La Campana: an Andalusian country town in the Campina de Carmona

Surrounded by olive groves and golden fields of grain in the Guadalquivir valley, La Campana is a town of around 5,400 people in the eastern countryside of the province of Seville. It sits on gentle rolling hills in the fertile farmland of the Campina de Carmona, a land of big skies and quiet rural rhythms.

Origins and history

People have lived here since prehistoric times, and the area is dotted with Roman remains. The town as such grew up in the 15th century, dependent on nearby Carmona, before becoming a noble estate that reached its greatest splendour in the 18th century; its name is linked either to the word for countryside or to the bell-towers once used to warn of attack. Napoleonic troops sacked the town before it gained its independence in the 19th century.

Churches and country life

The parish church of Santa Maria la Blanca, with its two unmatched towers, is the emblem of the town, alongside the church of San Lorenzo, admired for its plasterwork, and the former Franciscan convent of San Sebastian. The countryside is famous for its olives and oil and for the historic Miura ranch of fighting bulls, while local craftspeople still weave palm leaves into baskets and hats.

Visiting

La Campana lies about fifty-six kilometres north-east of Seville, close to Carmona and Lora del Rio, with good road links to the city.