DistDifferent civilizations had stages of splendor in the Baena region
IBERIANS, ROMANS, VISIGOTHS AND MUSLIMS LEFT A DEEP MARK ON THE TERRITORY
The municipality of Baena has one of the most comprehensive archaeological maps in Andalusia. Its numerous deposits and the pieces that are exhibited in the different museums attest to the human presence in the area since prehistoric times.
The town is a benchmark for scholars of different historical periods
The first human testimonies that appear in the area with some profusion correspond to the Metal Age. However, it will be the ancient world and more specifically the Iberian and Roman cultures, who are most present in the archaeological sites of the municipality. In this way, of the cultural legacy of the Iberians , numerous religious-funerary finds stand out, among which are the Lioness of Baena,preserved in the National Archaeological Museum and the numerous ex-votos from the sanctuary of Torreparedoneswhich together with a certain number of zoomorphic sculptures Found in the Minguillar and Molinillos hills, they constitute one of the references of the Municipal Historical Museum of Baena. For its part, the fertility of the countryside and the proximity to the capital of Baetica were decisive factors for the Romans to give the territory great importance, as evidenced by the vestiges of their civilization throughout the region and especially in those that were cities of Ituci (Bora according to certain authors) in Torreparedones, and Iponuba, in the Minguillar. Finally, the late ancient period marked a turning point and decline, although that did not prevent it from leaving us such exceptional pieces as the Crismón de Baena, dated between the 6th and 7th centuries AD.
The current location of the city is already from the Muslim era, at which time it even held the capital of a Cora. Later, after the Christian conquest in the 13th century, Baena was feared as a border stronghold with the Nasrid kingdom of Granada, a situation that would give it a singular role during the late Middle Ages.
In Modern times, the patronage of the Counts of Cabra, later the Dukes of Sessa and Baena, led to the building of the main religious monuments of the town, while others of a special character were erected in the last quarter of the 18th century. such as the Casa del Monte and the Casa de la Tercia. After that, the contemporary stage of Baen began where the last great epidemics and the political, social and economic instabilities would be a prelude to the civil war and the postwar period, both with tragic consequences for the population.. But the 20th century would also see important advances in many sectors, highlighting among them the main archaeological discoveries, the urban development of the city, the boost to the olive oil sector and the creation of both public and private infrastructures that have turned Baena into a whole benchmark in the Cordoba countryside.
