Logbook · 8 places

What to see and do in Miguel Esteban

What to see and do in Miguel Esteban (La Mancha de Toledo, Toledo): 8 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 3 Monuments · 1 Nature · 1 Curiosities · 2 Historical milestones

How far each place is from the centre of Miguel Esteban

Church of San Andrés Apóstol de Miguel Esteban 150 m
Wetland of Los Charcones 2.4 km

Towns near Miguel Esteban

Spain › Castilla-La Mancha › Toledo › La Mancha de Toledo › Miguel Esteban

What to see and do in Miguel Esteban

Miguel Esteban
Village
Municipality of the comarca of La Mancha de Toledo, in the province of Toledo, first mentioned in 1224 in a boundary dispute between the orders of Santiago and Saint John, with a name attributed to a knight of Santiago from the resettlement or to the canon Miguel Estébanez; its wetland of Los Charcones, restored and distinguished with the National Environment Prize in 1997, is a refuge for threatened birds such as the white-headed duck, and Juan de Acuña, who became bishop of Aquila, was born in the town around 1475.
Church of San Andrés Apóstol de Miguel Esteban
Monument
The parish church of San Andrés Apóstol, a Catholic church of the 17th and 18th centuries, is the main monument in Miguel Esteban (La Mancha de Toledo). It dates from the 17th century, rebuilt on a Latin-cross plan with side aisles added later; it belonged to the Military Order of Santiago, whose priory was based in Uclés, as attested by several crosses of Santiago on the building. Built of mud, plaster and irregular stones, only the base of the tower, the corners and the facade are of ashlar, with round arches, pediments and a Renaissance-imitation dome. On the portal, a keystone with an acanthus leaf and a date stands out, perhaps linked to renovation work after several fires. In the 1920s a new chapel was opened, and side aisles were added after the civil war.
Hermitage of San Isidro de Miguel Esteban
Monument
The ermita of San Isidro rises on a hill in Miguel Esteban with views over the site of Los Charcones, a bird reserve formed by nearby lagoons. With a rectangular plan covered by a gabled roof, it has at its head three round arches on pilasters and an outer portico running along the front and sides, topped by a small bell gable on the facade. In 1999, as part of the Proyecto Integral Charcones-Ermita promoted by the town council, students from a training school rebuilt the building and also raised four windmills along the hill to recreate a Cervantine scene that, in fact, never existed in this location. The ermita, dedicated to the patron saint of farmers, is one of the most cherished religious elements in the municipality.
Church of Nuestra Señora del Socorro
Monument
Church consecrated in 1993, the most recent religious building in Miguel Esteban. It was built in 1990 on land donated by the Cooperadoras de Betania nuns, to a design by Manuel Santolaya, and the consecration, on 20 June 1993, was presided over by Cardinal Marcelo González Martín, Archbishop of Toledo.
Wetland of Los Charcones
Nature
A restored area that received the National Environment Prize in 1997. It is a bird refuge of the first order, with threatened species such as the white-headed duck.
The knight who gave the village its name
Curiosity
The name is attributed either to a knight of the Order of Santiago involved in the resettlement after the Reconquest or to Miguel Estébanez, a 13th-century canon. The town is documented as a villa in 1224.
The 1224 boundary dispute
Historical milestone
The first written mention of the place appears in 1224 in a lawsuit between the Order of Santiago and the Order of Saint John over the limits of their commanderies. Fernando III mentioned it again in 1243, by then integrated into the Santiago jurisdiction of Uclés.
Juan de Acuña, bishop of Aquila
Historical milestone
Juan de Acuña was born around 1475 in Miguel Esteban, son of Fernando Vázquez de Acuña y Villodre, a descendant of the House of Acuña, and of Aldonza de Villaseñor y Gutiérrez de Tapia, hidalgo families of the town. He left for Rome while still young, where he studied and was ordained a secular priest, gaining courtly and diplomatic experience; he became confessor to the Grand Constable of the kingdom of Naples, Ascanio Colonna. In 1560 Philip II proposed him as bishop of the diocese of L'Aquila, in the former kingdom of Naples, a post to which he was consecrated by Pope Pius IV in 1561 and which he held until his death in 1578, applying the decrees of the Council of Trent and founding a diocesan seminary. He is the townsman who achieved the greatest prominence during the centuries of rule by the Order of Santiago.