Estepa
Encyclopedia
Estepa is a municipality in the extreme south-east of the province of Seville
. Its population was 12,397 inhabitants in 2007. The town is located north of the Sierra del Becerro mountains.
Historians do not agree on the double denomination of which Estepa is mentioned in classic sources, as Astapa and Ostippo. In Roman Epoch, it was Ostippo, a free city linked to the Conventus de Astigi (Écija). The Roman city would have occupied the high part of the city, but little evidence remains. Numerous remains of agricultural developments suggest many small populations in the plains to the north of Estepa.
In the Middle Ages, it was home to the Masters of the Order of Santiago, conquerors' cradle, D. Juan Torres de Vera.
Estepa is well known for its production of Christmas-time sweets, mainly mantecado, or traditional Spanish crumble cake, notable for being based in pork fat. Estepa has 30 shortcake dough factories, and 15 factories are associated with Coexema A. I. E., that mainly deals with the export of products. Each factory employs up to 2,000 employees, from September to December, 90% of which are women. The factories produce about 20 million kilos (or nearly 45 million pounds) of Christmas sweets annually.
Other industries are gaining prominence in the area as well, such as Graphic Arts, mechanical constructions, machinery, factories, transports, slaughter houses, lime stone production, etc. South of the mountain range is an Industrial Estate with more than 140,000 meters of surface area distributed into 96 parcels. It is financed by Espa and Sodestepa LLC.
Tourism is also a major part of Estepa's economy. Tourists can visit many monuments and historical places, such as Convento de Santa Clara, Convento de San Francis, a castle, Balcony of Andalusia, and many churches and cathedrals.
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
. Its population was 12,397 inhabitants in 2007. The town is located north of the Sierra del Becerro mountains.
History
Estepa possesses a very ancient past and preserves it's remains well. Some date back to the prehistoric times, with remains of silex, axes of stone, etc. Later, the remains reveal the accession of the Libyan-Phoenician (or Libyan-Punic) race. Two accessions are known, at least; one placed in Los Canterones, and the other under present-day Estepa.Historians do not agree on the double denomination of which Estepa is mentioned in classic sources, as Astapa and Ostippo. In Roman Epoch, it was Ostippo, a free city linked to the Conventus de Astigi (Écija). The Roman city would have occupied the high part of the city, but little evidence remains. Numerous remains of agricultural developments suggest many small populations in the plains to the north of Estepa.
In the Middle Ages, it was home to the Masters of the Order of Santiago, conquerors' cradle, D. Juan Torres de Vera.
Estepa is well known for its production of Christmas-time sweets, mainly mantecado, or traditional Spanish crumble cake, notable for being based in pork fat. Estepa has 30 shortcake dough factories, and 15 factories are associated with Coexema A. I. E., that mainly deals with the export of products. Each factory employs up to 2,000 employees, from September to December, 90% of which are women. The factories produce about 20 million kilos (or nearly 45 million pounds) of Christmas sweets annually.
Other industries are gaining prominence in the area as well, such as Graphic Arts, mechanical constructions, machinery, factories, transports, slaughter houses, lime stone production, etc. South of the mountain range is an Industrial Estate with more than 140,000 meters of surface area distributed into 96 parcels. It is financed by Espa and Sodestepa LLC.
Tourism is also a major part of Estepa's economy. Tourists can visit many monuments and historical places, such as Convento de Santa Clara, Convento de San Francis, a castle, Balcony of Andalusia, and many churches and cathedrals.