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Jaén
«Jaén produce una gran cantidad de aceite de oliva.»Jaén produces a large amount of olive oil.
Jaén is the capital of a province covered in olive groves, nestled on the side of the mountain that supports the Santa Catalina castle. The historic centre rises on a slope around the Renaissance cathedral, with narrow and steep streets, while the modern part spreads out below towards the plain from which the sea of olive trees begins.
Did you know
More oil than all Italy.
The province of Jaén alone produces a quantity of olive oil greater than that of entire countries like Italy.
How they talk in Jaén
Local words
The Jiennense dialect often aspirates the final «s» and retains a very rich agricultural vocabulary linked to olive growing. «Tajo», «varear» and «tajos de aceituna» frequently appear in the speech of families connected to the countryside.
melenchón
Traditional oral song from the province of Jaén, historically performed in a circle. It is sung and danced in groups around the lumbres, especially during the traditions of San Antón; the term is common in the vocabulary of many inhabitants of the province.
Everyday life in Jaén
The «tapa» is hot and free
Like in Granada, the tapa comes with your drink and costs nothing. Here, however, it is usually cooked: a small plate of whatever is in the kitchen that day, and it changes with every round.
«Una caña, y la tapa que toque.» — A beer, and whatever tapa comes with it.
Olive oil is tasted on its own
In the province with the most olive groves in the world, oil is not just a condiment: it is tasted from a glass, warmed in the hand, as one does with wine. For breakfast, bread is simply drizzled with oil, with nothing else on top.
«Una tostada con aceite, por favor.» — Toast with olive oil, please.
The «cuestas» of the centre
Jaén is built on the side of a mountain: the streets in the centre are steep and narrow, and to get from one square to another you go down and then back up. Those who live here know the covered passages that cut through entire blocks.
«Se sube andando, pero es cuesta arriba.» — You go on foot, but it's all uphill.
What to eat in Jaén
Pipirrana
A crushed salad of tomato, green pepper, cucumber and onion, dressed only with extra virgin olive oil and salt.
Ochío
A round bread roll seasoned with oil and «pimentón», which turns the crust red. It is eaten plain or filled.
Festivals in Jaén
Lumbres de San Antón
16 January
In every neighbourhood a bonfire is lit and meat is roasted over it: the city spends the coldest night of the year outside, around the fire.
Feria de San Lucas
the week around 18 October
The autumn fair, the last big one in Andalusia: it arrives just as the olive harvest is about to begin.
Virgen de la Capilla
11 June
The patron saint goes out into the streets of the centre at night, and the procession commemorates the 1430 apparition in Calle Maestra.
What to see in Jaén
Cathedral
The Catedral de la Asunción, a Renaissance masterpiece by Andrés de Vandelvira, built over the aljama mosque: it houses the «Santo Rostro», the veil of Veronica.
Castillo de Santa Catalina
On the mountain above the city, an Arab and later Christian fortress: from there you can see the sea of olive trees that stretches to the horizon in every direction.
Arab Baths
Under the Palacio de Villardompardo, dating from the 11th century: among the largest and best-preserved in Western Europe, with star-shaped skylights in the vaults.
Where Jaén comes from
The city of caravans
Iberian era
Auringis
Iberian oppidum on the hill, in the middle of the silver mines.
Roman era
Aurgi
Roman municipality, a crossroads between Baetica and the Meseta.
8th–13th century
Yayyan
The Arabic name means «caravan route», and that is what has remained.
1246 → today
Jaén
Fernando III captures it; for two and a half centuries it is the Christian base against Granada.
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