Prehistory

The region of Tartessia existed since the Chalcolithic, with river Tartessos (later renamed Baetis by Romans). There are remains left from the Bronze Age in Almonte, including Tartessian metallic tools by the San Bartolomé stream, in the northern part of Almonte's territory. It is thought that this 1,000 acres Tartessian village was mainly focused on silver production and trade^[18][19] and had two different golden ages, one of them during the Chalcolithic and another one during the late Bronze Age, from the 9th and 6th centuries BC. The typical architecture from that age included the oval-shaped huts dug on the ground and made of sticks and mud. This settlement may have had an active trading with Greeks and phoenicians^[20] and was called San Bartolomé de Almonte, next to the current town and the ancient Lacus Ligustinus (Ligustinian Lake), which covered most of the territory between Seville and Cádiz, and dried completely in 700BC.

Ancient history

There are also remains of Roman presence in the area, with an ancient settlement called Alostigi which existed during the 5th century BC and could have been located where the current town of Almonte is.^[21][22] Archaeologists George Bonsor and Adolf Schulten, in their search for Atlantis, discovered remains of a garum fishing factory and a settlement near Cerro del Trigo (Spanish for wheat hill), which is nowadays part of Doñana.^[23] At least 15 other factories have been found throughout Almonte's coast, along with a Roman necropolis and coins dating from centuries 5th and 2nd BC. The above-mentioned Ligustinian Lake, which was used for sea trading by Tartessian people, had been drying over time until becoming the current Guadalquivir's delta as the only major navigable connection to the Atlantic.^[24]

Middle Ages

The current town of Almonte was officially established during the 8th century AD with the name of Al-Yabal (literally, "the Mount") and was part of the Taifa of Niebla. The Umayyads were the first to tame and breed the wild horses which had inhabited the area for centuries,^[25] and were later registered as a protected species.^[18]

Almonte was reconquered by the nordics at the beginning of the 13th century, being taken over by the Crown of Castile, as a protectorate. After a major Muslim rebellion, the territory was absorbed by the Kingdom of Seville. King Alfonso X "The Wise", wrapped up in the legend of a hunter who found the Virgin Mary deep within Woods of Las Rocinas, ordered to build in 1270 the first sanctuary devoted to Saint Mary of Las Rocinas, later becoming the worldwide-known Virgin of El Rocío.^[26][27] The statue of the Virgin of El Rocío is an anonymous gothic carved wood sculpture dating from the 12th century. The current version has sufferend some remodelling during the Baroque period.^[28]

In 1335, nobleman Alvar Pérez de Guzmán becomes owner of Almonte, which was already independent from the County of Niebla, established in 1369. In the 14th century, Almonte and Niebla went to war for territorial reasons. The conflict ended when the Duke of Medina Sidonia established the frontiers, becoming owners of Almonte, while being at the same time Counts of Niebla and Sanlúcar, neighbouring town.

Modern history

Trading flourished in Almonte during the discovery of America, when Christopher Columbus set sail from the neighbouring port of Palos de la Frontera and goods were transported from Seville. Olive oil was the main export from Almonte and the bustle of traders boosted the interest towards the Virgin of El Rocío.^{[citation needed]} Almonte exerted cultural influence over the American colonies, especially in the Wild West architecture and horse breeding. The typical sandy unpaved roads and the wooden hitching rails to tie horses up were already present in the village of El Rocío and most likely exported to the United States.^[4][5][6] The Mustang horse breed was also brought over from the surrounding areas, its name being derived from the Spanish "mostrenco" (meaning "wild"), a term which also applies to a local Marismeña (cow breed from Almonte).^[15]

In the 16th century the duke purchased the surrounding woods of Las Rocinas, named after the homonymous stream that ends at the village of El Rocío, doubling its territory and becoming a coastal municipality. These woods would later become a Royal forest by order of the King and later renamed Doñana after the duchess of Medina Sidonia, Doña Ana de Silva. The Spanish monarchs would visit Doñana on a regular basis and finally established an official residence in the Palacio de las Marismillas (Palace of Doñana).

