Village
Albudeite is a small municipality on the Mula River, in the Region of Murcia, which the river borders as it passes through, 26 kilometres from the city of Murcia. It has about 1,400 inhabitants, a large part of whom have made their living from agriculture and, more recently, from construction. Its main monument is the church of Nuestra Señora de los Remedios, a Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection), which began to be built in the 16th century on the remains of an old mosque, with ashlar blocks of jasper from Mula; it houses a carved 17th-century virgin, patroness of the town, a Jesús Nazareno carved by Nicolás de Bussy and a Cristo de la Sangre by Francisco Salzillo, from the 18th century. The latter presides, in the early hours of Maundy Thursday, over the procession of silence, lit only by candles.
Monument
The iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios was built in the 16th century in Albudeite on the foundations of an old mosque, where the local Mudéjars came to pray until the area's conversion to Christianity in 1501. The San Calixto flood destroyed its interior in 1651 and the building served as a warehouse during the Civil War, leaving it in poor condition. It is a Baroque-style temple, with a gabled roof, barrel vault, plain portal and a bell tower completed in the 20th century. It preserves carvings of great value: a 17th-century Virgin, a Nazarene by Nicolás de Bussi and a Cristo de la Sangre by Francisco Salzillo dated 1776. Since 11 April 2008 it has been a Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection).
Curiosity
The village of Albudeite grew up around a castle built on the escarpment where the town stands, which in time was turned into a mosque; after the Christian conquest it passed from the Fajardo family to the Ayala family and finally to the Guzmán family.
Monument
Small chapel of great sentimental value to the people of Albudeite, as it was built by the village's own inhabitants. Every first Sunday of May a pilgrimage is held carrying the image of the Virgen del Monte to the site of la Muela.
Activity
The patron saint festivities of Albudeite in honour of Nuestra Señora de los Remedios are held on the last weekend of August. Besides the processions, masses, concerts and popular dances typical of the town's major festivities, the programme includes the traditional parade of floats and the crowning of the festival queens, before the procession of the patron saint.
Activity
Farming celebration in honour of San Isidro Labrador in which local people wear traditional working dress, with a solemn mass followed by traditional music and dancing in the church square.
Monument
A manor house in the historic centre of Albudeite, an example of the municipality's civil heritage.
Monument
An old house from the early 19th century preserved in the historic centre of Albudeite.
Nature
A spot in the town of Albudeite where a restored irrigation waterwheel is preserved, next to a viewpoint over the floodplain of the River Mula.
Monument
A historic aqueduct that crosses the rambla of Albudeite to supply water to the municipality's higher irrigated areas.
Curiosity
The church of Albudeite, dedicated to Nuestra Señora de los Remedios and declared a Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection), houses a Jesús Nazareno by Nicolás de Bussy and an 18th-century sculpture of Christ by Francisco Salzillo, known as the Cristo de la Sangre. Construction of the church began in the 16th century on the foundations of an old mosque, and it also houses the town's patron saint, Nuestra Señora de los Remedios, a carved wooden virgin from the 17th century, among other images of artistic value.
Monument
Remains of the medieval castle of Albudeite, in the Río Mula district (Murcia), declared a Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection). Of the old fortress only these remains survive, listed among the municipality's civil monuments as one of its main heritage landmarks.
Activity
An agricultural festival in Albudeite held on the third Saturday of May, with local people dressed in traditional Murcian costume. The day includes a Mass in honour of San Isidro Labrador, the blessing of the town's market gardens and fields, and, in the afternoon, a parade of floats decked out with decorations typical of the Murcian huerta.
Historical milestone
A regional decree officially approved in 2006 the municipality's coat of arms and flag, which until then lacked recognized emblems of its own despite its long history as a place of Andalusi origin on the banks of the river Mula.
Food and drink
One of the stews of the Albudeite repertoire, in which the pumpkin grown in the lowlands of the river Mula is cooked with vegetables and pulses until it thickens; it is an autumn dish that makes use of the huerta.
Food and drink
A humble stew that combines rice with dried beans from the household's own harvest, cooked together in the pot with a paprika sofrito; together with the chard pottage it forms part of the municipality's winter repertoire.
Food and drink
An oven sweet prepared at Semana Santa and at Easter and taken along for the picnic in the countryside; its domestic making survives in Albudeite as one of the few vestiges of the village's old baking.