Belalcázar Castle is the most emblematic medieval construction in the Los Pedroches region. It stands on a hill beside the Caganchas stream, in a strategic site occupied since Iberian, Roman and Muslim times. The present fortress began to be built in the mid-15th century on the initiative of Don Gutierre de Sotomayor, master of the Order of Alcántara and first lord of the town, then known as Gahete.
Promoted by his lineage, especially by Alfonso de Sotomayor and Elvira de Zúñiga, the castle was conceived as a symbol of seigneurial power and a defensive stronghold. Its walled enclosure, irregular in plan and adapted to the terrain, is flanked by towers and dominated by the impressive keep, 47 metres high, one of the most outstanding towers among Iberian castles. In the 16th century, a Renaissance palace was added in the southern sector, reflecting the cultural prestige of the noble house.
Very close to the castle stands the Convent of Santa Clara de la Columna, one of the most important works of late Gothic architecture in Córdoba. Founded at the end of the 15th century by Doña Elvira de Zúñiga, it reflects the religious devotion and power of the lordship of Belalcázar. Initially conceived as a male Franciscan convent, it soon became a community of Poor Clares.
The complex, covering more than 7,000 m², is organised around an elegant two-storey cloister in the style of the Catholic Monarchs, the centre of monastic life. Alongside the church, cells and refectory, the Fountain of the Samaritan Woman and the Sotomayor pantheon stand out as witnesses to the spiritual and artistic splendour of late medieval Belalcázar.
