It is located in the centre of the river basin of the Guadahortuna River, on a plain land surrounded by hills of little height; Alamedilla is one of the towns of the province where more antiquity and importance the human presence had in prehistoric times. This is testified by the rests found in the Cortijo of the Hacho, corresponding to a cemetery of the Bronze Age, dated about 2,700 years b.C.
About the origin of the name of Alamedilla there is a double version. On one hand, there are people who relate it to the abundance of poplars in the area, where the name would have arisen as short name of tree-lined avenue. Nevertheless, it is popular belief that the origin of the Alamedilla name has to be searched in the Arabic word alminar (tower of a mosque), transformed in the first place into Almedinilla to become the present Alamedilla later. In fact, none of these two versions is sufficiently documented.
From the town of Alamedilla magnificent landscapes can be observed, contrasting the semi-arid surroundings with fertile land watered by the Guadahortuna River. The Bridge of the Hacho, of French engineering work of the XIX century, is located over a great ravine. Due to its metallic structure and rivets some people think that it comes from the Eiffel workshop.
In the Cortijo of El Peñon, four kilometres away from the town, is the popular Stone of the Solana, a sort of natural fortress that reaches 1,233 meters of height. It is a steep place formed by three enormous rocks that had to serve as refuge for the inhabitants of the area at medieval time, as the rests found there confirm.
Its history begins with the settlement of tribes during the Palaeolithic and the Neolithic periods. Soon Iberians, Roman and Visigoths arrived, of whom some rests are conserved. Indeed it is to the Muslims to those who is attributed the foundation of this town, although in the XV century Alamedilla was not more than a cortijada of the many that were around the territory that forms its present district. Under the Arab dominion it had diverse inhabited places around what it would be its main core later. In 1489 it was re-conquered by the troops of the king Sancho of Castile.
Alamedilla has an important gastronomy tradition: homemade conserves like oil ribs, backs, garlic sausages or black pudding and dishes like the fritada of meat with red and green roasted peppers. The main ingredient of Alamedilla’s plates is the extra virgin olive oil that, combined with natural products of the orchard, accompanies most by its specialities.
© Patronato Provincial de Turismo de Granada I Diputación de Granada