In 1583 Almonte purchased Doñana from the duke and the locals could finally expand farming, agricultural and fishing activities there. Landowners would manage the economy up to the 19th century, when the population was about 1,500 people.

In 1598 the Virgin was taken to Almonte for the first time ever, and later this displacement became usual every time the town faced a crisis (from natural disasters to wars). This same year, a Confraternity is officially established, the Hermandad Matriz (Spanish for Matrix Confraternity).^[29] "Saint Mary of Las Rocinas", official name for the Virgin of El Rocío became patron saint of Almonte in 1653 and different surrounding towns affiliated to the Hermandad Matriz, becoming filial confraternities, the oldest ones being Villamanrique, Pilas, La Palma, Moguer and Sanlúcar. Over time, national and international confraternities would follow, including Belgium, Japan or Australia.

The Great Lisbon earthquake of 1755 swept away the entire Atlantic coast, including great parts of the city of Huelva and several fortified towers built on the coast to defend the shores. At least six of these towers were in Almonte and still remain standing, except for Torre de la Higuera (literally "fig tree tower"), which is upside down and is often referred to as a touristic symbol for the town. The sanctuary of El Rocío was damaged too and had to be rebuilt.

During the 18th and 19th centuries people from Almonte made a living with agricultural (chiefly olive grove and vineyard) and farming activities (horse, goat, sheep, pig and bees). Being one of the most extense municipal territories in Spain, its inhabitants have never lacked resources.

In 1810, during the war against France, French captain Pierre D'Oisseaux was executed in Almonte. The event brought about a response involving 1,000 French soldiers heading towards the town from the city of Seville. Unable to resist such an attack, the locals took the Virgin to town, praying for her intervention. The French troops would never arrive at Almonte and turned around at the time they were next to the neighbouring town of Pilas.^[30] People then decided to show their gratitude by celebrating an annual vow called "El Rocío Chico" (literally, the "small Rocío") every August. Several lands and properties were privatised and sold during the Spanish confiscation throughout the 19th century, boosting the number of farmers and landowners.

From 1949 on, it was established that the Virgin would be taken from her sanctuary in El Rocío to Almonte every seven years, spending nine months there. This event attracts hundreds of thousands of people to town, prompting a sophisticated security plan involving police, first aid rooms and ambulances, helicopters and firemen to ensure the festivity goes on correctly.

Within the 1940s large-scale reforestation policy in Spain, more than 30,000 hectares in Almonte were replanted with several species of blue gum, redgum, guayule, wattles and cypress.^[31] Other local species were also planted, like stone pine. 13 km south of Almonte, half between the town and the sea, a forest settlement called "Los Cabezudos" (Spanish for "the hillocks") was established. It had a school, church, doctor and several shops, being ahead of neighbouring towns regarding agricultural technology and drainage for its 300 inhabitants. These were engineers and foresters along with their families, whose job included wood, oil and cellulose extraction from trees in the factories.^[32] Eminent people have visited the area over time, including the former Queen of Spain, who landed her helicopter in Cabezudos on her way to El Rocío in 1983.^[33] Cabezudos started to depopulate in the late 60s, ending up completely uninhabited in the late 80s. Most of the people moved to Almonte, the core town. Nowadays, Cabezudos is a ghost town in ruins within the surroundings of Doñana National Park and is therefore protected. A consensus on whether new uses can be given to the houses is currently held.

Almonte is internationally recognised today thanks to its emblematic village of El Rocío, the Doñana National Park (the largest nature reserve in Europe), its wide 50 km-length sandy beach (the longest in Spain) and its organic berry industry (one of the top exporters in Europe).^[11][12][14]

Boroughs

The urban area of Almonte has an extension of 3.2 km² and a perimeter of 10.7 km. It can be divided into the following districts:

