1. Historical and Cultural Tour
Length: between one hour and a half and two hours.
Distance: around 2 kilometres.
Difficulty: None.
This route can also be done by people with disabilities. The Luna Castle and the Church of Our Lady of the O have a QR code at the entrance with explanations in sign language.
It starts at España Square and we will directly go to the Luna Castle. On the way we will see some traditional and narrow whitewashing streets full of flowerpots which were built in the Middle Age around the castle. Around these streets you can find some poems by the members of “La Senda de la poesía” (Poetry Route) (Leopoldo Almisas, Ángel López García, Felipe Benítez Reyes and Luis García Montero). This poetic path is an initiative of the Foro Plural “Torre de la Merced” Association.
The Municipal Castle “Castillo de Luna”, a rectangular plan building with five battlemented towers, was built in the 13th Century over an old Arab ribat. There is a courtyard of the 16th Century which still preserves their original columns, balustrade and Mudejar style wall paintings. This castle was used as a hospital and a school and finally it was restored to be used as the seat of Rota City Hall.
Then you can visit Our Lady of the O Parish Church, which was commissioned by Rodrigo Ponce de León in the 16th Century. At the beginning, only the central gothic nave was built. Later, during the 17th and 18th Century, five adjacent chapels were added. You can find a brief description of each chapel at their main entrance. It is remarkable to mention that the choir was made of fine wood by Andrés Martínez and Diego Roldán and the organ was designed by Juan de Bono in the 18th Century.
In the streets adjacent to the Church of Our Lady of the O, we can see flowerpots personalized by the artist Julio Malvido. These original flowerpots show the faces of the neighbours.
After visiting both monuments, you can head to the street which is just in front of the main door of the church, previously crossing Bartolomé Pérez Square. There you will find a little pointed arch which you can go through to get to the seafront promenade where you will enjoy a fantastic view of the golden sand beach called La Costilla Beach.
On the left, you will pass by Duque de Nájera Hotel to find the marina port. It was built in 1992. If you look on the left, you will see the town of Rota surrounded by its old wall where there is a ramp to access the downtown. You will also see the remains of an old gate called “Puerta de Jerez”, one of the gates of the old wall which connected the town of Rota with Jerez. If you continue straight ahead, you will see the “Mirador de las Almenas”, a viewpoint from which you can enjoy a beautiful landscape of a beach called Rompidillo and the marina port.
