Ibn al-Jatib of Loja mentions this place in the 14th c., known then as Yay’yana. Better documented is the fortress that stood in this area, the Torre de Roma, in which the populace must have taken refuge during the enormous upheavals at the end of the Middle Ages.
Chauchina’s link with its fertile surroundings in the middle of the Vega of the Genil, is such that there are those who claim that its origins stem from the Latin word sancius, a corruption of salix, or willow, given the abundance of these trees along the riverbanks. Whatever the answer, proof has been found of the existence of human settlement here, from the Neolithic to the Iberian eras, thanks to the discovery of pottery, utensils and coins. Settlement was consolidated however, during the Muslim era.
The legendary Torre de Roma, which lent its name to Soto de Roma - an orchard, which in the words of Washington Irving, “was a retreat founded by Count Julian to console his daughter, Florinda”- experienced various feats of arms.
The centre of the town lies between the Plaza del Ayuntamiento and the Parish Church, a building that was begun at the end of the15th c. and very much altered in later periods, although it still conserves the original belfry. Beside it, one’s attention is caught by the “La Peana”, a piece of a column that had been extracted from the Loja quarries and which was destined for the construction of Charles V’s palace in the Alhambra. The Torre de Roma is of particular historical interest and served as a Nasrid defensive bastion in the 15th century.
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© Patronato Provincial de Turismo de Granada I Diputación de Granada
