- The spectacular Sabiote’s Renaissance fortress was built between 1537 and 1549 by Francisco de Cobos, Estate Secretary to Charles I.
- The actual building used the previous Calatravan castle - built in the 13th century after the conquest of Sabiote by Fernando III - that stood in the place of a Muslim fortress.
- The fact that Sabiote was already conquered in pre-Romans times - it had an oppidum- shows the strategical importance of this area in order to control paths and ways.
- It’s located at the shore of Guadalimar’s Valley, a priviledged location to watch the mountains of Sierra Magina and Sierra Morena.
- In this first approach we will look to the external views.
More about this place…
It holds a place of huge importance due to its strategic position. Sabiote had always have military fortresses throughout history. A pre-Roman oppidium, a Musulman fortress and a Calatravan castle are the predecessors of the spectacular Renaissance fortress built in the 16th century by Francisco de Cobos, who commissioned Pedro de Vandelvira. Strongly influenced by Renaissance Italian fortresses, he built the oldest example of Renaissance castle fortified with bastions preserved, (in outstanding conditions)in the whole country.
