El Esparragal is located on the site of an ancient Roman village, which comes from a Tartessian settlement that overlooked these plains. A crossing point between Italica and Emerita Augusta, it was one of the main watchtowers on the roads that linked the mining area of Riotinto (Huelva) with the Guadalquivir valley.
As vestiges of the Roman presence, we find part of the elevation of its wall, which can still be seen as a small crown at the top of the hill, and some rooms of a Roman building, with the remains of heating ovens and walls covered with hydraulic lime, possibly belonging to the thermal baths that were fed by the spring.
After the Reconquest, King Juan II granted the jurisdiction of the place to D. Fernando Medina, whose heirs sold it to the order of the Hieronymites in the 17th century. They established a convent here which, together with the chapel presided over by the Virgin of Bethlehem, became the germ of the current buildings.
The ecclesiastical confiscations of Mendizábal meant that El Esparragal passed through various owners until 1851, when the Vázquez family took it over, building a stately country house attached to the monastery. In 1967 the Oriol family acquired the estate respectfully reforming it and maintaining the chapel and the convent’s courtyards.
Today, Cortijo El Esparragal has become, due to its facilities, surroundings and history, the ideal place for weddings and events of all kinds.
With more than 2,700 hectares, the estate is divided into three large areas: one of olive groves and farmland, where most of the buildings are located; one of Mediterranean forest dedicated to big game hunting of deer and wild boar; and another of pastureland, with a thousand hectares of holm oaks and cork oaks, home to the population of the Retinta cow, a breed whose origins lie in the wild bull that inhabited the Andalusian countryside.
Built by the Marquis of Casa Oriol, it is the confluence of the las torres and parrita streams. It has a capacity for two million m3 of water, and guarantees irrigation, contributing to the creation of a suitable environment for the conservation of wildlife.
The country house has now a bulding complex with a variety of facilities that can be divided into different outdoor and indoor spaces for weddings and events.
