Date Published: 04/07/2024

Jumilla preserves the historic remains of the church of Santa María de Gracia

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The ruined church was built following the Reconquista of Murcia in the 13^th century

Jumilla preserves the historic remains of the church of Santa María de Gracia These days the small church of Santa María de Gracia in Jumilla is nothing more than a few remnants of the old walls and foundations on the castle hill, but this is an important and significant building in the history of the town and in order to preserve its heritage the Town Hall has completed work to clean them up and rid the area of bushes and undergrowth.

In the 1240s the area which is now the Region of Murcia was conquered from the Moors by Alfonso of Castille, later Ling Alfonso X “El Sabio”, and he presented Jumilla with an image of Santa María de Gracia, who became the town’s first patron. He also ordered that a church be built in her honour, and since in those times the population lived further up the Hill, seeking the protection of the castle, this is where the place of worship was located (probably on top o the remains of a Moorish mosque).

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Oficina de Turismo Jumilla

The tourist office in the centre of Jumilla is easily found by driving straight into the centre of the town along the Avenida de Murcia and following the signposts. The tourist office is alongside the Parque de Don Albano Martínez Molina, where there are a number of parking spaces.

Jumilla, in the north of the Region of Murcia, has become internationally famous over recent decades due to the quality of the wines produced in the municipality, and wine tourism has begun to attract visitors from other parts of Spain and the rest of Europe.

The tourist office is happy to provide a range of maps and leaflets showing the different bodegas which can be visited within the municipality. Some of these form part of the Rutas del Vino de Jumilla, the Jumilla wine route, and can either be visited as a guided tour or sell their produce directly to the public.(see feed below for more details)

However, the town and the surrounding countryside have plenty of other attractions for visitors, and the popularity of Jumilla wines is leading more and more people to discover other facets of the tenth largest municipality in Spain.

Jumilla Tourist Office

These include the spectacular countryside and birdlife in the Sierra del Carche, the historic remains which range from cave paintings and a Roman mausoleum to the castle, the Iglesia de Santiago, the Town Hall and the Teatro Vico, and the gastronomy: rich stews are accompanied not only by the wines of the area but also by Jumilla pears, which also enjoy Denomination of Origin status.

Tourism in Jumilla is not as seasonal as it is in the coastal areas of the Region of Murcia, but the town is at its liveliest during the fiestas in Holy Week and the August Fair, which incorporates the grape harvest celebrations and the Moors and Christians parades.

The Altiplano of the Region of Murcia, which consists of the municipalities of Jumilla and Yecla, is only just over an hour by car from the Mar Menor, Cartagena, Mazarrón, Torrevieja and Alicante, and anyone wishing to visit real inland Spain and world-class wineries is advised to include Jumilla in their schedule.