Physical location

Almonte, as a municipality, is one of the largest in Spain^[3] and is located in southeastern Huelva, as part of the Costa de la Luz, which stretches from the Guadiana River to Tarifa, the southernmost point in Spain. Almonte's coast is the longest in Spain,^[8][9] with a 50 km straight uninterrupted sandy beach, from the archaeological ruins of the Torre del Río de Oro (literally, Tower of the Gold River) up to the Guadalquivir River. 28 of these 50 kilometers are protected as part of the Doñana National Park, and only 4 are urbanised, the ones at Matalascañas resort. Most of this coast is made up of semi-fossil dunes with low vegetation, without any rocky structure or cliff. The sand is light in colour and fine. However, along several kilometers between “Torre del Oro” and “Cuesta Maneli”, a 100-metre high dune cliff can be found. It’s “El Asperillo” and it’s the highest dune cliff in Europe, declared a Natural Monument of Andalusia.^[60][10]

Almonte is bordered by Bollullos Par del Condado to its north, Hinojos to its east, river Guadalquivir and Sanlúcar de Barrameda to it southeast, Rociana del Condado and Moguer to its west and the Atlantic Ocean to its south. It is located in the northern part of its municipality, 15 km north from the village of aldea del Rocío and 26 km from its coastal resort, Matalascañas.

Climate

This area has a combination of mediterranean and oceanic climate, due to its location near the limits of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Being an extense territory, it has a variety of microclimates and an average temperature of 17 °C (62.6 °F). It has warm summers and winters, without the extreme variations that can be found in landlocked provinces of Spain. Rain is not usual, barely reaching 700mm a year.

Within Doñana, there is certain humidity in winter and little rain in summer, being a spot where polar fronts and subtropical high pressures combine. In Spring and Autumn, torrential rain may occur, while anticyclones may appear in winter.

Even though Almonte's average temperature is mild due to oceanic influence, there are heavy storms in the coast during winter which leave important damages to the seafront structures, like restaurants and pavements. The council spends large quantities of money to rebuild certain zones, sometimes more than a million euros.^[61]

Almonte is facing an environmental challenge at a European level since the establishment of the Doñana National Park in the 60s. This issue has become even more controversial since the 90s, when the berry fields were established. The UNESCO has warned Spain about Doñana’s withdrawal from the organisation if more watering crops are regularised.^[63]

Almonte received in 2022 an investment of more than 170 million euros^[64] to build PV pannels. These will be installed by American company Matrix Renewables and Spanish Rolwind,^[65][66] with more than 115,000 cutting-edge photo-voltaic cells which will make the area get on top position regarding renewable sources at a European level.

In 2022 the Spanish government announced an investment of more than 365 million euros^[67] to restore part of the Doñana National Park. The meeting between the Minister of Environment and the mayoress of Almonte was held at Almonte's theatre "Salvador Távora" the 30th of November 2022. The plan will focus on watering, biodiversity, territory and environmental awareness. Besides, the Regional Government of Andalusia, announced an investment of 900 million euros^[68] exclusively for sanitation and drainage.

Flora and fauna

In the Doñana National Park and its surroundings, several species, including endangered ones, can be found. Regarding flora, there is typical mediterranean scrub (sabins, bulrush, eucalyptus, pines, reeds, wattles, cork oaks, ferns, crowberries, palmettos, sedges, rosemary, brooms, thyme, junipers). Fauna includes the precious Iberian lynx, deers, wild boars, foxes, herons, mongooses, rabbits, ducks, eagles, hawks, griffon vultures, eels, pikes, snakes, lizards, and chameleons. Likewise, there are extensive areas of pine repopulated in the 1950s and of underbrush (with rockrose and multiple species of aromatics). Throughout its 122,000 hectares, microclimates and very different areas appear, from jungles in the purest tropical style to desert dunes, including wetlands, beaches, meadows, etc. Almonte was declared in July 2022 “Hub of European Biodiversity” by the World Biological Corridor, an international project with scientists, universities and different organisations involved.^[69]

Historical heritage

From the Bronze Age to modernity, a wide variety of historical elements can be found in Almonte. They include the following:

Local festivities

Almonte has a wide variety of traditional festivities and holidays, many of which are related to the Doñana National Park and the economic activities carried out over the centuries all along the municipality, from the northern town to the southern coast. Some of these customs date back to the Tartessian age. Although some of the most popular traditions have a religious origin, only a small percentage of the population in Almonte currently declare themselves religious and it is unusual to attend mass, as the average population in Spain.^[85]

Cultural institutions

Almonte has several buildings with cultural purposes, but also playing a research or touristic role. Many of them are free of admission charges and have been created in the 90s and 2000s, using old wineries and oil mills purchased and remodelled by the town hall.

