Shrine Of Our Lady Of Ara Main Entry Stock Photo

The Shrine of Our Lady of Ara is situated in the foothills of Sierra Morena, about seven kilometers from Fuente del Arco, in the Sierra de la Jayona. The landscape that surrounds it is of great scenic and archaeological wealth, surfacing mainly Roman remains, which leads us to suspect the possible existence of a pre-Christian religious and cultural center. The origin of the sanctuary is problematic because of the lack of documentation but there are several hypotheses as to the legend of King Jayon in which we talk about the conversion of an Islamic stronghold following the appearance of the Virgin or that relates the building of the temple with he existence of a Carthusian monastery founded early, though I can not discarded the possibility of the existence of a Roman or Visigothic nucleus in place, related to past mining in the area. There are others who point to the hypothesis that the work was sent to build by Don Garcia Ramirez santiaguista prior to the late fourteenth and early fifteenth century.