The century of esparto Curiosity · El Romeral, La Mancha de Toledo, Toledo Image of El Romeral, not of the place itself. The esparto industry dominated the economy of El Romeral from the 16th century until the mid-20th century and explains how the town came to exceed three thousand inhabitants in the 1940s. Photo: Andrés Gómez (CC BY-SA 2.0) What to see and do in El Romeral