Literature

Almonte’s contribution to literature started during the 19th century with writer Antonio Martín Villa, who became rector of the University of Seville. He wrote historical documents about the university and also reviewed poetic authors like Félix José Reinoso. Later in the same century, writer, professor and historian Lorenzo Cruz also made a contribution to Miguel de Cervantes’s work and Almonte’s history, focusing on religious events. A bust of him can be found in the Avenida de los Cabezudos street.

Regarding poetry, María Castilla started writing at the age of 13 about the natural environment she was raised in, namely Doñana. She won several awards of local poetry, including the second prize in 1995 for her poem Muda Nota.^[116] Rocío Blanco was a poet influenced by the Machado brothers. Within lyric poetry, María Endrina was a writer and teacher who became head at the school of Cabezudos and combined her teachings with her main hobby, writing children poems about her town, many of them set in the postwar period.^[117]

In 1995 the city council published the first book of a series of more than 100 works titled Cuadernos de Almonte. Previously focused on providing a historical perspective of town, many other later focused on art, gastronomy, literature, etc. Each of these blocks have a different colour on their covers, being as follows: green (history), pink (literature), yellow (gastronomy), blue (administration) and orange (painting).^[118] The blue books offer detailed information about budgets, awardings, records, certificates and other administrative elements.

From the second half of the 20th century on, several key people have contributed to Almonte’s literary field. Domingo Muñoz Bort is a historian, archivist, writer and populariser who has worked as director of the Centro Cultural de la Villa, having published dozens of historical works and edited the above-mentioned series. Alfonsa De Almonte is a writer who has worked as the council’s press officer and published several books for children.^[119]

As for novels, Juan Villa is a writer and literary critic who has published several short stories, novels and essays over the last decades, including Crónica de las Arenas, set in Almonte during the postwar period.^[120]Rocío Castrillo is Almonte’s most renowned novelist, with national awards for novels such as Una Mansión en Praga (Descubrebooks; 2013), Ellas y el Sexo (Ed.: Pigmalión; 2014), En el Fin de la Tierra (CreateSpace; 2016). Her most controversial work is 151 Cuchilladas, an exahustive analysis of the double murder of Almonte in 2013

Almonte hosts different literary contests as the one for short tales, organised by the youth centre. Youngsters aged 14 to 30 participate and 2 works are awarded each year in two different categories according to age.^[121] The Centro de Estudios Rocieros, which plays a key role in cultural researching, also contributes to literature with people like composers and songwriters Hermanos Gallardo, who have compiled more than 40 poems related to El Rocío, in their anthology Por Los Senderos del Alma.^[122]

Music

Almonte’s traditional music has been a main culture booster for centuries, being specially noticeable during El Rocío. It split into two brands: the instrumental one (with the flute and tabor) and the vocal (with the Sevillana Rociera and the fandango). In recent decades, several other styles have come up, mainly alternative rock, rumba and psychedelic trance (brought about by the Transition Festival).

Tabors have been used for centuries, modernising its material over time to meet current quality standards. Almonte’s tabor is wider in diameter than the ones from northern Spain (around 50 cm wide and 80 cm high) and mostly made of wood and goat-leather-covered surfaces tightened by metallic rings. Tabor players develop a key role in traditional festivities, specially during the Pilgrimage to El Rocío, when they head the procession of the Hermandad Matriz interpreting the “Toque del Rocío” (literally, beat of El Rocío), a traditional melody from Almonte, quite different from the typical music within the genre. The “Toque del Alba” (dawn beat) is played as the sun rises, just before resuming the journey. Finally, the “Toque del Romerito” (little pilgrim’s beat) puts an end to the trilogy of Almonte’s traditional tabor beats. The most relevant event is the ”Mass of the Virgin of El Rocío”, during which hundreds of tabor players play at once, interpreting ancient melodies, quite far from typical Andalusian music. Spanish musician and composer Manuel Pareja Obregón co-founded the Tabor School of Almonte, one of the six main ones in the country and also wrote the Salve Universal, one of the most renowned Hail Marys in the world.

