Olivares is a city located in the

Province of Seville The Province of Seville () is a province of southern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It borders the provinces of Málaga and Cádiz in the south, Huelva in the west, Badajoz in the north and Córdoba in the ...

, Spain. According to the 2016

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

( INE), the city has a population of 9480 inhabitants. It is located in the Aljarafe, the ''

comarca A ''comarca'' (, , , ) 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, mark ...

'' downstream of the

Guadalquivir The Guadalquivir (, also , , ) is the fifth-longest river in the Iberian Peninsula and the second-longest river with its entire length in Spain. The Guadalquivir is the only major navigable river in Spain. Currently it is navigable from Seville ...

and west of

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

. It borders

Albaida Albaida is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Vall d'Albaida in the Valencian Community, Spain. Main sights * Palace of Milà i Aragó * Segrelles Museum * Route of the Borgias The Route of the Borgias is a cultural route, that inc ...

to the west, Gerena to the north,

Salteras Salteras is a city in the Province of Seville, Spain. It has a population of 11,854 inhabitants (2018 INE). It borders Olivares to the west, Gerena to the northwest, Guillena to the north, La Algaba to the northeast, Valencina to the east and ...

to the east, and

Sanlúcar la Mayor Sanlúcar la Mayor is a municipality in the province of Seville, southern Spain. The municipality is the location of the Solucar Complex. Gaspar de Guzmán, Count of Olivares was created Duke of Sanlúcar la Mayor by Philip IV. He wished to reta ...

and Villanueva del Ariscal to the south. After the establishment of the House of Olivares, it grew in size and influence, becoming an important urban center in the Aljarafe.

History

Olivares is located in the region of

Tartessos Tartessos () is, as defined by archaeological discoveries, a historical civilization settled in the southern Iberian Peninsula characterized by its mixture of local Prehistoric Iberia, Paleohispanic and Phoenician traits. It had a writing syste ...

, one of the oldest documented cultures in Europe. Several Bronze and Iron Age tells are found in the area, such as the

Cerro de las Cabezas Cerro de las Cabezas is an archaeological site of Iberians, Ibero-Oretani origin, located about 8 km south of the present-day city of Valdepeñas, in the province of Ciudad Real (exit 208 of the Autovía A-4, A-4 southbound, with no signpost ...

, which is thought to correspond to the ancient city of

Laelia ''Laelia'' is a small genus of 25 species in the orchid family (Orchidaceae). ''Laelia'' species are found in areas of subtropical or temperate climate in Central America, Central and South America, but mostly in Mexico. ''Laelia'' is abbreviat ...

mentioned by Pliny and

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

. These settlements lay on the

Guadiamar The Guadiamar is a river of Andalusia, Spain, and a tributary of the Guadalquivir. Its course runs entirely within the Province of Seville, flowing from Sierra Morena through the eastern border of Doñana National Park. Its source is in Dehesa del ...

(the Roman ''Menoba''), which may have been navigable during ancient times according to Pliny. Thus, cities such as Laelia and Lastigi probably acted as port cities or trade posts. During Roman times, the region was connected to the main aqueduct that brought water from Tejada to

Itálica Italica () was an ancient Roman city in Hispania; its site is close to the town of Santiponce in the province of Seville, Spain. It was founded in 206 BC by Roman general Scipio as a '' colonia'' for his Italic veterans and named after them. ...

. The village of Olivares was founded as a small '' alquería'' on the Repudio, a brook that carries rainwater to the

. This village was known as Estercolinas or Estercolines, perhaps from an older Latin name, Turculina. This was later known as ''villa de olivares'' (town of olive fields), whence its name. Olive trees have been grown in this area for centuries and represent one of the main sources of income in the area, apart from other crops, mainly cereals. Over time, Olivares grew in size, becoming bigger than the nearby town of

. The nearby town of Heliche became depopulated in the early 19th century and was dismantled in 1843. Its inhabitants moved to Olivares, while the building materials of its church (''Iglesia de San Benito'') were used to build the cemetery in Olivares (''Cementerio de San Benito''). The city is known for the House of Olivares, founded by Pedro Pérez de Guzmán in 1535. At the time, its population was approximately 240, of which 67 paid taxes.Mesa Jarén. p. 51. In 1625, Gaspar de Guzmán became the first Count-Duke of Olivares, i.e. Count of Olivares and Duke of

Sanlúcar Sanlúcar may refer to: *Sanlúcar de Barrameda, a city in the Province of Cádiz, Spain *Sanlúcar de Guadiana, a village in the Province of Huelva, Spain *Sanlúcar la Mayor, a city in the Province of Seville, Spain *Sanlúcar de Albaida, former n ...

. The noble family later merged with the

House of Alba The House of Alba de Tormes (), commonly known as the House of Alba, is a prominent Spanish noble family that descended from 12th-century nobility of post-conquest Toledo. The family's claim to Alba de Tormes dates from 1429, when Gutierre Ál ...

