Logbook · 7 places

What to see and do in El Peral

What to see and do in El Peral (La Manchuela Conquense, Cuenca): 7 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 3 Monuments · 2 Activities · 1 Curiosities

When to go to El Peral: festival calendar

May: Festivities of la Virgen del Espino (May 1)
September: The Santicos of El Peral (September 27)

Towns near El Peral

Spain › Castilla-La Mancha › Cuenca › La Manchuela Conquense › El Peral

What to see and do in El Peral

El Peral
Village
El Peral is a municipality in La Manchuela Conquense, in Cuenca, with 660 inhabitants, situated on a hillside next to the fertile plain of the Valdemembra river, a tributary of the Júcar. Its Renaissance church from the 15th and 16th centuries, dedicated to Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, holds a Gothic altarpiece by Antonio de Comontes, a pupil of Juan de Borgoña, recovered after restoration, and there is a jurisdictional pillory at the entrance to the town. It also has three hermitages — San Cosme y San Damián, San Isidro and the Virgen del Espino — and the Luján manor house, with its hall known as media naranja. On 1 May a procession climbs to the hermitage of the Virgen del Espino, with the mayos sung the evening before in the church porch; on 27 September the festivities of the Santicos are held.
Church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de El Peral
Monument
Church of El Peral (Cuenca, La Manchuela Conquense), a Renaissance church of the 15th and 16th centuries dedicated to Nuestra Señora de la Asunción. Notable features include its entrance portico and a coffered ceiling that retains its original polychromy. It also preserves a Gothic altarpiece by Antonio de Comontes, a pupil of Juan de Borgoña, which has been restored and is in good condition, and which is an outstanding example of the late-medieval religious art of the district.
The pillory of El Peral
Monument
A stone jurisdictional pillar in the park at the entrance to the town, a symbol of its former status as a villa.
Hermitage of la Virgen del Espino de El Peral
Monument
The hermitage of the Virgen del Espino, dedicated to the patron saint of El Peral, stands beside the spot where a century-old elm grew, known as "the hollow elm," so called because it became hollow due to a disease. On 1 May, after the mayos are sung the night before under the church's porch, the image is carried in procession to the hermitage, where the carrying poles are auctioned off to bring it in. Throughout the month a rosary is prayed for it every afternoon, and a charitable gift of unleavened bread, offered each year by a different local woman, is handed out. Next to it stand the hermitages of San Cosme y San Damián and San Isidro.
Joaquín Sigüenza y Chavarrieta
Curiosity
Joaquín Sigüenza y Chavarrieta (El Peral, 1825 - Madrid, 1902) was a Spanish painter, chamber painter to Isabella II and curator of the paintings of the Monastery of El Escorial. He trained at the Higher School of Painting in Madrid and completed his training in Paris under Léon Cogniet, who steered him towards military history painting, a genre he practised after a trip to Morocco. Among his works are still lifes such as Dead Partridge (Lázaro Galdiano Museum, 1856) and history paintings such as The Trial of André Chénier (Museum of Cuenca) and the Reception of the Army of Africa at the Puerta del Sol, acquired by Queen Isabella II, who appointed him her chamber painter. In 1872 he was appointed curator of the Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial and drawing professor at its institute.
Festivities of la Virgen del Espino
Activity
Festivity held on the first of May in El Peral. The evening before, the mayos are sung to the Virgen del Espino under the church's porch, attended by residents and former inhabitants, and the following day the image is carried in procession up to the hermitage, where the carrying poles are auctioned off at the entrance. Afterwards the charitable gift is handed out among the village, a piece of unleavened bread offered each year by a different local woman, and throughout May the rosary is prayed every afternoon at the hermitage.
The Santicos of El Peral
Activity
Festivity of San Cosme y San Damián held on 27 September in El Peral. The night before, bonfires are lit along the path down which the images are brought from the hermitage, and the following day the procession takes place through the village, with bullfighting events in the bullring during those days.