Flutes, in Spanish gaita almonteña or flauta rociera, as other instruments with three holes, come from the Greek syrinx, though they can be traced back to paleolithic ages. It is a 35-cm-long and 2-cm-wide pipe typically made of wood from local trees such as ash trees, orange trees, lemon trees or oleanders. Higher quality ones are more expensive and made of ebony, pomegranate tree or tulipwood. It can be played using the ring and little fingers, although the thumb may be necessary for certain notes.

It was in the Middle Ages when the combination of flute and tabor became usual in the area, as described in some excerpts from the medieval poems Cantigas de Santa María, read and interpreted during Alfonso X’s reign. These manuscripts already mentioned hunting within the then-called Coto de Las Rocinas (a royal hunting ground in Las Rocinas woods). El Rocío has boosted as no other innovation and modernisation of these two instruments. Over time, several other elements have been added to the flute and tabor, including canes, castanets, hand drums, flamenco guitars and clapping. Nowadays,^[when?] Almonte's flute and tabor are registered as Intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO^{[citation needed]} and still play a key role in local festivities.^[128]

As for singing, Almonte has been adapting and innovating its own style of Sevillanas over the last centuries, ending up having the Sevillanas rocieras, which have become one of the seven official branches of the genre.^[129] Unlike typical sevillanas, rocieras are more melodious and have deeper and more moving lyrics, often related to Almonte’s cultural or natural heritage (the woods of Doñana, the pilgrimage, the Virgin of El Rocío, etc.). Some of the most renowned titles are Historia de una Amapola (a story of a poppy) by Los Marismeños, Mírala Cara a Cara (look at her face to face) by Requiebros, Flores a Ella (flowers to her) by the es:Hermanos Toronjo, Tiempo, Detente (time, stop) by Los Romeros de La Puebla or Sueña la Margarita (the daisy dreams) by Amigos de Gines.

Most bands, singers and songwriters from Almonte emerged in the second half of the 20th century and, currently, there are around thirty well-known local artists of a variety of genres^[130] The most renowned bands are Requiebros, consisting of three brothers who begun their activity in the 80s and have released several international hits including Mi Huelva tiene una Ría, adopted as one of the province’s anthems. Another well-known group is Senderos, formed by the Gallardo brothers and Manuel Ramos. They became popular in the 90s and have released more than 30 albums^[131] and songs like Eso se Siente or Nostalgia. In the late 90s, the group Varales emerged, with a successful album called Por Derecho. Regarding rock, the band The Pink Pylon has become popular in town,^[132] founded by Fran Báñez in the late 2000s and having released an EP in 2005 and an album in 2009, both with homonym titles and songs like Old Blues, Dark Night or Ice.

With regards to singers, Chico Gallardo is a singer-songwriter, guitar player and flamenco and rumba producer^[133] who has released several singles. Macarena De la Torre is a singer with success at a national level,^[134] with three albums released.

Almonte has an elementary music school, a flamenco school, a dance school and a public municipal band. The town has hosted performances by Julio Iglesias,^[135]Olé Olé, Rocío Jurado,^[136]es:José Manuel Soto, Pastora Soler, Chenoa, David DeMaría.^[137] Other local artists often perform at the weekends in pubs, hotels and other places, specially in the summer.

