La Almedina

La Almedina means ‘town par excellence’ in Arabic and is the highest part of the town. Its streets and corners evoke times and places, typical of the Arabic era. Plaza de Marinalba is located in Baena’s Almedina, and can be accessed through the Arch of Santa Barbara, where we find the Crismón de Baena, a large Visigoth cross that symbolises Christianity, worked in bronze, which became the icon for the town’s civilisation and culture. The Plaza Palacio is the heart of Arabic and Medieval Baena, which appears to be dominated by another of the town’s most representative symbols: Baena’s Iberian Lion. It is a bronze reproduction of the original that can be found in the Archaeological Museum of Madrid. La Plaza Francisco Valverde or Plaza Vieja, pays homage to the great 19th century writer and historian Francisco Valverde y Perales who brought us the “Historia de la Villa de Baena” a book about the history of the town. The town’s most important monuments are all found in this Arab barrio, such as the Santa María la Mayor church, the Madre de Dios convent and the castle’s remains.