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At first glance, the size of the church seems excessively large in relation to the size of the village. It is the first of many curiosities that await visitors to this village. This is also the same place that in 1864 witnessed the birth of Francisco Tomás de San Juan Bautista Márquez, better known as Fray Leopoldo, the most devout saint in Andalucía.
In recent years the figure of this Capuchin monk, buried in Granada, has been one of the great attractions for many visitors to this part of the Serranía de Ronda. It is hardly surprising, as there are many references to this saint in the village, from sculptures and monuments that commemorate his life to his actual birthplace, which can be accessed for a cursory entry fee. There is also a countdown running in readiness for the opening of an interpretation centre about his life and works.
Yet not even this historical figure can overshadow the other curiosities that this village has to offer in the Alto Genal, an area of the Serranía de Ronda also known historically as El Havaral.
The aforementioned church for this village, with its two towers, will take visitors by surprise, as its shape - and especially size - has led it to be nicknamed over the years as the 'cathedral of the Serranía'. This, the parish church of San Antonio de Padua, has even inspired a legend that seeks to justify its location with a rumour suggesting that, years ago, the plans for this church and that of Igualeja, the most populated municipality in the immediate area, were somehow mixed up, so the larger church was mistakenly built in Alpandeire.
Beyond this popular belief, there is another singularity in the church's interior, as two mummies have been kept there for approximately three centuries. What is puzzling is that both are in a good state of preservation. There are those who believe that this is because the bodies were previously embalmed. There are also those who think that the natural conditions of this area of the Genal Valley have meant that they have not deteriorated much over time.
Just over half a century before Fray Leopoldo was born, Alpandeire tried to prevent an attack by Napoleonic troops with a wall. It was in 1810 when the then mayor ordered a large trench to be built with stones to cut off the French cavalry.
Even today, more than two centuries later, this feature is still known as the 'French wall'. It reached a length of 1,680 yards (1,400 metres). However, this defence was not enough to prevent the invading French troops from entering, who, according to the locals, used the Infiernillo track.
Closely linked to the role played by the village in Spain's War of Independence (1808-14) is the symbolic gift that King Ferdinand VII gave to Alpandeire. Located relatively close to the centre, that peculiar gift remains there: a pillory, or rather a stone column, which was typically used until the 19th century in Spain to put on public display those executed for major crimes. However, in the case of this particular pillory, it was never used for that purpose.
Alpandeire can also boast of having important prehistoric remains, such as the dolmen burial site of Encinas Borrachas, which is located on an open plain accessible on foot from the Ronda-Algeciras road. Although within the municipal boundaries of the village, the site is actually located in the mountain pass of Encinas Borrachas. This funerary monument is part of a complex located in the area that corresponds to burials made between the end of the Neolithic and the Copper Age (end of the 4th-3rd millennium BC).
Alpandeire is also a very interesting village to enjoy nature. In addition to having several hiking trails that link it to neighbouring villages, in particular, the trail named after Fray Leopoldo heading to Jimera de Líbar via Atajate, there are some weather-dependent phenomena that keen hikers can get to see. After heavy rain a ton of water pours out from the undergound lake under the village through the natural outlets known as the Pozancón (literally 'the big well') and the Chorrerón ('the big spout').
In the last year Alpandeire has also been in the news for having carried out an important reintroduction of owls in the surrounding area, from where they disappeared almost two decades ago. To date there have been eight owls sighted on night duties in this village.
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