Gastronomy

Almonte's mediterranean cuisine is pretty varied, but mostly focus on either game meat or fish, for it is a territory where the Atlantic Ocean and the Doñana National Park merge. Wild rabbits, deers, boars and partridges are the most common recipes regarding meat, due to hunting in the Doñana surroundings, a very traditional activity. As for fish, the worldwide-known "gamba blanca" (white prawn) is the signature dish, along with atlantic mackerels and sardines. Berries have also become trendy over the last decades, since it is one of the top berry exporters in Europe^[11][12][14] Concerning vegetables, wild asparagus and beans are quite frequent. There are also many desserts which have a Muslim origin and whose main ingredient is honey, a traditional ingredient of the zone. Some of the most typical dishes include:^[138]

• Stuffed atrichokes

It is a traditional recipe consisting of artichokes stuffed with jamón, garlic, onion, boiled eggs and parsley. Once stuffed, they are wrapped up in breadcrumb and after being stir-fried, they are cooked. There is a separate typical dish in which the hearts are stir-fried with oil, garlic and small ham cubes.

• Caracoles and cabrillas

These are small and big snails, respectively. They are typically eaten in Spring and served in taverns and outdoor establishments, being seldom offered at restaurants. Unlike in certain places of Cádiz, snails are not eaten before drinking its soup in a glass, but rather served straight on a plate. Cabrillas are typically cooked in a sauce, like tomato or others.

• Lamb stew

Lamb recipee usually cooked with vegetables, bread and wine. Offals are often included in the dish.

• Cocido almonteño

This is an original version of the typical Spanish cocido consisting of chickpeas, green beans and pumpkin, along with chicken and beef. It ends up with an orange colour.

• Coquinas a la marinera

Alike typical wedge clams, they are stir-fried with oil, garlic and parsil, but adding onion, tomato, saffron and paprika.

• Stone bass in almond sauce

A sliced salted bass cooked in its soup and complemented with a sauce of fried almond, onion, garlic, bay and wine. Rice or potatoes may be added too.

• Habas Enzapatás

It is a signature dish from Almonte consisting of big broad beans cooked with garlic, pennyroyal or coriander and salt. It can also be found with some different ingredients in neighbouring towns.

• Hallullas

These are crunchy half moon-shaped toasted bread, stuffed with a wide variety of ingredients, the most common being pringá, cod, salmon, chorizo, frigate tuna with tomato, blue cheese and pork.

• Pan bazo

It is the signature bread of Almonte, with a very dense texture and typically sold by local bakery Martín Naranjo,^[139] so they are locally known as "pan de Naranjo" (Naranjo's bread). It also produces the "Roscos Almonteños" breadsticks.

• Stewed partridge

It is the signature game dish in Almonte. Partridges are cleaned and salted. Then they are stir-fried with garlic and paprika. they are finally cooked as a hotpot and served with either rice or chips.

• Pezuñas

It is a local dessert consisting of a hoof-shaped sponge cake, soaked in syrup and filled with pastry cream. Egg yolk cream is then spread on top.

• Poleá con miel

It is a typical Spanish poleá, but in Almonte they often spread some honey and add clove to the original recipe.

• Revuelto de Matalascañas

This is a scrumbled eggs recipee with fresh cod, stir-fried with garlic, onion, bay and parsil.

• Repápalos

These are traditional pieces of wheat, leavening, water and salt fried in olive oil. They can be soaked in hot chocolate, honey or sugar, but can also be eaten alone.

• Goose Marismeña Soup

It is a recipee made of fried goose cooked with several spices which is served over slices of bread soaked in the stew soup. Egg, spearmint and garlic may also be added.

• Marismeña cow with rice

This is another signature game dish from Almonte. Local marismeña cow is used. The meat is cooked with carrots, wine and spices. Then rice is added.

• Doñana Cake

It is one of the most traditional dishes in Almonte. It consists of whipped cream and jelly, dry figs, pine nuts, raisins, almonds, dates, walnuts and honey.

• Almonte's Strawberry Cake

Like the previous dessert, it also has whipped cream and jelly, but mixed with a sponge cake and soaked in syrup and orange or lemon juice. Then it is covered with a layer of organic strawberry jam.

• Raigal Wine ^[140]

It is a dry white wine made in Almonte, using organic zalema grape. It comes in at 10.5% ABV. It has a greenish colour and a soft flavour.