, which inherited all of its lands, before selling part of these in the first half of the 19th century. The

Duchess of Alba Duke of Alba de Tormes (), commonly known as Duke of Alba, is a title of Spanish nobility that is accompanied by the dignity of Grandee of Spain. In 1472, the title of ''Count of Alba de Tormes'', inherited by García Álvarez de Toledo, wa ...

still owns La Pizana, a '' cortijo'' between Olivares and Gerena. By 1751, Olivares had over 1,600 inhabitants, which grew to 1,950 by 1801 and reached 2,943 by 1888.Mesa Jarén. p. 53. The city had only 12 streets and one square in 1781, a small number compared to the 150 streets it had in the 21st century.Mesa Jarén. p. 55. In 1998, a chemical spill from the nearby Mina de los Frailes, in

Aznalcóllar Aznalcóllar is a city located in the province of Seville, southern Spain. It is located at the feet of the Sierra Morena. Aznalcollar mine The Boliden mine produces around 125,000 tonnes of zinc and 2.9 million ounces of silver per year. ...

, caused an environmental disaster in the

river. This led to the creation of a

wildlife corridor A wildlife corridor, also known as a habitat corridor, or green corridor, is a designated area habitat (ecology), that connects wildlife populations that have been separated by human activities or structures, such as development, roads, or land ...

that runs from Gerena to

Aznalcázar Aznalcázar is a town located in the province of Seville, southern Spain. It is only 20 minutes away from Seville, and is one of the 13 towns located in Doñana National Park, one of Spain's most important national parks and wildlife reserves. ...

, the ''Corredor Verde del Guadiamar''.

Cortijos

The lands around Olivares are divided into a series of ''

finca ''Finca'' () is a Spanish term for estate. In English usage, it refers to a piece of rural or agricultural land, typically with a cottage, farmhouse or estate building present, and often adjacent to a woodland or plantation. Overview Especial ...

s'' and '' cortijos'' which originally constituted a large ''

dehesa A ''dehesa'' () is a multifunctional, agrosylvopastoral system (a type of agroforestry) and cultural landscape of southern and central Spain and southern Portugal; in Portugal, it is known as a ''montado''. Its name comes from the Latin ''defe ...

'' with ''encinas'' (''

Quercus ilex ''Quercus ilex'', the holly oak, also (ambiguously, as many oaks are evergreen) evergreen oak, is a large evergreen oak native to the Mediterranean region. It is a member of the section (botany), section ''List of Quercus species#Section Ilex, Il ...

''). These have been mostly transformed into lands of agricultural use, primarily olive fields, as well as wheat, cotton and corn fields. According to

Pascual Madoz Pascual Madoz Ibáñez (17 May 1806 – 13 December 1870) was a Spanish politician and statistician. Biography In early life Madoz was settled in Barcelona, as a writer and journalist. He envisioned the construction of the Vielha tunnel. ...

, "over 6,000 of the 7,000 ''aranzadas'' a. 3,000 haof Olivares were owned by the

Dukedom Dukedom may refer to: * The title and office of a duke * Duchy, a realm ruled by a duke or duchess * Dukedom, Kentucky and Tennessee, United States * ''Dukedom'' (game), a land management game See also * Lists of dukedoms Lists of dukedoms incl ...

, now joined to the House of Berwick & Alba. These lands were mostly sold in the 19th century due to the delicate financial situation of the House of Alba and the high tax burden.Mesa Jarén. p. 500. The following ''cortijos'', documented in the 19th century, but many much older, exist today: *La Coriana, north of Olivares and west of Heliche; in 1801, its ''caserío'' was dismantled by the House of Alba and the land distributed among nearby villagers; known for its fountain, it lends its name to the nearby Arroyo de la Coriana *Montijos, near Heliche; mainly planted with olive trees *La Bartola, between La Coriana and

; one of the many lands of the House of Alba *Bonal, next to the

, south of San Antonio; also owned by the House of Alba *Soberbina (or Sobarbina), south of the confluence of the Agrio and Guadiamar; one of the oldest and largest ''cortijos'' in the area *San Antonio, next to the Guadiamar; one of the largest, established in modern times, it lends its name to the Torre de San Antonio (the medieval Torre del Alpechín) *Conti, north of San Antonio and next to La Pizana; the Olivares–Gerena road runs through its ''caserío'' *La Alegría (formerly divided into the Casa de Vacas or Dehesa de las Vacas, Cerro de las Esparragueras and Cabo del Río), between the Agrio and Guadiamar; formerly a ''dehesa'' owned by Concha y Sierra, now agricultural land The following ''cortijos'', while not within the ''término municipal'' of Olivares, are historically connected to the others: *Cambullón, a historical ''alquería'' west of La Coriana; it belongs to

*Dehesa de Crispín (or Crespín), on the confluence of the Guadiamar and the Agrio, the latter of which used to be known as Arroyo Crispinejo (or Crespinejo); it belongs to

*Carcahueso (or Carcabosillo), northwest of La Alegría; formerly a ''dehesa'' owned by Concha y Sierra, now agricultural land; it belongs to

*Las Dueñas, west of Carcahueso, towards

; it contains the remains of the Tejada aqueduct, as do Carcahueso, La Alegría, San Antonio and La Pizana; it belongs to

*La Pizana (or La Pisana), north of Conti and next to Gerena; it contains the country house of the Duchess of Alba; it belongs to Gerena *Mirandilla (or Mirandillas), north of Carcahueso and La Pizana; still a ''dehesa'' with bulls owned by the Marquis of Albaserrada; it belongs to Gerena

Gallery

References

External links

Olivares
- Sistema de Información Multiterritorial de Andalucía {{authority control Municipalities of the Province of Seville