Village
Municipality of the comarca of La Mancha, in the province of Ciudad Real, which Philip II sold in 1575 to Álvaro de Bazán, first marquess of Santa Cruz, for 240,000 ducats, passing from the Order of Calatrava to seigneurial rule. On 6 June 1808 its inhabitants resisted the Napoleonic advance in the episode known as la Contienda, in which Juana Galán, la Galana, played an outstanding part, and the guerrilla fighter Francisco Abad, nicknamed Chaleco, was also from the town; its Fiestas de la Vendimia y el Vino, of National Tourist Interest, coincide at the beginning of September with the National Exhibition of Fine Arts, first convened in 1940.
Monument
A church built between the 15th and 18th centuries, in whose construction Juan de Baeza took part, declared a monumento histórico-artístico nacional (Spain's highest level of heritage protection) in 1977. Built in limestone in late Gothic style with Renaissance and Baroque elements, it has a floor plan of 47 by 15 meters with two longitudinal naves; the main one, with four bays and star-ribbed vaults, houses at its foot a choir supported by one of the largest basket-handle arches in Spain. Its main façade stands out, with the Puerta del Sol in Isabelline Gothic style from the second half of the 15th century, and the octagonal Renaissance tower topped with a clock. The current altarpiece, of gilded wood with three tiers in Corinthian order, is a copy of the original, destroyed during the Civil War.
Monument
A windmill turned into a museum, considered the largest mill-museum in the world, with views over the town and its vineyards.
Monument
The Cerro de las Cabezas is an Iberian-Oretanian archaeological site located about 8 kilometers south of Valdepeñas, on a hill about 800 meters high, occupied between the 7th and 2nd centuries BC. The excavations have brought to light a fortified city with an organized urban layout, with streets, stone and rammed-earth walls, communal ovens, mills and craft workshops, along with abundant pottery with stamped decoration unique to the site. In 2013 a necropolis was discovered with fourteen cremation burials, among them a tomb with terra sigillata pottery imported from Italy, dated between the years 15 and 40. The site has an interpretation center, with audiovisual materials and scale models, and offers guided tours.
Activity
A festival declared of National Tourist Interest that celebrates the grape harvest at the beginning of September and coincides with the National Exhibition of Plastic Arts, the oldest fine arts competition in Spain.
Curiosity
The wines of Valdepeñas are covered by a designation of origin created in 1968 and are exported all over the world, which has earned the town the nickname of the city of wine.
Curiosity
On 6 June 1808 the people of Valdepeñas resisted the advance of Napoleon's troops in an episode known as La Contienda, a local landmark of the Peninsular War.
Curiosity
The painter Gregorio Prieto, one of the leading figures in the visual arts connected with the Generation of '27, was born in Valdepeñas, where a foundation keeps and exhibits his legacy.
Historical milestone
In 1575 Felipe II sold Valdepeñas to Álvaro de Bazán, first marquis of Santa Cruz, for 240,000 ducats. The villa, until then under the Order of Calatrava, passed to a seigneurial regime and remained linked to that noble house for centuries.
Historical milestone
Juana María Galán Heredia, known as Juana Galán or la Galana, was born in Valdepeñas on 25 October 1787, the eldest of seven siblings in a family that ran an inn and tavern at the entrance to the town. On 6 June 1808, during the battle of Valdepeñas against Napoleonic troops, she urged the women to throw boiling water and oil from the balconies while she herself armed herself with a club to fight against the French cavalry; thanks to this resistance the French abandoned La Mancha, which contributed to the Spanish victory at Bailén. For this Valdepeñas received the title of Muy Heroica. She married in 1810 and died in 1812 as a result of her last childbirth, on the very day La Mancha was declared liberated.
Historical milestone
Born in Valdepeñas, Francisco Abad Moreno, nicknamed Chaleco, led one of the most active guerrilla bands of La Mancha during the Peninsular War (1808-1814), harassing the French convoys on the royal road to Andalusia.
Historical milestone
First convened in 1940 by a group of art enthusiasts from Valdepeñas as a provincial painting exhibition, it is one of the oldest fine arts competitions still held in Spain and carries the most generous prize in the country. It changed in scope and name over time — regional in 1953, national in 1961 — until adopting in 2002 its current name of International Exhibition. It is held every year in early September, coinciding with the Wine Festivals, and in 2001 it received the Gold Medal for Merit in the Fine Arts. The prize-winning works from the successive editions form the bulk of the collection of the Municipal Museum, housed since 2002 in the former Casino Círculo La Confianza.