Sports

Almonte’s stable warm weather has made it possible for the town to focus on outdoor sports. The council and different local sport organisations invest great quantities of time and money in promoting sports, having people of all ages participate actively. Many of them have been awarded with gold and silver medals both at a national and international levels, in sports like duathlon,^[141] judo,^[142] cycling,^[143] motocross,^[144] or rhythmic gymnastics.^[145] Another important activities focus on horse riding, with several contests regarding sport but also fashion and horse and camel rental to enjoy natural spaces.^[146][147] Almonte is the only city in eastern Huelva with an olympic swimming pool,^[148] located in the northern sport centre, one of the main ones in the province.

There are three main public centres, two of them in Almonte and a third one in El Rocío. The main one has an area of 43,561m² and is located in the northern part of town. It has two football pitches, three tennis courts, an outdoor olympic swimming pool, an indoor swimming pool and another one for children, a running track and a covered stadium. The second one is “Los Llanos”, in the southern area of town, with four padel courts, a basketball court and a covered court.^[149] A little bit southwards there is an outdoors pétanque boulodrome. Outside town, to the south, there is a motocross circuit and an aeromodelling runway. The third one, called “Campo Municipal del Deporte”, is located in the eastern outskirts of the village of El Rocío. It has a 25-metre swimming pool and another one for children, four basketball courts, two padel courts, an unpaved football pitch and a covered court.^[150] As for the private sector, there are 4 gyms in Almonte, three of them in the main urban core and a fourth one in the Matalascañas resort,^{[151][152][153]} area which also counts with a paragliding club, a saliling and fishing club^[153] and several organisations for horse and camel riding.

Several sport schools also offer training and degree certificates at several levels, for example the Regional Judo School, which provides middle and advanced titles.^[154] Other schools which also offer advannced certificates are football, indoor football, basketball, handball, athletics and lifeguarding.^[154] The “Almonte Balompié” is a top-class football team established in 1985.^[155] Its equipment consists of red t-shirt and socks and blue shorts. It plays both at the Top Andalusian League and Huelva’s Regional League.

Cycle sport also plays a main role in Almonte, both at professional and amateur levels. Local María Isabel Felipe won the European XCM in Laissac (France) in 2023.^[143] Regional cross-country race Huelva Series XCM is often organised in the area^[156] and there are important cycle clubs like Atrochamonte,^[157] which organises MTB marathons like “Doñana Natural”, an annual race started a decade ago. Matalascañas has also a 30-km cycle path which stretches from the easternmost point of the urban area up to Mazagón, a town 25 km to the west.^[158][159]

Hunting, both at a sport level and for animal overpopulation purposes has always played a key role in Almonte, being the main reason behind the establishment of the Doñana National Park, which was for centuries a royal forest. There are more than 700 hunting licenses and three main organisations. Hunters and amateur locals have long been demanding a shooting range in town, for the one located at the coast is restricted to military activities.^[160] Almonte is soon expected to build the first olympic shooting range in the province,^[161] which would host contests both at a national and international levels.

Almonte currently keeps on investing and innovating on sports. The first Inline Alpine Slalom club in Andalusia was founded in 2022, with the first track ever built in the southeastern part of town, within Clara Campoamor park.^[162] The town participated in the Spanish Cup in Barcelona and got the 1st position in the masculine U11 category.^[163]

Sister cities

Almonte has six twin towns^[164] established in the last decades, the more recent ones being Clare and Céret. They share different cultural activities and economic deals with each other. Sanlúcar de Barrameda, for example, shares frontier with Almonte, being separated by the Guadalquivir river and Sanlúcar's filial confraternity is one of the first to participate in Almonte's pilgrimage and holiday, El Rocío. Baler was the city where some Spanish soldiers, including one from Almonte, got surrounded by the Filipinos during the Spanish American War. Clare was the first Australian town to apply for membership to El Rocío, becoming a filial confraternity. Farsia's adhesion to the list focuses on some exchange programmes by which Sahrawis spent their summer holidays in Almonte, being hosted by local families, as a sign of solidarity with this African community.

