Village
Artana is a municipality in the comarca of La Plana Baixa, in southern Castellón, situated in the valley of the same name framed by the Sierra de Espadán, with the ruins of a medieval castle from both Arab and Christian periods, damaged in the Carlist Wars, and basalt cliffs by the Cova del Tronc. Inhabited since the Mesolithic, it was the Arabs who left the greatest mark until the conquest by James I in 1242; it was repopulated in 1609 after the expulsion of the Moriscos. It retains the church of San Juan Bautista, with canvases from the 17th to 19th centuries and an Arabic tombstone, and the sanctuary-hermitage of Santa Cristina, with a guesthouse next to a spring. Its economy, based on agriculture, has centred on olive oil and orange growing.
Activity
Artana celebrates its patron saint San Juan Bautista in the last week of August, with bous al carrer; Santa Cristina from 23 to 25 July, with a pilgrimage to the sanctuary and a fair; and the Cristo del Calvario on the first Sunday after Easter.
Nature
Artana, at 261 m in a valley framed by the Sierra de Espadán, combines, to the northeast, grey limestone hills covered with Aleppo pine and holm oak with, in the core of the range to the south, reddish sandstone that locally exceeds 700 m and reaches 1000 m to the west, covered with maritime pine and cork oak.
Monument
The parish church of San Juan Bautista de Artana (Castellón), declared a Bien de Relevancia Local (local-level heritage protection status in the Valencian Community), was built from the 19th century onward on the remains of an earlier temple that probably occupied the site of a former medieval mosque, from which an Arabic tombstone found in the previous church is preserved in the parish museum. With a single-nave plan featuring six side chapels between buttresses and a raised choir at the foot, the central nave is covered by a ribbed vault decorated with gilded floral stuccowork, and the presbytery displays a star vault. Among its paintings, dated between the 17th and 19th centuries and mostly the work of early 20th-century artists, stands out the one titled Degollación de San Juan Bautista, a work from 1862 by the Castellón-born painter Bernardo Mondina Milallave.
Monument
The castle of Artana is an Islamic fortress built on Roman remains that, in medieval times, was transformed by Christian reforms into a seigneurial castle. Sections of wall are preserved, along with the keep, the Main Tower, the foundations of other towers, a cistern, and several auxiliary structures. The Great Tower stands out, also called the Tower of the Scipios, of Roman origin and octagonal plan, of which only the lower half still stands. Damaged during the Carlist Wars, it is today preserved in ruins on the hill overlooking Artana.
Monument
Hermitage-sanctuary located two kilometers from Artana, on the road to Eslida, listed as a Bien de Relevancia Local (local-level heritage protection status in the Valencian Community). The current building dates from the 18th century and is part of a complex with rooms for the hermit, a guesthouse, and a leisure area around a natural spring, surrounded by a kind of rustic amphitheater. The simple façade opens with wide doorways onto a square surrounded by cypresses, with a porch and a single-bell wall belfry. Inside, with a Doric-style nave and a raised choir at the foot, the main altar holds an image of Santa Cristina, a copy of the Baroque carving in the parish church. Its festivities are held in July, with a pilgrimage on the 24th during which the water of the spring is blessed, invoked in times of drought.
Nature
The Penyes Altes de Artana form a site of great environmental value, with impressive basalt cliffs, next to the Cova del Tronc. From this spot one can enjoy a wide panoramic view over the comarca of La Plana.
Nature
Spring in Artana at over 1,000 metres above sea level, whose water is bottled, in the Sierra de Espadán.
Activity
The patronal festivities of Artana in honor of San Juan Bautista are celebrated in the last week of August and include cultural and sporting events, folk dances, and bull runs through the streets of the town, in the comarca of Plana Baixa.