Calahorra, with about 25,000 inhabitants, is the second town of La Rioja and the capital of the Rioja Baja. It stands on a hill near the confluence of the Cidacos and the Ebro, on a fertile plain famous for market gardens. With over two thousand years of history, it is one of the oldest towns on the peninsula.
History
It was the Celtiberian and later Roman town of Calagurris, famous for resisting Pompey in 72 BC, when its people chose starvation over surrender. It became a Roman municipium, and in the 1st century AD it was the birthplace of the rhetorician Marcus Fabius Quintilianus, author of the Institutio oratoria and one of the great teachers of the ancient world. Tradition says the saints Emeterius and Celedonius, the town's patrons, were martyred here. In the Middle Ages it was a bishopric with an important Jewish community.
What to see
- The cathedral of Santa María, Gothic with Baroque additions, built on the site of the patron saints' martyrdom, with a diocesan museum.
- The old town, with steep lanes and the Judería, the former Jewish quarter.
- The Roman Museum, with finds from Calagurris, including the statue of the Dama de Calahorra.
- The remains of the Roman walls and aqueduct, and the Rasillo de San Francisco, a viewpoint over the valley.
- The Vegetable Museum, devoted to the farming and canning tradition.
- Plaza del Raso and the church of San Andrés.
Vegetable capital
Calahorra is called the "vegetable capital": the Ebro gardens produce peppers, asparagus, artichokes, cardoons, borage and cauliflower, and the town has a long canning tradition. In April it holds the Jornadas de Exaltación de la Verdura, with tastings, restaurant menus and a market.
Festivals and food
Holy Week is of tourist interest, with processions and historic pasos. The patron saint festivities of Emeterius and Celedonius are in late August. Food: menestra de verduras, pimientos rellenos, artichokes, roast lamb and Rioja Oriental wines.
Getting there
Calahorra is about 50 km from Logroño and has a station on the Zaragoza-Logroño-Bilbao line. See also Arnedo.