Carmona is built on a ridge overlooking the central plain of Andalusia; to the north is the Sierra Morena, with the peak of San Cristobal to the south. The city is known for its thriving trade in wine, olive oil, grain and cattle, and holds an annual fair in April.[2]
It is ascribed both to the comarca of Campiña de Carmona and the comarca of Los Alcores.[3]
Geography
Location
Sheet of the IGN's National Topographical Map of Spain (2010) corresponding to Carmona (1:25000).
Carmona is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. It lies at about 249 metres above sea level,[4] on a NE–SO ridge at the northeastern end of Los Alcores tableland,[5] dominating over the meadows of the Corbones [es] river,[6] a left-bank tributary of the Guadalquivir.
Climate
Carmona has a Mediterranean climate with a sunny spring and typically some rain in that season. In October, the average temperature ranges from a minimum of 13 °C to a maximum of 26 °C. The city experiences a moderate level of annual precipitation and has pleasant winter temperatures.
Carmona was originally a Tartessian-Turdetani settlement. With the arrival of Phoenician traders from Tyre, Carmona was transformed into a city, known by them Qrt-Ḥmn (Phoenician: 𐤒𐤓𐤕 𐤇𐤌𐤍), meaning "City of Hammon".[7][better source needed] Centuries later, it became a Roman stronghold of Hispania Baetica. It was known as Carmo in the time of Julius Caesar (100–44 BC). The city was further fortified during the long occupation of the Moors, who erected walls around it, and built fountains and palaces within.
Following the demise of the Caliphate of Córdoba in the early 11th century, Carmona (Qarmūna) was seized by Hammudid Berbers, and then by the also Berber Birzalid clan, becoming the head of the taifa of Carmona, a petty kingdom, which was conquered by the Abbadid taifa of Seville by 1067.[8] An Almoravid stronghold after the Almoravid conquest of the taifa of Seville, it was finally subdued by the Almohads after a settlement.[9] It was briefly occupied by Ibn Hamusk, before reverting to the Almohads in 1161.[10]
In 1247, Ferdinand III of Castile captured the town,[10] and bestowed on it the Latin motto Sicut Lucifer lucet in Aurora, sic in Wandalia Carmona ("As the Morning-star shines in the Dawn, so shines Carmona in Andalusia").[2] During the Late Middle Ages, the town preserved a Muslim-majority population ruled by a Christian minority.[11] The citadel of Carmona, now in ruins, was the principal fortress of Peter the Cruel (from 1350 to 1369), and contained a spacious palace within its defences.[2] Towards the end of the 15th century Carmona had an estimated population of about 8,000.[12] By the dawn of the Early Modern period, Carmona's economy was agriculture-based, with the town featuring many latifundia, often entitled to non-local landowners, and a substantial fraction of non-active population.[13]
The 19th century desamortizaciones led to the creation of a new landowning class that came to be historiographically designated as "agrarian bourgeoisie".[13] The population boomed in the mid 20th century.[13]
Main sights
Iglesia de San Pedro
Palace of King Don Pedro, built in the 13th century by Peter I of Castile. It was damaged by an earthquake in 1504.
Roman Necropolis, discovered in 1881. It is located close to the town, beside the Seville road, and contains more than nine hundred family tombs dating from the second century BC to the fourth century AD. Enclosed in subterranean chambers hewn from the rock, the tombs are often frescoed and contain a series of niches in which many of the funeral urns remain intact. Some of the larger tombs have vestibules with stone benches for funeral banquets and several retain carved family emblems.[14]
The Tomb of the Elephant and the Tomb of Servilia in the necropolis
Roman Amphitheatre, also discovered in 1881, together with a group of tombs, all belonging to the first four centuries AD, near the original necropolis.
Hermitage of Our Lady of Real or San Antón (15th century).
Ermita de la Virgen de Gracia (Our Lady of Grace, the patron saint of Carmona)
Gastronomy
Torta inglesa
Carmona's restaurants and bars demonstrate a variety of Spanish cuisine including tapas and other dishes. The city is known for its traditional Andalusian cooking. A pub crawl of various bars, called the Ruta de las tapas (Tapas Route) is noteworthy; it is marked with blue and white signs, and even appears in the seal of the city.
Typical Carmonan dishes include: sopa de picadillo (a chicken soup), pringá, chickpeas, snails, salmorejo, spinach, tagarnina (thistles), Serrano ham, partridge from the mountains, gazpacho, chickpea soup, tomato soup, potatoes, and cuajados (curdled eggs).
Sweets include: torta inglesa, hojaldres (puff pastry), rice with milk, torrija (fried toasted bread with wine, milk or honey), polvorónes (shortbread), almond cakes, chestnut stew with cinnamon, porridge sprinkled with cinnamon, and cortadillos (sweet cakes). A variety of desserts are made in the convents of the city, mainly by the nuns of Santa Clara.
A common alcoholic beverage is Anise Los Hermanos, which is distilled and packaged in Carmona; it comes in three degrees of dryness: crisp, sweet and semi.
Films
With its rich historical and artistic patrimony lending the city an especially atmospheric appearance, Carmona has been the setting of numerous films, and continues to attract movie crews. The Location Managers Guild of America, an association that coordinates shoot locations for movie and television production companies from the United States, has shown special interest in the city centre.
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