Village
Municipality of the comarca of Montes de Ciudad Real, in the province of Ciudad Real, whose castle, handed over by Alfonso VIII to the Order of Calatrava between 1180 and 1188, watched over the passage between the Manchegan plain and the Montes and gave its name to a commandery which in 1548 was sold to Antonio Ares Pardo de Saavedra, the origin of a lordship on which Porzuna and Fuente el Fresno depended. It preserves the Carmelite convent of San José, inaugurated in 1568 and the only one Saint Teresa of Ávila conceived from its very construction, and the church of Santa María Magdalena, whose clock tower collapsed onto the temple with the Lisbon earthquake of 1755; at the foot of the range open three lagoons of volcanic origin.
Monument
The convent of the Discalced Carmelites of San José in Malagón was founded by Santa Teresa de Jesús on 11 April 1568, first provisionally in the Casas de la Quintería, ceded by Luisa de la Cerda, lady of Malagón, and later in the building constructed between 1576 and 1579 under the direction of the architect Nicolás de Vergara el Mozo. It is the saint's third foundation and the only one she herself conceived from its very construction. It preserves an important altarpiece attributed to the sculptor Narciso Tomé. Until the late 1920s it also housed the painting of San Juan Bautista by El Greco, which the community arranged to sell in 1927; the historian Elías Tormo travelled to Malagón to examine it and urged the Government to acquire it for its "excellent artistic quality".
Monument
A parish church built between the 15th and 16th centuries and damaged by the Lisbon earthquake of 1755. It was rebuilt between 1962 and 1965, keeping its original three-nave structure.
Nature
A group of three lagoons of volcanic origin at the foot of the range: Nava Grande, Nava de Enmedio and Nava Pequeña. The largest, Nava Grande, is ringed by volcanic rock and is an excellent place for birdwatching.
Nature
Mountain range situated to the northwest of the municipal area of Malagón (Montes de Ciudad Real), a spur of the Montes de Toledo that overlooks the town centre and separates the Montes district from the plain of La Mancha. It stretches from east to west, with a flatter eastern sector and a more rugged western area, reaching heights of up to 1000 metres compared with the town's 646. At its foot runs the Bañuelos river, a tributary of the Guadiana, and there are three lagoons of volcanic origin: the Nava Grande, the Nava de Enmedio and the Nava Pequeña.
Curiosity
A local variety of bean, small and kidney-shaped, harvested at the end of September in the huertas of Malagón. Its very fine skin means it can be cooked without soaking first.
Curiosity
The Finance Minister Miguel Cayetano Soler was murdered in Malagón in 1808, while under arrest, at the turbulent start of the Peninsular War.
Activity
The patron saint festival of Malagón in honour of the Cristo del Espíritu Santo, with processions, open-air dances and popular festivities.
Activity
The Corpus celebration in Malagón, in which the streets along the processional route are covered with ornamental carpets made by local people.
Activity
Malagón is part of the network of Ciudades Teresianas (Teresian Cities) and of the Huellas de Santa Teresa route, and marks the saint's feast day with commemorative events. The town was home to the third convent founded by Teresa de Jesús, that of San José, designed by her herself; it was inaugurated and blessed on Palm Sunday, 11 April 1568, in provisional quarters, and the definitive building, directed by the architect Nicolás de Vergara el Mozo, was completed in 1579, the year in which the saint travelled to Malagón to move the community to the new monastery. On 8 December 1971 a bronze sculpture by the sculptor Joaquín García Donaire was unveiled in the Plaza del Remedio, commemorating Teresa's proclamation as a Doctor of the Church.
Historical milestone
Alfonso VIII handed the Order of Calatrava half of the castle of Malagón in 1180, and the order acquired the other half in 1188. The fortress watched over the pass between the Manchegan plain and the Montes and gave its name to a long-lived commandery.
Historical milestone
Separated from the Order of Calatrava in 1547, the commandery of Malagón was sold the following year by Prince Felipe to Antonio Ares Pardo de Saavedra. From that purchase was born a seigneury on which Porzuna and Fuente el Fresno depended.
Historical milestone
The parish church of Santa María Magdalena, raised between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, felt the Lisbon earthquake of 1755: the clock tower collapsed onto the church. The repair works altered a good part of its original fabric.
Food and drink
Extra virgin olive oil made solely with cornicabra olives and covered by a Protected Designation of Origin. The zone brings together 128 municipal districts of Toledo and Ciudad Real, and Malagón is one of the twenty-two Manchegan municipalities included.