Mountain Studio 1

The Mountain Studio 1 is tiny, but has some unusual advantages that make up for its small size (270 sq. ft.). The main one is the view to the north of the Sierra de Alballate, Sierra Leones, and Sierra Palomeque mountain ranges. The view can be enjoyed from the apartment itself or from a large shared roof-top terrace (with gas grill) on the third floor.

The apartment itself has a queen bed, a bathroom with shower, and a small kitchenette with a two-burner stovetop range.

The building has two additional common spaces, a large commercial-sized kitchen that can be used whenever needed and a spacious common room with fireplace (and A/C). Both rooms are on the ground floor, two floors away from the studio. The building also has private underground parking that can be used by guests without charge, an important feature in Priego de Cordoba with its chronic shortage of parking places.

The location is excellent. While the building is on a street on the literal edge of town, Priego de Cordoba's oldest neighborhood with its winding flower-bedecked streets is directly adjacent. Several restaurants are within an easy five minute walk. Shops are also very close at hand. With main roads nearby, Priego is an excellent base for exploring this scenic and historic section of Spain.

Note that the pictures were taken using a wide-angle lens, making the rooms appear larger than they are.

WiFi speed as of 4/30/21 10 Mbps Down/2 Mbps Up

Priego de Córdoba, the capital of the Subbética region, offers a fabulous location on a plateau that overlooks the Subbética mountain range. Though Priego’s history dates back over 8,000 years, the town came into prominence during the eighteenth century, when wealth from the silk and textile industries financed the construction or remodeling of the Baroque churches and buildings for which it’s famous. Most of Priego’s monuments are within an easy walk of the old town, which was built on the edge of the plateau around the thirteenth-century Moorish castle.

Before exploring Priego’s Baroque offerings, visitors should take in the Barrio de la Villa, the ancient Moorish part of town and its oldest residential area. The barrio is a serpentine maze of cobbled alleyways and houses decorated with wrought-iron window grilles and potted plants of geraniums and petunias. The barrio’s narrow alleyways make it a natural pedestrian zone, only broken up by the occasional little plazas (plazuelas) like the charming Plazuela de San Antonio. The barrio borders on the splendid Paseo del Adarve, an original Moorish promenade with views over the valley below and the rolling landscape of olive groves stretching to the distant hills.

The first of Priego’s Baroque churches is the Iglesia de la Asunción, formerly a Gothic building remodeled in the eighteenth century. Though the exterior of the Asunción is quite modest, a sumptuous white stucco interior leads to a stunning carved Mannerist altarpiece. The most exquisite part of the church, however, is found through a portal on the left aisle, through which one enters the sacristy, a dazzling masterpiece of Spanish Baroque stucco and statuary. Both the altar and the sacristy of the Asunción have been declared national monuments. Visitors, however, should not neglect the other Baroque treasures found among Priego’s other churches: the San Pedro, the San Juan de Dios, the Aurora and the San Francisco.

Visitors are also urged to see the sixteenth-century Fuente del Rey (King’s Fountain) at the southern end of town. This extraordinary Baroque cascading fountain features 139 waterspouts surrounding a statue of Neptune. The park where the fountain is located offers some tranquility, in contrast with the bustle of town.

Being the largest town in the Subbética region, Priego de Córdoba offers everything a traveler needs: ATMs, bakeries and cafés, as well as markets and shops of all kinds. Priego also offers the greatest selection of restaurants in the region and will likely be the town choice for a night out. In addition, the local travel agency can help with hotel and train reservations for those interested in longer overnight trips.

From Priego de Córdoba, easy day trips can be made to Cabra, another Baroque gem, as well as Lucena, a town with an industrial appearance that masks some of the region’s most superb churches, about 13 miles to the west. In addition to smaller towns in the region, the 3 major cities of Andalusia – Córdoba, Granada and Sevilla – are all within a 2 -hour drive.

The owner, Ivan, is an English-speaking architect. He lives locally and is available to answer questions as needed.