundred horseshoe arches, and its main entrance with bas-reliefs of bullfighting inspiration. It was considered one of the most beautiful bullrings in Spain and is today among the best preserved in the country.
Monument
The Rafael Requena Watercolour Museum, in the Casa de la Cultura of Caudete, is one of the most important museums in Europe devoted to this genre and brings together seventy-four works by the Caudete-born painter it is named after. The collection consists of single-subject paintings and series, predominantly landscapes and nature, including views of the fields of La Mancha such as Atardecer en La Mancha or Panorámica desde Chinchilla, still lifes such as La botella de anís, portraits such as Mi abuela Pepica and works dedicated to Caudete itself, such as Calle del Mercado or Ermita de la Virgen de Gracia. It also includes landscapes from his travels around Europe, such as Venice or Freiburg. The collection is the result of almost an entire lifetime that Rafael Requena devoted to art.
Nature
A range rising to 1,153 metres in the municipal district of Caudete, with Neolithic and Iberian sites and fine views over the corridor between the Meseta and the Levante.
Nature
Wetland forming part of the protected area of the Toconera and the Sierra Alácera, declared an Espacio de Protección Ecológica y Paisajística (a Spanish regional ecological- and landscape-protection category), an enclave of ecological interest within the municipal district of Caudete. The pond is a small lagoon inhabited by birds all year round, making it a birdwatching site within this protected area.
Nature
Micro-reserve in the municipal district of Caudete that protects a distinctive sandy ecosystem, considered unique in the province of Albacete, formed of wind-blown sands that support a highly specialised sand-dune flora, uncommon in the interior of the peninsula.
Nature
Perforated limestone formation located at the highest point of the Toconera, at about 722 metres above sea level, one of the most recognisable natural landmarks of the Caudete landscape. Its shape, with the hollow that gives it its name, is the work of water and wind erosion on the rock over time.
Activity
The Moors and Christians festival of Caudete, one of the oldest in Spain with more than 400 years of history and the first documentary reference in 1588, was declared of Interés Turístico Regional in 1987 (a Spanish regional tourism and heritage recognition). It is celebrated in honour of Nuestra Señora de Gracia, patron saint of the town, with embassies, parades and religious ceremonies. Five companies take part — Guerreros, Mirenos, Tarik, Moros and La Antigua, the last three being the oldest — organised with a structure of military origin that preserves ranks such as captain, sergeant, standard-bearer and squad corporal.
Nature
During motorway works in 2018 a Miocene site more than seven million years old was discovered at Caudete, with over 6,000 fossil remains including horses of the genus Hipparion.
Curiosity
The municipal coat of arms preserves four Aragonese bars recalling its past within the Kingdom of Valencia after the conquest by Jaime I. Caudete was also administratively tied to Murcia between 1707 and 1982.
Historical milestone
The Muslims of Caudete capitulated peacefully in 1244 before king James I of Aragon, who had advanced through the south of the kingdom of Valencia; the town was from then on in a strip disputed between the two peninsular crowns.
Historical milestone
The arbitration of Torrellas of 1304 and the later treaty of Elche assigned Caudete to the Crown of Aragon and to the kingdom of Valencia; from those four Valencian centuries come the bars that still appear on the municipal coat of arms.
Historical milestone
In the middle of the War of the Spanish Succession, in 1706, troops coming from Villena attacked Caudete and flattened much of the built fabric. The following year Philip V punished the town by reducing it to a mere place dependent on Villena and stripping it of its privileges.
Historical milestone
After almost thirty years of administrative humiliation, Philip V returned to Caudete in 1736 its independence, but incorporated it into the kingdom of Murcia and not that of Valencia; hence a century later it ended up within the province of Albacete.
Food and drink
Gachamiga is a traditional dish of south-eastern Spain, made from a dough of wheat flour, water, garlic, olive oil and salt that is worked without stopping in special pans called gachamigueras, with a long handle and deep base, until the mixture comes away on its own and takes on an appearance similar to a potato tortilla. The garlic is fried separately and added at the end so it does not burn. It is generally accompanied by longaniza sausage and bacon, though it also allows for pork ribs, anchovies, sardines and even grapes and chocolate. In Caudete and throughout the whole border strip with Murcia and Valencia it is a communal dish, to be shared on days out in the countryside and in winter.