Céret (France) / Clare (Australia) / Farsia (Western Sahara) / Baler (Philippines) / La Estrada (Spain) / Sanlúcar (Spain)

Cinema

Almonte, thanks to its diverse and extensive territory, has been set for several films, shorts, documentaries, TV programmes and shows. Key landmarks include its long beaches, the village of El Rocío^[165] and the dunes inside the Doñana National Park.

Schools

Almonte has 28 schools, from which 13 are elementary schools, 7 primary schools and 3 high schools. "I.E.S. Doñana" is the largest high school in the region, located in the northern part of town. More than 1,300 students and around 110 teachers work there. Neighbouring high school "I.E.S. La Ribera" is also in this area. Almonte is the only town in Huelva, excluding the capital, with an Official School of Languages.^[178] It has also 3 public libraries.

Transportation

The main road to get to Almonte is motorway A-483, a turn-off at km49 of motorway A-49, between Seville and Huelva. It bypasses Almonte and passes by El Rocío, ending at the Matalascañas resort, in the Atlantic coast. Secondary road A-484 departs from Bonares and get to Almonte, passing by neighbouring Rociana. Secondary road A-474 connects Almonte to Seville, passing by neighbouring towns Pilas or Castilleja de la Cuesta. Around 20 taxi companies work in Almonte.^[179]

Almonte has a regular bus line to reach its urban areas of El Rocío and Matalascañas. The bus station, in the east part of town, is often busy due to local transport either related to temporary workers going to the berry fields or to summer transport to the beach. It also has regional lines to Huelva and Seville and international lines to Portugal and Romania. The street with busiest traffic is Carretera del Rocío, the main business avenue, where two roundabouts have been installed over the last two decades to smooth gridlocks at rush hour. Busiest road is A-483, which connects Almonte to the Atlantic coast. In the summer, especially at weekend evenings, long-lasting traffic jams are produced in this road. Nearest train station is located 10 km to the north, at neighbouring town La Palma. There is another one in Huelva and high-speed train in Seville. Nearest airports are: Seville Airport (58 km away), Faro Airport (Portugal), 132 km away) and Jerez Airport (144 km away). Almonte has a sailing and fishing club^[181] at Matalascañas resort and a ferry route across the Guadalquivir river that gets to neighbouring fishing town Sanlúcar.

Primary sector

Secondary sector

There were 1,677 manufacturing businesses in Almonte, 561 devoted to car repairing; 284 to restaurants, 232 to construction, 103 to science and 80 to manufacturing.^[180] There are two main industrial states: "El Tomillar", in the south of town, with an area of 110,000m^² and 150 multipurpose units which focus on steel, furniture, meat production, ice, rubber, etc. and "Matalagrana", located between Almonte and El Rocío, with 200,000m^² and chiefly focused on agriculture (berries and honey), with international-scope companies such as Bionest, Atlantic Blue or Fresmiel.

Tertiary sector

Astrophysics

Almonte has an astronomical observatory inaugurated in 2010 by CSIC's astrophysicist and cosmologist Juan P. Mercader. It's located in the CIECEMA (International Centre for Environmental Studies), in the north part of town. It has a 500mm-diameter mirror and a high-resolution CCD camera, being unique in the region.^[193] It's managed by Almonte's Astronomical Association, whose headquarters are in this same building.

Many scientists and amateur people meet nearby the Matalascañas's lighthouse to observe lunar eclipses, for the area has little light pollution and the sky is clear at night. The town of Almonte also organises an event called "Ciencia al Fresquito",^[194] held at night in the summer at park "Clara Campoamor", which is rather elevated. Anyone can use several telescopes to observe the night sky at this event.

Biology

Military technology

Almonte is the only place in Spain where surface-to-air missiles can be launched.^[201] There is a 257-hectare facility and military training area founded in 1981^[202] in a zone known as "Médano del Loro", in the westernmost tip of the coast. Many soldiers are posted to this facility for short-term training and the area appears pixelated on satellite maps, so as to provide privacy and keep it secret. The access to the beach from the road is restricted along a 2.5 km stretch. Patriot and Hawk are some examples of missiles launched from this facility.^[203]