Sierro is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Almería province Almería (, , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of the same name. It lies on southeastern Iberia on the Mediterranean Sea. Caliph Abd al-Rahman III founded the city in 955. The city gr ...

, in the autonomous community of

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...

, Spain, It is located in the

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between Hill, hills or Mountain, mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers ...

of the River Sierro in the 'Comarca del Mármol', county of the

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

. The name 'Sierro' seems to come from the Latin 'serra' meaning

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

range.

Description

The village is now mainly populated by descendants of people from

Murcia Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...

and

Albacete Albacete (, also , ; ar, ﭐَلبَسِيط, Al-Basīṭ) is a city and municipality in the Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha, and capital of the province of Albacete. Lying in the south-ea ...

, with a few from Castile and the rest from

. In the 15th century it was possible to distinguish between High and Low Sierro. The village is wedged into a narrow valley. The first road into Sierro was built by Francisco Jimenez Ontiveros, a prominent engineer of the 1930s and 1940s (head of RENFE) and native of Sierro. It was built on supports affixed to the side of the mountain. Francisco Jimenez Ontiveros, engineer and lawyer, belonged to Sierro's most prominent family, which included his brother, Federico Jimenez Ontiveros, a medical doctor, hospital director in

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

, and General in the

Spanish Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = Spanish Air and Space Force Anthem , mascot = , anniversaries = 10 December , equipment ...

. The then-family home dominates the fountain square in the village and has a plaque dedicated to Federico. Above this plaque is another dedicated to his father, Jose Jimenez Sanchez. The family owned seven ''cortijos'' (agricultural farms), a mill, and several plots of land that included olive trees, almond trees and orange trees. It also had a long history of municipal service with family members serving as mayors and town secretaries. Despite their influence in the village through the 19th century and first half of the 20th century, only one Jimenez Ontiveros descendant and his family remained in Sierro by the 21st century.

Demographics

References

External links

*
Sierro
- Sistema de Información Multiterritorial de Andalucía *

- Diputación Provincial de Almería Municipalities in the Province of Almería {{Almería-geo-stub