Oromana Route

Its origin dates back from at least the Almohad Period, since it was already mentioned when Seville was distributed in 1252. In 1999 it was restored by the Alcalá's Town Council.

This mill belongs to the group of river mills, which means that the power that made the mill work came directly from the river. It is made up by a tower and two buildings of rectangular floor-plan with gabled roof, attached to the tower and set perpendicularly between them. The building connected to the weir has in its basement channels or pipes for water aimed to other hydraulic wheels, whereas at the ground floor the millstones to grind wheat were placed.

Near the mill, the miller's house is places, a single building of rectangular floor-plan of two grounds with gabled roof, used like house and store until the end of Alcalá's miller cycle, by mid-20th century.

It is a river mill that preserves outside a hip roof and a huge grinding room. A large dam makes possible that the river water flew towards its three mouths, reaching the millstones. The building with the millstones is placed over the stream, covered by a barrel vault; under it the four sockets or pails are placed. The great weir that connects the mill to the Guadaíra's left bank was extensively rebuilt in 1998. The present-day building results from the transformations of the original medieval mill, undergone from the 17th to the 20th centuries; thus, very little is left from the original one.

As in the case of the Benarosa Mill, the miller's house is close to the mill. It has rectangular floor-plan and was used as house and store until mid-20th century, when Mills fell into disuse.

It is a brook mill, moved by the water from a spring that flows from the left slope next to the river. It is preserved only the reservoir that drove the water to the milling device on a great semicircular arch and what had been its tower is well kept, being turned nowadays into a viewpoint. The miller's house is also a few metres away.

The mill dates back approximately from the 17th century. According to Father Flores its owner was the captain of the village, don Leandro de Cosío.

This mill belongs to the river typology. The building we can see at present has a great tower of square floor-plan with a battlemented terrace roof. In the front there is a porch that was used like loading and downloading area of grain and flour. In the back part of the tower, following the river course, the two grinding rooms are placed in a consecutive manner, having in total three stones. The weir connected the mill with the Guadaíra's right bank, damming at the same time the water required to obtain hydraulic power. At this right bank La Caja (The Box) Mill was built, at present day destroyed in part because of the construction of a flours factory in the 19th century. This mill shared weir with the Algarrobo Mill. La Caja Mill also belonged to San Jerónimo's monastery.

We cannot be sure that the origin of this mill is Islamic since no historic information about it exists, because the oldest preserved elements are the tower's, and due to its constructive typology it dates back from the 14th century, being similar to other towers of the surroundings. Already during the Modern Age the grinding rooms were built, replacing the original ones built in the Late Middle Ages, probably destroyed after some flood of the river. As singular detail, cuts and spikes decoration stands out and can still be seen on the eastern façade of the main grinding room. Finally, the porch responds to the typology of constructions of the 19th century, being this one of the last additions to this building.

The mill underwent an important process of recovery in 2003, when it was tried to keep above all its original aspect: (Visible) stone at the tower, plastering at the grinding rooms and whitewash with red skirting board at the porch. In this way it is evident to the visitor in a visual way the different phases the mill has got through, being possibly one of the most complex ones of Alcalá's miller bank.

It was built as a hermitage in 1570, receiving San Roque's name, protective saint against the epidemics of the Plague that threatened the population in those moments. It is a church of an only nave that formerly might have had a crossing. It was reformed by the end of the 19th century. This hermitage acquires special prominence the early morning of every Good Friday, during the Holy Week, because there is a secular tradition in our town, the procession of the image of Jesús Nazareno up the Calvary's Hill, after the behind the performance of the Capture at dawn. At the hermitage it is preserved a sculpture of Our Lady of Bethlehem (Nuestra Señora de Belén) that dates back from 1570.

San Roque's Hermitage is in the Oromana Pine Forest, made up by Stone Pines, than although they have been through difficult times nowadays they are in really good conditions, even little pines are sprouting spontaneously. At these pine forests we can highlight the absence of shrub like vegetation.

