Logbook · 9 places

What to see and do in Santa Olalla

What to see and do in Santa Olalla (Torrijos, Toledo): 9 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 3 Monuments · 2 Activities · 3 Historical milestones

When to go to Santa Olalla: festival calendar

February: Pilgrimage of San Blas de Santa Olalla (first Sunday of February)
May: Festivities of la Virgen de la Piedad de Santa Olalla (first Sunday of May)

How far each place is from the centre of Santa Olalla

Towns near Santa Olalla

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Spain › Castilla-La Mancha › Toledo › Torrijos › Santa Olalla

What to see and do in Santa Olalla

Santa Olalla
Village
Municipality of the comarca of Torrijos, in the province of Toledo, born beside the Roman road that linked Emerita Augusta with Toletum and whose name comes from the martyr of Mérida, Eulalia; a walled town that resisted in 1196 the Almohad campaign of the Miramamolín, it passed from 1529 to the lordship of the counts of Orgaz, whose first holder founded the church of San Julián, with rich Baroque decoration added in the seventeenth century, and it preserves the church of San Pedro Apóstol, of eleventh-century origin, and the granite Fuente Grande, built in 1867.
Church of San Julián de Santa Olalla
Monument
Church founded in the early 16th century by the first count of Orgaz, with a rich Baroque decoration added in the 17th century. It was built on an older Mudejar chapel according to the design drawn up in 1618 by the Toledan architect Juan de Espinosa Monegro, and artists such as Luis Tristán and Juan Carreño de Miranda took part in its decoration. It preserves nine altarpieces, among which the main altarpiece stands out, a work by Juan Gómez Lobo popularly known as the retablo de los San Julianes for depicting three saints of that name, considered the finest Baroque work in the Torrijos area. It was the funerary pantheon of the counts of Orgaz during the 17th and 18th centuries and today it is home to several Holy Week brotherhoods.
Church of San Pedro Apóstol de Santa Olalla
Monument
The church of San Pedro Apóstol is, together with that of San Julián, one of the two Catholic churches in Santa Olalla and the town's oldest building, with origins in the 11th century, though greatly altered by later historical events. Located in the center of the village, its site hosted various religious buildings before the current church was erected. It preserves carvings of great artistic value, such as the Cristo del Lucero and the image of Santa Eulalia de Mérida, as well as the Virgen de la Piedad, patron saint of Santa Olalla, restored by the sculptor Mariano Benlliure.
Great Fountain of Santa Olalla
Monument
Granite fountain built in 1867 in the Plaza de los Mártires, one of the town's most recognisable urban features.
Pilgrimage of San Blas de Santa Olalla
Activity
Pilgrimage to the hermitage of San Blas de Santa Olalla, a small building in popular style erected in 1905 and surrounded by a meadow where, every year on the first Sunday of February, the feast in honor of the saint is held. The day includes a procession to the hermitage, an open-air mass, fireworks, a fun fair and the free distribution of paella, boiled eggs and oranges by the brotherhood, as well as the sale of traditional sweets and a raffle.
Festivities of la Virgen de la Piedad de Santa Olalla
Activity
The festivities of the Virgen de la Piedad de Santa Olalla, the town's main celebration, begin on the first Sunday of May with the opening speech and the crowning of the Queen and her Maids of Honor. The program includes street parades, religious processions, a floral offering, fireworks, bullfighting events, hunting and tennis tournaments, and the traditional Guindalera verbena.
The road from Mérida to Toledo
Historical milestone
In Roman times, the road linking Emerita Augusta with Toletum was laid out over an earlier drovers' path, and the settlement of Santa Olalla grew up on its bank. From that period comes the name, taken from the Emerita martyr Eulalia and later transformed into its current form.
The Almohad attack of 1196
Historical milestone
The town was walled after the Christian conquest, with a first documentary mention of the enclosure in 1127. In 1196 it withstood the Almohad campaign of the Miramamolín, which laid waste the fields between the Alberche and the Tajo on the way to Toledo.
The Counts of Orgaz, lords of the town
Historical milestone
The seigneury passed through the house of Castro and through the Guzmán before falling from 1529 to the counts of Orgaz. The town acted as the jurisdictional head of the surrounding villages and concentrated the notary's office, the gaol and the market.