Street

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The old, fortified medieval town, known as Cantoria la Vieja, stood o­n the right bank of the river in the Almanzora valley. All that remains of this settlement are the ramparts and aljibe (water storage cisterns). When the old town was abandoned, the population moved to the plain o­n the left bank of the Almanzora, where in the late 16th century, it was built with a formal street plan.

The original church de la Virgen del Carmen dates back to the early 16th century, but the neoclassical church you can see today was constructed in the first half of the 19th century. It has three vaulted naves, a small dome over the transept and a narrow belfry topped by a spire. The 17th century Hermitage de San Cayetano, dominating the town, gives wonderful views over the town and surrounding country. Cantoria was born as a Municipality of Almería when the province was recreated o­n the 30th November 1833 by Mr. Francisco Javier de Burgos.

Data of the prehistory are dispersed, although located.  The Roman colonisation of the Valley of the Almanzora was quick and general.  During the Moslem domination, Cantoria passes through the same bloody battles as the neighboring populations.  In 1488 after the surrender to the Catholic Kings, it is delivered along with Partaloa to the Duke of the Infantado and in 1515 it is purchased by Mr. Pedro Fajardo.Its inhabitants participated actively in the lifting of the Moors.

At the beginning of this century, the state of the roads, almost possible o­nly way of communication in the province of Almería and, naturally in the region of the Almanzora, were very bad.  The problem of the communications, therefore, was very negative and that meant that the area suffered a very slow growth and development.  The agriculture of Cantoria in this century was constantly obstructed, apart from all the problems suffered by the people of Almería, two large phenomena: drought and floods were the main problem.

The floods frequently devastated the area.On the 14th and 15thOctober 1879 there was a disastrous flood and o­n the 11th September 1891 the largest climalogical disaster of the century took place and along with many others, the town of Cantoria had to be rebuilt from scratch. Being supported o­n irrigation zones next to ramblas and the river, was a necesity for Cantoria and its surrounding small towns and villages and hence they are still perched o­n their original spots.

Local towns near Cantoria include, Albox
(10 km), Fines (4 km), Olula del Río (7 km), Macael (12 km).
The present mayor is Mr. Pedro María Llamas García of the PP who has continued the work of his recent predecesors by carrying o­n the work of expanding the town and its facilities to accomodate the influx of foreign residents.  A lot of work has also been done to avoid the problems of the past.