Campo de Calatrava is a
comarca
A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, ...
in
Castilla-La Mancha, Spain. It takes its name from the
Order of Calatrava
The Order of Calatrava ( es, Orden de Calatrava, pt, Ordem de Calatrava) was one of the four Spanish military orders and the first military order founded in Castile, but the second to receive papal approval. The papal bull confirming the Orde ...
, a
military order Military order may refer to:
Orders
* Military order (religious society), confraternity of knights originally established as religious societies during the medieval Crusades for protection of Christianity and the Catholic Church
Military organi ...
which held territory in the area from the time when it was on the border between Christian and Muslim Spain.
A ''
Denominación de Origen'' for
olive oil
Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: f ...
takes its name from the comarca. There are olive groves in sixteen of the
municipio
' (, ) and ' () are country subdivisions in Italy and several Hispanophone and Lusophone nations, respectively. They are often translated as "municipality". In the English language, a municipality often is defined as relating to a single city or t ...
s, mainly containing a
cultivar
A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...
called cornicabra.
Saffron
Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of ''Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent i ...
is another crop cultivated in the area.
La Mancha Saffron (Official website)
/ref>
The Campo de Calatrava is a natural and historical region of La Mancha (Mancha Baja), west of Castilla-La Mancha (Spain), on the center of the province of Ciudad Real.
Geomorphologically it is a region characterized by its hills of volcanic origin, and its lagoons.
The history of this region is related to that of the Order of Calatrava that had its headquarters in Almagro and its fortress was the Castle of Calatrava la Nueva. Its origin is placed in one of the most warlike and decisive stages of the Late Middle Ages for the unity of Castile, linked to the founding of the aforementioned Military Order of the same name, whose task was the vigilance and protection of the South-South-West vanguard of the Plateau of the Islamic raids, as the first contention front of Castile and Toledo, its main capital, beyond the depression of the Tagus, next to the banks of the Guadiana.
See also
* Campo de Calatrava Volcanic Field
The Campo de Calatrava volcanic field is a volcanic field in Spain. The volcanic field is in the centre of the province of Ciudad Real, in a region known as Campo de Calatrava.
The volcanic field has an area of more than 5000 km2 and more tha ...
References
External links
{{Commonscat, Campo de Calatrava
Comarcas of Castilla–La Mancha