History

Although it presumably has a Roman origin, the town's splendour was under the Moorish, when Albuñol was the most important town of great Cehel or 'great coast'. During those centuries, the castle of La Rabita defended it. In the 16th century, Luis Zapata Portocarrero bought the town from the royal family, from Queen Juana known as Juana the Mad, and then was awarded with the title of the town. After the Moriscos expelling in 1570, the Alpujarra area started to get populated by Castilians, Galicians and people from Leon, but this did not happen in Albuñol until the 17th century. In 1834 it became a county seat with the same name; the office is in Motril today.

Albuñol already existed in the Neolithic, as the archaeological remains of Los Murciélagos cave prove. The fact that it is between two Phoenician colonies, Adra and Almuñecar, justifies that Albuñol was strongly influenced by the Phoenicians and then the Arabs, although under a different name.

In 1490, the population was 300 and the income was 340 maravedies.

In 1505, Mr. Luis de Zapata bought the estate of Albuñol from Queen Juana the Mad, the daughter of the Catholic Monarchs.

Things to see & do

Virgen del Rosario parish church (17th century, restored in 1833), impressive inside.

Casa de las Margaritas (currently a parish church). It sheltered Granada-born writer Pedro Antonio de Alarcon. He wrote part of his works there.

San Antonio hermitage(17th century).

San Gregorio convent (18th century).

Gastronomy

Due to the local farming and fishing environment, you can enjoy a natural gastronomy, with typical dishes of fried bread crumbs, dried fish, fried kid with garlic, sardines, vegetables, top quality seasoned pork, ham, and traditional Moorish cakes. As for the local wines, they are quality, balanced and light, with a slight fruity flavour, ideal to accompany meat and cold meats.

Fruit and vegetable growing products are particularly good, and there are prestigious brands of courgettes, green beans, peppers, tirabeques and cherry tomatoes. Due to the mild subtropical climate in the area, almonds and grapevines grow particularly well and produce the popular Cerro del Gato wine.

Climate

Typical Mediterranean climate with mild winters and warm summers. It rains very little during most part of the year.

It is 246 metres above sea level, the average gradient is 35,00 and the rainfall is 521,30 m3.The average temperature is 17.80 Cº and the maximum temperature is 22.45 Cº, with great agro climatic conditions that allow a proper diversification of farm products and the area's adaptation to the new demands.