Quesada

This village is situated to the south east of the province, on the slopes of the Sierra de Cazorla mountains, opposite the olive covered countryside. It was the birthplace of Rafael Zabaleta, the painter, who has a museum dedicated to him displaying many of his works. It is a village of narrow streets with white houses, where we must point out the Church of San Pedro and San Pablo, the Church of the Hospital, the Arch of la Manquita de Utrera and the Arch of Los Santos also known as del Señor.

Near the village, in a place called el Paraje de Tíscar, a place of spectacular beauty, we can find the Virgen of Tiscar, where a famous pilgrimage is held. We can also find here the Cave of el Agua.

Part of its municipal district is included in the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas National Park, the largest protected natural space in Spain: an orographic labyrinth of valleys, calares, gorges, mountains and flat lands of enormous hydrological importance (due to the numerous rivers and streams which spring within the Park); of great botanical importance (different varieties of pine trees and a lot of endemic species); it is also important aesthetically and from a wildlife point of view. Because of this it is one of the most visited and frequented natural spaces in the country.

History

The first human settlements we know of belong to the Argar Culture; within the village's district some Argaric remains have been found in the place called Cerro de la Magdalena.

From the Roman period, we have the remains of a villa with interesting mosaics in a place called Bruñel, as well as the remains of a paleochristian basilica from the late 4th century.

From Visigoth times, a stele is the only remains.

From the al-Andalus period, we have the remains of the castles of Majuela and Tiscar; the latter was conquered by the Infante Don Pedro in 1319.

King Fernando III conquered the village in 1234.

Mohamed Min, King of Granada, conquered the city again in 1300, being finally conquered by the Christians at the beginning of the 14th century.

Eminent citizens
Rafael Hidalgo y Gutiérrez de Caviedes, painter.
Francisco Bautista Cruz, bullfighter.
Rafael Zabaleta Fuentes, painter.
Cesáreo Rodrígez Aguilera, writer.