Lanteira has been known as “the City of the Silver” due to the amount of argentiferous mineral that the area has always had. It is a small town that maintains very familiar customs. Also it is a very good town to make excursions around the field, with routes with pretty landscapes that run, in some cases, by the Sierra Nevada Natural Park. It is one of the departure points to climb to the Picón de Jérez, beginning point of the famous integral of the three thousand meters of Sierra Nevada.
Near the town and entering in the mountain there are places of easy access and great beauty as the Peñon viewpoint, the Edge of the Toril, the Edge of the Vencejos and the Rinconá. The place of the Canal is a recreational area located only two kilometres away from the town, bathed by the river of the District and it is a perfect space to spend an afternoon outdoors.
The representation of the passion that is performed on Easter Sunday has fame, a tradition that comes from 1888 and that was awarded in 1994 with the prize “Mundo Teatre”.
Argentaria, its first name, comes from the Iberian-Roman culture. Later, due to the native pronunciation during the Low Roman Empire, it was transformed into Argenteira and during the Middle Age it was known as Alyanteira. Little by little the name has evolved to the present name of Lanteira.
It has always been thought that Lanteira was not an important town at the andalusí time because it was separated from the main routes of communication. Nevertheless, all the archaeological rests conserved deny this theory, like both medieval castles for its defence, or its baths. It fell into the hands of Catholic Kings in their campaign to re-conquer the Granada Kingdom, which culminated in 1492. In 1568 the Moorish revolt took place and they were expelled after their repression, reason why the villa was almost empty. Years later it was repopulated with settlers coming from the north of the Iberian Peninsula.
About the gastronomy, aside from good shepherd cheeses, its most popular dish is the so called “sustentos”, a stew cooked with potatoes, chorizo, red peppers and maize flour.
© Patronato Provincial de Turismo de Granada I Diputación de Granada
