The rescue of the most universal Cortijo in Spain begins

 

The first milestone will be the paving of a path from Los Albaricoques to Fraile and Rodalquilar

 

La Voz de Almeria

By Manuel Leon

October 21, 2024

[Presentation at the Cortijo del Fraile of the paving project for the path.]

The redemption of the most symbolic farmhouse in Spain begins. Its desired rescue begins with the paving of the road that leads to the Friar's domain, to that eighteenth-century hacienda that could have remained just that: in one more example of the typical architecture of Nijar and that, however, due to the events that occurred and the hands that recreated them, has been transfigured into a universal icon and a literary attribute of the intelligentsia and the academic world. from the University of Tokyo to the University of Yale.

Yesterday was the first milestone of everything that is to come - let's say like a first foot on the moon - since three years ago the Provincial Council paid almost two million euros for nine hectares to José Antonio Cánovas, the last private owner of the Fraile or El Hornillo, the man - who like Francisca Díaz alias Doña Pakyta - kept it when he could have put the shovel in it (it was not BIC until 2010). Perhaps this Murcian deserved recognition for it.

Yesterday, on the road that connects Los Albaricoques with Rodalquilar, in the heart of the Cabo de Gata Natural Park, the Provincial Council, the Junta de Andalucía and the City Council of Níjar, have sealed an agreement to recover and value one of the most outstanding heritage, historical and cultural assets of Almeria.

The event was attended yesterday by the president of the Provincial Council, Javier Aureliano García; the Minister of Tourism and External Andalusia, Arturo Bernal and the Mayor of Níjar, José Francisco Garrido. The three administrations have presented the start of the works for the paving and creation of a cycling route from Los Albaricoques and Rodalquilar and the Cortijo del Fraile. This project is financed through funds for the execution of the tourism sustainability plans in Andalusia 2021, within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.

It is a project that has an investment of 1.44 million euros for the adaptation and paving of a tourist route of almost 10 kilometers of trail. The first section of action is the busiest access to the Cortijo del Fraile from Los Albaricoques, with 3.7 kilometres in length. The paving will be done with ecological concrete with pigmentation to obtain a chromaticism similar to that of the terrain, with a reddish appearance, minimizing the impact while preserving the natural landscape.

The second section goes from Los Albaricoques to the mining town of Rodalquilar, about 6 kilometers of a road that is currently in poor condition. The rehabilitation of this section will be done with granular materials from the same road. The Minister of Tourism, Arturo Bernal has highlighted the beauty and natural, scenic, tourist and cultural importance of the Cortijo del Fraile and its surroundings.

The mayor of Níjar stressed that "with this route we not only link these three enclaves; we also promote the structuring of our territory".

The president of the Provincial Council said that "today is a day of union and a sample of the work of the administrations with society, a connection that brings us all together through this route that connects the Cortijo with the rest of the park, Rodalquilar, and its mining and cinematographic past".

A hacienda full of literature

The Provincial Council acquired the Cortijo del Fraile in July 2021 from the company Agrícola Mar Menor to undertake the rehabilitation of this BIC that was built in the mid-eighteenth century. The Master Plan that will determine the roadmap that will define the recovery of its already badly damaged factory is currently being tendered. It will have mixed use between cultural, cinematographic, ethnographic and tourist and non-profit entities will be invited to participate. This farmhouse has an international dimension thanks to the work Bodas de Sangre by Federico García Lorca and Puñal de Claveles, by Carmen de Burgos. The Cortijo belonged to the Dominican Fathers, famous for its bread oven. And after the confiscation,Acosta, Lorenzo Gallardo, Vandervalle, a company owned by Juan Guerra, the French insurance company UAP, Dunia and, finally, Agrícola Mar Menor passed to the family.