Pueblos Blancos: the snow-white charm of the Andalusian villages
Pueblos Blancos: the snow-white charm of the Andalusian villages

Video: Pueblos Blancos: the snow-white charm of the Andalusian villages

Video: Pueblos Blancos: the snow-white charm of the Andalusian villages
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White villages in Andalusia
White villages in Andalusia

Andalusia - an amazing country, the singer of which is rightfully considered her faithful "son", Federico Garcia Lorca, to modern readers, she may also be familiar from the acclaimed book by Paolo Coelho "The Alchemist". Among its most famous attractions are white villages, so called Pueblos blancoslocated in the northern provinces of Cardiz and Malaga.

White villages in Andalusia
White villages in Andalusia

"Monochromatic" cities are a truly fascinating phenomenon, since such settlements look like a single architectural ensemble, created according to the idea of the artist-creator. Remember at least about the town of Chefchaouen, painted in blue, with which we have already introduced the readers of the site Kulturologiya.ru. The Spaniards, in contrast to the Moroccans, prefer the white color traditionally associated with purity and innocence. Perfectly whitewashed houses, combined with tiled roofs, winding cobbled streets and ornate temples, provide breathtaking views from the nearby hills.

White villages in Andalusia
White villages in Andalusia
White villages in Andalusia
White villages in Andalusia

One of the most notable Spanish "white cities" is Setenil de las Bodegas. It is famous for the fact that it literally "rooted" into the rocks, since for a long time it was a Spanish outpost. The same function was performed by many other "white cities" built by Berber farmers (North African settlers who came to Spain in the 9-10th centuries). When wars broke out between Christians and Muslims, peaceful Berbers climbed high into the mountains and founded closed “white” settlements.

White villages in Andalusia
White villages in Andalusia

In every town, a Catholic Church has survived to this day - a symbol of the Catholic victory over Muslims. Initially, the whitewashing of buildings had a practical purpose - an alkaline solution that was applied to the walls had antibacterial properties. In addition, the uniformity in the design of the houses gave rise to a spirit of cohesion. True, modern researchers say that red and yellow colors were also added to white paint. Andalusian villages completely "whitened" after 1920, when the Spanish dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera came to power, who ordered to "erase" all differences between the villagers, so that the whitewashing of the walls was already a political step.

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