Villages in Huelva

La Granada de Río Tinto

La Granada de Rio Tinto is a town in the Andévalo and situated in the area of Las Minas, a mysterious landscape of low rise hills covered in populations of pine and eucalyptus.

The municipality limits with Aracena, Campofrio, Nerva, Zufre and also with Higuera de la Sierra.

There are few historical records about La Granada de Rio Tinto before the eighteenth century, it being a hamlet of Cabildo de Aracena and not well organised as a centre of population. The territory was conquered by Muslims in the second half of the thirteenth century and since then the village of La Granada has belonged to the kingdom of Seville as Crown land.

From the late Middle Ages the life of its inhabitants and in general of all the mountain people was not easy. The census shows they were heavily taxed and had to pay tithes and first fruits to the Priory of Aracena, on whose jurisdiction they depended. This placed a heavy burden on the small village, characterized by a precarious and fragile subsistence economy, yet for the whole of the XVIII century Granada remained one of the 15 villages belonging to Aracena. It was in the mid-seventeenth century that there are hints about the existence of the village. Thus, the historian J. Núñez (1935) says, “in the late seventeenth century the pastures of Valdehigueras were donated to the neighbours of Campofrio and La Granada, as the meadow of Valdehigueras.”

This former community property was donated by an inhabitant for common use of both villages. The split left half the land to the opposite sides of the municipal demarcation. The curious plan was to promote relations between both villages. It was at this time it seems there was a proposal for union of the two cores by using the as the pasture for the communal settlement of bullocks.

In 1754 the old issue of ownership and use of community property reappeared when the now “Villazgo” of Campofrio unilaterally proceeded to sell the fruits of the paddock apart from the other village. This resulted in a dispute, which ended in the Audiencia of Seville and which was not resolved until 1773, with different fates depending on the moment. The latest ruling in the cases brought was favourable to the residents of La Granada, with the boldness of the neighbouring town declaring free entry of cattle on the farm for all seasons, without the other party and direct detriment of the latter, present. Valdehigueras meadow is now owned by both municipalities, although the area has been defined to be managed by each municipality.

With the seizure of Mendizábal, in 1835, the powers and functions exercised by the Church began to lose importance. This paralleled with the social and economic value of this institution dropped considerably. New liberal theories broke through, as opposed to traditionalism of the clergy that was still deeply rooted in rural areas. This phenomenon also had an impact in this small town. Auctioned properties belonged to the Brotherhood of the Souls, who owned several acres of land occupied by oak trees and some crops, and property of the Church of Our Lady of La Granada and parish, with its plantations and cork oak.

These two taken, came to represent some 5040 hectares. (J, M. Lasso, 1990), and an overall of 14 farms changed hands. This must have been a momentous event in the social life of this town, especially if we consider the power and the supportive role for the town’s economy that was exercised by some sororities and fraternities, through leases and auction, and whose results impacted in varying degrees among the villagers.

The oral tradition “alfillanca” in relation to the origin of the name of the population gives an account dating from the time of conquest, led by Alfonso X, who placed in the primitive village the figure of Our Lady of the Granada, giving the village the name “The Grand Old Man”.

Centuries later, coinciding with the English presence at Rio Tinto, one of the mayors of the town, then used the name of the mining company Rio Tinto Company Limited, adding the place name of “Rio Tinto” completing its present name of La Granada de Rio Tinto. The reasons given for this change, now little understood by its current neighbours, alluded to ongoing confusion with Granada capital, especially in mail delivery. Although the popular comment is presumed there probably were other unknown reasons.

However, the general opinion of some knowledgeable local history refers to its original name of “Adelfilla” in allusion to an ancient source that is said to be equidistant between the three early settlements around which would concentrate the final nucleus we know today. It is precisely with a derivation of the name popular with the townspeople who like to be identified as alfillancos, instead of others who might be more akin to its original name. In fact, it is common to refer to the neighbouring towns of La Granada Riotinto as Alfill.

La Granada de Rio Tinto Monuments

Parish of Our Lady of the Granada.

Archaeological sites

Remains of a rural shrine Mudejar style.

La Granada de Rio Tinto Gastronomy

Excellent with meat stews and dishes. Garlic potatoes.

La Granada de Rio Tinto – Getting There

Exit Huelva. Continue along: Autopista del Quinto Centenario H-31 – Seville. Continue along: H-31. Continue along: E-1 / A-49. Take the exit towards: Exit 75 – San Juan del Puerto – Trigueros. Around San Juan del Puerto, turn right: N-435 heading to Trigueros – Badajoz. Continue along: A-493. Cross Valverde del Camino. Continue along: Carretera de Zalamea. Continue along: N-435. Pass near El Pozuelo Around Zalamea la Real, turn right: A-461 and follow signs to La Granada de Rio Tinto.

Distances from La Granada de Rio Tinto

Nerva 15 km
Zufre 19 km
Sevilla 80 km
Huelva 85 km
Calañas 48 km
Zalamea la Real 23 km
Ventas de Arriba 11 km
Higuera de la Sierra 11 km