Setenil de las Bodegas

Setenil de las Bodegas – Popular for Its Dwellings

Setenil de las Bodegas, a town which is in the province of Cadez, Spain, is popular for its dwellings that are built in rock overhangs above the Rio Trejo. This small town is situated 157 kilometres northeast of Cadez and has unique setting beside a narrow river gorge. The Setenil de las Bodegas tends to extend along the course of the Rio Trejo where some of the houses are built in the rock walls of the gorge itself which have been developed due to enlarging of natural caves or overhangs, adding an external wall.

According to Messy Nessy Chic, several of the houses are built in and under the walls of the gorge itself, eliminating the need to build the whole house and live in the contorted caves, just building a frontage. The sheltered caves seem to be perfect for blocking the hot and cold temperatures that tend to sweep the country. Though the residents live under the rock, they are evidently in touch with their surroundings. The bars, food shops and restaurants are considered to be the best in the region and prized delicacies like chorizo, olive oil, honey, jam and Andalucía wines are sold in the town.

Town’s Name – Mixture of Two Defining Features of History

The Setenil de las Bodegas town’s name is a mixture of two defining features of its history and Setenel is derived from the Latin septem nihil which meansseven times nothing’.This refers to the Moorish town’s resistance to Christian assault apparently captured only after seven sieges. This took place in the last years of the Christian Reconquest. In 1407 surrounded unsuccessfully, Setenil eventually fell in 1484 when the Christian forces excluded the Moorish occupant.

 Utilising gun powder artillery, the Christians captured the castle after fifteen days, whose ruins dominate the town presently. Owing to the planned position of Setenil, the victory was widely celebrated in Castile and is the source of many legends in local folklore. Setenil de las Bodegas, unlike several of the cities tend to continue to flourish and home to over 3,000 inhabitants. The houses seemed to be built directly in the stone walls, not completely underground but in the mountains of the Spanish town. Most of the town is constructed out in the open areas and is considered to be an amazing destination to visit and explore the unbelievable carved structure.

An Antipodal City

As per the 2005 census, the Setenil de las Bodegas had a population of around 3,016 people and has a precise antipodal city, Auckland, New Zealand. The full name of Setenil de las Bodegas dates back to the 15th century when the new Christian immigrants besides maintaining the Arab olive and almond groves, had introduced vineyards. It is said that the first two crops had flourished in the district though the once flourishing wineries, the bodegas had been wiped out by the phylloxera insects’ infestation in 1860s resulting in damage of most of European vine stocks.

Taking into account the nearby cave dwelling societies like those at the Gueva de la Pileta, west of Ronda, where the habitation is tracked to over 25,000 years, there is a possibility that Setenil could have been occupied much earlier. Much of the evidences could havebeen wiped away due to continuous habitation.