Osuna

Osuna belonged to the dukes of Osuna, among the wealthiest families in Spain, and the town they built shows it: Calle San Pedro and the surrounding streets are lined with baroque mansions of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in local sandstone, with twisted columns and elaborate portals, and the Colegiata de la Asuncion of 1534 on the hill above holds the ducal pantheon, a small underground palace of a burial vault, along with paintings by Ribera. The university building of 1548 stands beside it. In 2014 the Plaza de Toros was used for the Meereen fighting pit scenes in Game of Thrones, with the old Coto de las Canteras quarry among the other locations in the town, which brought a wave of visitors and a small exhibition in the town.

History

The town goes back about three thousand years to the Turdetanian settlement of Urso, and the battle of Munda, the last Julius Caesar fought in person, was probably fought nearby. In 44-43 BC Mark Antony refounded it with veterans as a colony of Roman citizens, Colonia Genetiva Iulia; its founding law survives on bronze tablets, the Lex Ursonensis, now in the National Archaeological Museum in Madrid. Known as Uxuna under Muslim rule, it was taken by Ferdinand III of Castile in 1239 and handed in 1264 to the Order of Calatrava, becoming a key point on the frontier with the Nasrid kingdom of Granada; in the 15th century it passed to Pedro Téllez Girón, whose descendants became dukes of Osuna under Philip II in 1562. Its golden age came in the mid-16th century under Juan Téllez Girón, 4th Count of Ureña, who over thirty years built thirteen churches and convents, a hospital, the university, the collegiate church and the ducal sepulchre (Wikipedia, Osuna).

What's there

• The baroque mansions - ducal-era houses along Calle San Pedro.
• The Colegiata and pantheon - a 1534 church with an underground ducal vault.
• The Ribera paintings - works by the Spanish master in the collegiate church.
• The filming locations - the bullring and quarry used for Game of Thrones.

When to go

Spring and autumn; the Seville countryside is extremely hot in summer with little shade. The collegiate church closes on Mondays and for a long midday break, and access to the pantheon is by guided tour.

Before you go

The collegiate church and pantheon are seen only by guided tour at set times. The Game of Thrones connection is thinly presented, with the quarry itself outside the town and not always accessible. Many mansions are private and can only be seen from the street.

Nearby

Ecija and Carmona lie west; Antequera and the Malaga road run southeast.

Key facts