Attractions and Places To See around Hontoba - Top 20

The hermitage is located on a hill north of Hontoba, in the La Alcarria region, overlooking the Tajuña and Hontoba stream valleys from a promontory that reaches an altitude of approximately 901 meters. Its origins are unclear, although according to legend, the Virgin Mary appeared to a shepherd and asked that a hermitage be built. There are indications of a 13th-century chapel where the Virgin was already venerated. It was also a place of retreat for nobles such as Íñigo López de Mendoza, 4th Duke of the Infantado, in the 16th century. The hermitage is listed on the Red List of Endangered Heritage due to its alarming state of general ruin.

The Valmores watering hole was restored in 2022, recovering an essential piece in the ethnographic heritage of Pezuela de las Torres. The first references to the fountain appear in the Topographic Relations of 1578. In 1735, reforms and improvements were made to the original spring, making it essential in the daily life of the countryside. The construction has a functional design to water livestock at a crossroads of the Alcarreño moor with trees and benches to take a break.

Pezuela de las Torres acquired jurisdictional independence in 1554 for the payment of one and a half million maravedis, erecting a pillory in the Plaza del Coso that represented the power to administer justice and a place for the town's residents to see criminals who were being sentenced to a pillory. The pillory is seven metres high on a pedestal of four steps and is topped with the heads of four lions. Next to it is the Plaza de la Constitución, home to the Town Hall and the Church of the Assumption, with a Romanesque apse and the rest rebuilt between the 16th and 18th centuries. It has a curious stately doorway from 1748 and a 16th century porticoed gallery, known as El Portalillo, the former meeting centre of the council. Most of the town's streets are on a slope, facing the plain, some houses retain the traditional two-storey country architecture and white facades. On Cerro del Calvario there are remains of traditional wineries used to make wine.

The Valmores fountain, an Asset of Heritage Interest of the Community of Madrid, is a good example of the historical sources existing in the region, closely linked to livestock farming and the livestock routes that facilitated the movement of herds through the territory. It is attached to the base of a bank, a wide unproductive slope that links dry fields arranged at different levels, and preserves the original catchment system intact, maintaining an acceptable flow. Source: https://www.comunidad.madrid/cultura/patrimonio-cultural/restauracion-fuente-valmores-pezuela-torres

Its history dates back to 1554. Pezuela had one hundred and eighty residents. The Council collected a million and a half maravedíes that ended up in the hands of King Carlos I in exchange for being able to have jurisdiction. On the occasion of this event, to commemorate and warn all travelers that Pezuela had achieved the power to administer justice for itself and that it was now a Villa, the Picota was ordered to be erected, a stone monument that was usually placed in the public square or at a crossroads. There are many legends of torture in Pezuela de las Torres. They all took place in the town square. In the past, the pillory was an instrument that was used to torture, place prisoners for public ridicule or expose a person's head after their execution. In it, major and minor penalties were paid for common criminals, who, after being whipped, were exposed to public shame. It had an exemplary character and had to be visited by the people when there were sentences. In addition to capital punishment, the exposure of public shame was frequent: the condemned had to endure the outbursts of the neighbors in addition to suffering the throwing of things that were within their reach (rocks, excrement or whatever they had at hand). That's where, in fact, the term pillorying or empicotar comes from. Although it was not the only one in the region, Pezuela today is one of the most important in the Community of Madrid. Source: https://elresurgirdemadrid.com/pezuela-de-las-torres-plaza-picota/

In restoration works, it presents a beautiful appearance

On the Red List of Heritage for its "state of ruin and abandonment". The building, from the 16th century, was occupied until the 17th century. Exactly until the year 1767, the year in which Carlos III expelled the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits, from Spain.

Interesting work of the s. XV, which allows us to appreciate how a castle was arranged when the use of artillery had already been imposed: harquebuses and cannons. It is erected on a plain, and preserves both its interior and towers, as well as the outer enclosure and the moat. Free access to the outside. To visit the interior, contact the Pioz town hall, telephone 949.272.076.