Logbook · 5 places

What to see and do in Villagarcía del Llano

What to see and do in Villagarcía del Llano (La Manchuela Conquense, Cuenca): 5 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 1 Monuments · 1 Activities · 2 Curiosities

When to go to Villagarcía del Llano: festival calendar

August: The parade floats of Villagarcía del Llano (Fiestas de agosto)

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Spain › Castilla-La Mancha › Cuenca › La Manchuela Conquense › Villagarcía del Llano

What to see and do in Villagarcía del Llano

Villagarcía del Llano
Village
Villagarcía del Llano is a municipality in the comarca of La Manchuela Conquense, in the province of Cuenca, on the border with that of Albacete, which includes the hamlet of Casas del Olmo. Until 1665 it was called Gil García, from which the popular demonym gilgotes derives; it then became Villagarcía and, since 1917, Villagarcía del Llano. The place arose as a farming settlement of peasants from Iniesta, dependent first on Alarcón and, after the War of the Marquisate, on the territory of Villanueva de la Jara, which for centuries appointed its local mayor. Its church of Santiago Apóstol was rebuilt in the 18th century at the initiative of Alonso Núñez de Haro y Peralta, a native of the village and Archbishop of Mexico, and since 1974 residents have paraded with floats they build themselves.
Church of Santiago Apóstol de Villagarcía del Llano
Monument
The church of Santiago Apóstol is the parish church of Villagarcía del Llano, in the Manchuela Conquense. The previous building, on the same site, was in ruins in the mid-18th century, and the present reconstruction began around 1788, promoted by the local-born Alonso Núñez de Haro y Peralta, archbishop of Mexico. It is a building of rubble masonry with ashlar at the corners, pilasters and towers; these are twin towers, of three tiers, with the belfry on the second and a hemispherical dome on the third. The doorway is rectangular, with flat lintels, and the interior has three naves, neoclassical cornices, barrel transverse arches and a basket-handle arch beneath the choir.
Alonso Núñez de Haro, archbishop of Mexico
Curiosity
Born in Villagarcía del Llano on 31 October 1729, into a noble family descended from the Peralta de Alarcón and Núñez de Chinchilla lines, Alonso Núñez de Haro y Peralta studied at the universities of Toledo, Bologna and Ávila, and came to master Latin, Greek, French, Hebrew and Italian. He was archbishop of Mexico from 1772 until his death in 1800, and also served as viceroy of New Spain for a few months in 1787. In his home town he promoted the construction of a new church modelled, in miniature, on the cathedral of Mexico. As archbishop he promoted the works of the chapel of the Pocito, at the basilica of Guadalupe, and of the Metropolitan Cathedral, and founded the Capuchin convent of the Villa de Guadalupe.
The gilgotes of Villagarcía
Curiosity
The popular demonym of the residents of Villagarcía del Llano, gilgotes, still used by neighbouring villages, comes from the town's original name, Gil García, documented as such in the headings of notarial protocols. The change of name is precisely documented: on 16 September 1665 a document still calls it Gil Garçía, and barely fourteen days later, on 30 September, a deed of obligation already writes "en esta villa de Villagarçía." That same year the town became free of its dependence on the neighbouring Villanueva de la Jara.
The parade floats of Villagarcía del Llano
Activity
The parade of floats of Villagarcía del Llano, built by the residents themselves, has been held since 1974 during the first week of August, during the town's summer festivities. Since 1981 it has been kept as a transfer of the patronal festivities, which are held in October, and it is the main attraction for the neighbouring villages, along with the bullfighting events and the days dedicated to pensioners and to women.