History

Its origins probably date from 1578, although there are remains of an Arabic fort. It was an estate of the Marquis of Carpio and the Dukes of Alba.

It has suffered enormous depopulation since the beginning of the century, passing from more than 8,000 inhabitants to less than 2,000 currently. It is interesting to note that until the forties, the emigrants went to the USA. In the sixties they went to Cataluña.

Nowadays the principal activity is agriculture, fundamentally almond trees, livestock and the manufacture of cheese. In other times there were iron mines and during the years 1953-1957 up to 500 people were working in the mines. In the 60s the marble quarries employed up to 100 people. In the hamlet Rambla Aljibe the type of marble El Franco is extracted, famous for its green and white varieties.

Eminent citizens
José Rubio, actor.
Miguel Angel Garrido Gallardo, linguist.