Sabinillas - Manilva

Between the Manilva River and the border with the province of Cádiz, the lands of this municipality are home to five urban centers, which emerged at different times, among which the population is distributed: the town of Manilva itself, Sabinillas, El Castillo, Hondacavada and the Puerto de la Duquesa, in addition to various urbanizations in constant and orderly growth.

The terrain, now far from the wildness of the interior of the province, announces the orographic characteristics of the nearby Campo de Gibraltar, and thus presents a succession of low-lying hills furrowed by short-course streams that flow directly into the sea (Alcorrín, Martagina, Indiano, Estanquillo…), and on one of those hills, specifically that of the Martyrs, the town is located, less than three kilometers from the coast.

It is known that at least since the 16th century these lands were covered with vineyards, and they continue to be so, although they do not constitute a monoculture, since there are also areas of cereals, vegetables, fruit trees and pastures, the latter being more abundant the closer to the vicinity of the Guadiaro river, next to the province of Cádiz.

The geographical situation of Manilva, very close to the Strait of Gibraltar, has meant that practically all the cultures that have passed through the Iberian Peninsula have also done so through these lands, and there is no doubt that since the Neolithic (in the Sierra de Utrera there are vestiges in some caves from the end of this period, as well as remains from the Bronze Age have been found in the Cerro del Castillo site), in one way or another, in this area there have been human settlements without interruption until today.