In the midst of Seville’s spellbounding beauty, leaving the city can take some convincing.
A couple of weeks ago I went on a trip with a small group which introduced us to a number of cultural, archaeological, historical and gastronomic delights of La Campiña. This area is located in the lower Guadalquivir valley, to the south-east of Seville, within easy reach of the city by train.
In this post I will look at our first day – the entire trip was barely more than 24 hours, but with a packed schedule – spent in Utrera.
It was organised by the fabulous Eva Cepero of Flamenca Kitchen, chef and event organiser extraordinaire (she describes herself on her Insta profile as an “agitadora gastronomica”). Eva is one of those dynamic women who makes things happen, connecting people from various fields, while being entirely down to earth. Her current project is Maridarte, an intriguing combination of art and gastronomy, now in its second year.
Anyway, I digress – we started off in Utrera, just half an hour from Seville. This town of 52,000 is known for flamenco – especially two famous, formidable sister singers, as we’ll see later – and its mostachónes, flat cinnamon cakes (I was given a packet but it ended up with someone else from the trip, entirely my fault, along with some beer). Social media followers might be aware of one Jose Carlos Montoya, who went viral for his shoreline sprint in a recent reality TV show – he hails from Utrera. Further back in time, the town has been occupied since pre-Roman times, typical of this area’s rich history.
As is natural in Spain, our first stop was a church: Sanctuario Nuestra Señora de la Consolación, who is the town’s patron saint. This 17th century baroque-mudéjar basilica featured unusual decoration including vertical strips of Arabic script, which I was told weren’t original (so why/when were they added, I wondered?), and a plain nave without any side chapels, unusually, but with a beautiful artesonado coffered ceiling. We also saw some fabulous ceramic wall tiles in this church.
Sailors would come here to ask for the Virgin’s protection on their voyages (and to thank her on their safe return) – she is pictured holding a ship in her hand.
The Ayuntamiento of Utrera is housed in the Casa Palacio de los Condes de Vistahermosa. The palace’s owner in the 18th century was the aforementioned (3rd) count, and the mansion subsequently came into the hands of wealthy entrepreneur, olive farmer and philanthropist Enrique de la Cuadra, after whom the town’s theatre is named.
Enrique, whose father had made his fortune in the New World, added fashionable materials like iron and glass. Most notable was the Room of Mirrors designed in Nasrid style, the same dynasty who built parts of the Alhambra. The effect of the endless reflections, the scalloped horseshoe arches, the geometric shapes, and the brightly painted columns in regal red, green, blue and gold, is mesmerising.
Staying with wealthy patrons, this time united with religion and medicine, our next visit was to the Casa Museo del Hospital de la Santa Resurrección de Nuestro Señor Jesu Cristo, to give it its full name. This was founded in 1514 by a heartbroken Catalina de Perea, after her son Juan Ponce de León was killed in battle. Don Juan, and his father Don Lope had expressed a wish for a hospital to give shelter to pilgrims, the ill and the destitute.
Doña Catalina secured support from the Pope, and stated that people should be offered food and lodging, irrespective of their religious beliefs, ethnicity and sex – she was extremely progressive. The lady left the hospital’s management to three nephews as trustees; the institution remains in family hands to this day, functioning as an old people’s home and supporting various charitable projects which continue its original aims.
The hospital operated as a medical facility for 400 years, including as a maternity hospital in the 1900s, and then as a school. In the infirmary, you can see statistics for each century: in the hospital’s final 100-year period, the twentieth century, 40,755 people were treated, of whom 34,963 recovered, and 13,200 babies were born. This compares to the 17th century, when 7,198 were treated, of whom, 6,241 recovered. The recovery rate remained a steady 13%.
Next door was the church of Santiago El Mayor, where the main sources of interest (for me at least) were up and down stairs.
A very steep flight of stairs took us up to the bell tower, where previously the lady bell-mender had lived and worked. She was paid in what, maize, eggs and chickens. Utrera is known for its daring bell jumpers, who leap outside this tower to ring the church bells, which can weigh up to 4,500kg.
These are the only hand-rung bells in Andalucia, operated by ropes, a skill which was recognised as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2024. A fabulous dusk view from the roof, and it was fun to spot Santiago himself (St James) astride his mount both on the bell, and as a statue atop the dome.
Back downstairs, the “palm tree” columns were pretty marvellous, and it was fascinating to see the entries in the birth register for Fernanda and Bernarda de Utrera (surname: Jimenez Peña), famous Gypsy flamenco singers, both born around a century ago.
This year marks the 600th anniversary of the arrival of Gypsy people in Spain, and the significance of their contribution to Utrera was marked by the town’s mayor: “The gypsy presence is so important that it would be impossible to conceive Utrera without that fundamental part that shaped who we were, to transform us into who we are.” The flag of the Gypsy people can be seen at the Ayuntamiento’s entrance.
In the basement were three mummies, all standing up, which were found perfectly preserved during an excavation in 1848. We played CSI and tried to guess the cause of death – plague? Poisoning? No photos were allowed, out of respect, but I can tell you they were fascinatingly macabre.
By this point it was time for some liquid refreshment and a sit-down, so we went to our hotel, Palacio San Fernando, for a beer tasting. Vandalia is an award-winning local craft beer producer, named for the Germanic tribes from northern Europe who ruled Spain in the fifth and sixth centuries.
We tried three beers: English pale ale, blonde ale, and porter, as well as sweet, strong beer vinegar. I’m not a beer-lover, but the amber-coloured pale ale was pleasantly toasty with a fruity flavour, with 5.5% alcohol.
A spread of olives set us up for a walk around the town – big, fat green gordales stuffed with almonds, red peppers, and anchovies; manzanillas; and less common, small, purple zorzaleñas with garlic and thyme, which were a little bitter for my taste.
As Utrera is well-known for its flamenco and its Gypsy culture, it was time for some music. Thankfully the persistent rain of previous weeks had finally stopped, and the day had been bright and sunny, though it was chilly out in the night-time streets.
Fernando Rivas of the Utrera pop group Los Centellas, a born entertainer, led us to see statues and plaques to important artistes, accompanied by the band’s guitarist, Antonio Romero, as well as flamenco singer Dani de Utrera.
Our last stop was in a medieval L-shaped alley, Callejon El Niño Perdido, originally a private access leading to a children’s home (now it’s open at both ends). At the corner of the L was Besana, a renowned tapas bar that I had wanted to visit for some time. Besana also has a branch in the Los Remedios area of Seville.
We enjoyed a late dinner (10.30pm kick-off) of a series of dishes, the most outstanding of which for me was the first: ensaladilla with tiny shrimps, the baby shrimp used to make tortillitas de camarones (prawn fritters). I am most definitely not a fan of ensaladilla, one of the dullest and most overrated tapas, yet this was perfectly seasoned, topped with chives and oil from their coral, and tasted deliciously fishy.
The runner-up was a kimchi gazpacho (not spicy) with tartar prawns and caviar. Smooth and fresh, delicate yet tangy.
Chef Daniel León has worked in Aponiente with Angel León, and is a fan of Juanlu Fernández, the Jerez chef who recently won a second Michelin star, referring to him as “the best chef” that he knows.
When we finally retired – exhausted, replete, and much the wiser about Utrera, its history and culture – we were looking forward what the next day would bring: following a route of medieval castles. Catnip to me.
In my next post, I’ll tell you about our second day: El Coronil, Los Morales and El Palma de Troya.
The trip was sponsored by Adelquivir, an association which seeks to promote, sustain and strengthen local development in the Lower Guadalquivir region, in collaboration with the EU and Junta de Andalucia.