The fiestas honouring the Virgen de la Estrella are remarkable for the medieval.
Style horse races that occur in may. This secular fiesta which is rooted in medieval horse tournaments and whose only prize is the honour of rendering homage to the patron saint of Sabiote, begins with the call from the festivities Marshall (on horseback and carrying the standard of the Santísima virgin) to the population to participate in the race. With the horsemen filing two by two and dressed in regional style, the show begins.
On the same day the pilgrimage of the Virgen de la Estrella is held. The acts in honour of the patron saint begin at night. After the fireworks, the statue of the Virgin is paraded through the streets of the accompaniment of the “mayos” (canticles that are unusual in being genuine folk music and lyrics) to transfer it to the hermitage of San inés where the Eucharist is celebrated. After the mass the Brotherhood offers bread and oil, green beans and wine to all those present.
Sabiote castle
Sabiote, which together with Ubeda and Baeza forms the so-called Renaissance Triangle of Andalusia, is one of the most charming towns in Spain. It has two sharply differentiated parts: first the walled enclosure which has been declared a joint national historical and artistic complex and second, the rest of the village, whose streets come out from the walls and from a sizable level and cheerful village in the outlying areas. The whole village though revolves around its imposing Castle. You should begin your tour from the Pasaje de los Torreones and go on to the Granada and Santa María Gates until you get to the Castle, which was reconstructed in the sixteenth century over tha Arab fortress. In the interior of the walled compound the old neighbourhood of El Albaicín awaits you with its narrow crooked streets that form an enchanting maze. Outside the walls, your tour will bring you to the church of Santa María and the Carmelitas Descalzas Convent. Afterwards stop at the palace-house of Los Moreno de Villena or at the hermitage of San Ginés de la Jara.
