A rural settlement

The Caserío del Retamalejo lies in the southeast of the municipality of Caravaca de la Cruz and consists of around ten completely abandoned houses. The two-storey, rectangular buildings with pitched roofs and hollow roof tiles share similar architectural forms and a comparable choice of materials. The caserío can therefore be viewed as a rural settlement whose layout, composition and structure can be seen in the houses. Classifying it involves more than considering a single architectural feature: the ensemble offers several clues about how the houses were built and how their rooms were used in the past.

The layout of the upper floor is particularly revealing. In almost all the houses, it contains a kitchen with a fireplace and a pantry built into the wall. A niche in the fireplace once held an oven used to bake bread and other baked goods. The upper floor was also used to store the almond harvest or grain. The kitchen, pantry and harvest were thus located close together. The upper floor brought together the hearth, pantry and storage functions as distinct aspects of its former use.

The roof and façade also tell us about the building details. Beneath the roof tiles is a framework of beams and reeds bound together with esparto-grass ropes. There were dovecotes under the roofs; triangular openings in the upper part of the façades served as entry points for pigeons. The roof structure and façade design worked together: the openings served a purpose and were not merely geometric features. The ground floors of the outbuildings appear to have been used as animal stalls or haylofts, and in some cases as chicken coops. The site also contains a badly deteriorated oven, which may be a lime kiln. There is also a covered well on the site, which contains water during the summer months and forms another built feature alongside the houses and outbuildings.

Plan your hike and journey

Those wishing to hike as well as explore the heritage will find several starting points in Retamalejo. Hiking areas include El Retamalejo and Encina Centenaria. A route description published in 2021 lists “RETAMALEJO-RAMBLA MAYOR-MANCHEÑO-LA CAPELLANÍA” as a circular hiking route that starts and ends in Retamalejo. It mentions views of the Rambla Mayor; one section of the route follows a partly indistinct path. Check the route conditions before setting out. Those who prefer a named circular route can use this one as a guide; those who would first like to compare hiking areas can consider El Retamalejo and Encina Centenaria.

For your journey, please note that a paved turnoff leads to the foot of the Casas del Retamalejo and ends there. Check access conditions before your visit.

Discover more destinations: La Escucha, Totana, Beniaján, La Unión, Cobatillas, El Palmar, Torre-Pacheco, Ricote

For the main travel overview: Murcia.