From this place we will be able to enjoy some splendid views of the town, Saint Francis Park, the Castle...

It is a brook mill. The water that moved its mechanism came from the known as Fountain of El Piojo, from under the zero milestone known as El Calvario, where San Roque's hermitage is.

Regarding its name of The Veiled Woman, it was already of common use in early 19th century, when Leandro José de Flores attributed it to a popular legend about the presence of a penitent woman at a cave of the surroundings, being this one the event taken to a novel a few years later by José María Gutiérrez de Alba.

The preserved documentary sources frequently refer to La Tapada's Orchard that would be present in the Mill's surroundings; we know about it because of graphic testimonies that it was walled and that was placed among the [King] Carlos III Bridge, the river and Utrera's Road up to the boundaries of the Algarrobo Orchard.

First news related to this Mill date back to the 16th century, when it belonged to don Fernando Afán de Rivera, Duke of Alcalá. We also know that along with other properties of a family from Alcalá, would become a part of the resources given in 1649 to the Convent of St. John of God (San Juan de Dios in Spanish), Alcalá's Foundation of the Afán de Rivera family. From this moment on, although with different lessors, the property of the mill would be kept by the congregation of Alcalá until the first third of the 19th century, when political disturbances (French invasion, Constitutional Three Years Period and the ecclesiastical confiscations) would end up with the loss of this property by the Order, and also with the definitive collapse of the mill. Nowadays, after being restored there is still a preserved heraldic proof of its former owners, three transverse bars, the Riveras' coat of arms.

The mill has two floors and a walkable terrace roof. In the ground floor the millstones were and the higher floor would be used like store and occasional house of the miller. The outside zone towards the river was protected with a low wall isolated partially the entrance during the floods season.

Just like the Algarrobo Mill, this one has undergone an important process of restoration that has allowed recovering the original look of the building. It is here where part of the play "La Tapada" (The Veiled Woman) by Alcalá's author Gutiérrez de Alba takes place.

The trees predominating at this zone are European hackberry trees; in fact it is also called the forest of hackberry trees. It is a kind of Mediterranean, fast-growing tree that grows on humid zones. The fruit is called drope and when it ripens, it turns black.

You can also find Bear's Breeches leaves, the most common plant at the park, Carob trees, Russian Silverberry trees... This forest along with La Tapada Mill are the scene of the novel by Alcalá's writer Gutiérrez de Alba, called The Veiled Woman.

The Roman Bridge that crosses the river Guadaíra has 7 arches on supports. Three of the arches are hidden. It is a bridge made of stone, from Roman origin, although with several later reconstructions due to road traffic. Some historians think its origin is really Roman although other ones are not sure of it because there are no written evidences of papers or signs of Roman roads.

The first written testimonies appear around mid-14th century and they correspond with sources that collected agreements from the town council on distributions at the locality. The Roman Bridge will receive its name of Carlos III since it was transformed in the 18th century, in this Spanish King time.

In the Holy Week it is beautiful to watch the procession of the Jesús Nazareno Fraternity on the bridge, because "Romans" stand in their way to the Calvary Hill so He cannot go up with His Cross on His Back. This often takes place by 7 in the morning and is one of the key points in Alcalá's madrugá. In one of the pillars of the bridge we can see Jesús Nazareno's picture in ceramics.

It was formerly one orchard of Saint Francis Monastery, placed where nowadays San Francisco's tower of flats is located.

There was also the mill of the same name that was of the brook type and was built in 1605. It was a small mill that had only one socket or pail that was used for the supply of the monastery. At present, and although it has been reformed recently, the remains of that orchard are still located at the sour orange trees that are still left and that were very well valued in confectioneries.

San Francisco Park has a great variety of trees species from different parts of the world as Pines, Judas trees, Jacarandas, Palm trees, Mexican Palos Verdes, Peruvian Pepper, Acacias, Bougainvilleas... making up authentic botanical gardens.