Village
Añover de Tajo is a municipality in the comarca of La Sagra, in the province of Toledo, with 5,454 inhabitants (INE 2025), set on a high hill near the right bank of the Tagus river. Its municipal area preserves remains of occupation since the Paleolithic, and in Roman times the settlement of Barcilés, in the flood plain, was linked to the road connecting Toledo with Alcalá de Henares, as recalled by a votive offering dedicated to its nymphs. The town received a settlement charter from Ferdinand III in 1222, and its flood plain became an orchard of melons, artichokes and fruit trees thanks to the Real Acequia del Jarama irrigation canal, established in 1741; it preserves the parish church of Santa Ana, from 1727-1753, and a 1951 bullring that hosts the bull runs and young-bull fights of the San Bartolomé festival.
Monument
Church built between 1727 and 1753, with three naves and a great altarpiece completed in 1777. Its tower was raised between 1653 and 1657 and crowned with its spire in 1788.
Monument
One of the four hermitages preserved in Añover de Tajo, dedicated to the Virgen de la Vega, whose feast day is celebrated on Easter Monday. It stands to the right of the Cuesta Vieja, at the top of the village, among pines and cypresses, with views over the vega of the Tagus that gave rise to the town. On the day of the festival a traditional auction is also held.
Monument
The hermitage of San Bartolomé de Añover de Tajo, dedicated to the patron saint of the town, was built in 1676 thanks to alms from the faithful and a contribution of 4,000 reales from the village council. Inside, to the left of the entrance, a staircase leads to a cave where, through five natural openings in the rock, water flows that was traditionally used to wash wounds and heal broken bones and fractures, a belief already recorded in accounts from 1840. The present hermitage, built on the same site as the original, dates from the 20th century.
Monument
Considered the oldest of the four hermitages of Añover de Tajo, alongside those of the Virgen de la Vega, San Bartolomé and the Vera Cruz, although very little information is preserved about the year it was built. It stands on a hill west of the village, with views of the Tagus valley on one side and, on the other, of the Valdelobos pine forests, unique in the La Sagra region.
Monument
Third-category bullring opened in 1951, with room for some 3,500 spectators. It is the setting for the bull runs and novice bullfights of the San Bartolomé festival.
Nature
Historic irrigation canal established in 1741 that transformed the flood plain of Añover de Tajo. It still structures the municipality's farming landscape.
Activity
The Ferias y Fiestas de San Bartolomé are held in Añover de Tajo (La Sagra, Toledo) from 23 to 28 August in honor of the apostle patron of the town. They open with the Diana, a musical procession lasting more than three hours, and include evening encierros through the streets of the village that draw more than 7,000 people. The program also includes fireworks, processions, concerts, bullfighting events and a parade of floats decorated by local artist residents, as well as open-air dances with orchestras and rock bands lasting into the night.
Activity
The Feria del Caballo of Añover de Tajo (La Sagra, Toledo) is usually held in July and brings together horse breeders and enthusiasts in an atmosphere with an Andalusian flavor. Many residents wear traditional flamenco costumes to ride on horseback and in decorated carts through the streets of the town, and enjoy, alongside the stalls of the Plaza de España, the musical performances organized for the occasion by the Asociación Amigos de la Garrocha.
Curiosity
The bullring of Añover de Tajo was the setting chosen by the photographer Annie Leibovitz for the July 2004 cover of Vanity Fair featuring David Beckham.
Historical milestone
Fernando III granted Añover a carta puebla on 6 January 1222, with which the settlement was officially constituted as a resettlement town on the bank of the Tajo. From that document the legal life of the municipality begins.
Food and drink
The irrigation secured by the Real Acequia del Jarama from 1741 turned the floodplain into a huerta supplying Madrid. Melons, artichokes, asparagus and orchard fruit still leave these lands for the markets of the capital.