Presentation

Jaén is a literary province. A land that, throughout centuries, has been linked to the Spanish literary creation, whether being the cradle of popular writers, a place of residence for poets, literary men and mystics, or the setting where a novel or verses of a novel developed or were inspired in. Universal poets and famous storytellers have found in the landscapes and towns of the province of Jaén the ideal setting to develop their works. Our land, our mountains and rivers, our olive groves and fields, its people, its popular culture and its romantic legends have been immortalized in the pages of Spanish literature.

The literary heritage linked to the province of Jaén is substantial. We are talking about leading figures in Spanish literature such as Cervantes or Quevedo; of universal poets such as Miguel Hernández or Federico García Lorca; of great authors, whether they are classics such as Jorge Manrique, Teresa de Ávila, or San Juan de la Cruz or contemporaries who have their roots in Jaén, such as Eslava Galán, Manuel Andújar or Patrocinio Biedma; of manuscripts such as “Cántico Espiritual”, of passages from “Los Episodios Nacionales” by Pérez Galdós located in the province or of the Andalusian travels of Camilo José Cela; of scenarios such as “Los campos de Baeza” by Machado or “Mágina” by Muñoz Molina. There is an endless number of examples of literary figures closely connected to Jaén. The Literary Atlas of the Province of Jaén, edited by Institute of Jaén Studies offers complete and detailed information on this historical link between Jaén and literature.

Presentation

We invite you to enter the province of Jaén through eight literary routes. An initial proposal that you can combine with the many other Jaen tourist offers of culture, heritage, nature or gastronomy.

Eight proposals with authors of universal dimension that are grouped into five historical moments: Pre-Renaissance (Jorge Manrique), Mystics (Santa Teresa de Jesús and San Juan de la Cruz), Generation of 98 (Antonio Machado), Generation of 27 (Federico García Lorca , and Miguel Hernández), and Contemporaries (Juan Eslava Galán and Antonio Muñoz Molina). Great writers united by a common factor: the lands of Jaén, its landscape, its people, its traditions and its history.

These “literary routes through the province of Jaén” allow you to travel the territory of the province through its literary walks, combining the geographical environment where the authors produce their work, were inspired or influenced by heritage and historical context.

The brief but intense stay in our land the poet from Orihuela and his emotional bond with it left us unforgettable poems and allows us to follow his trail in Jaén capital, Andújar, Lopera and, above all, in the Miguel Hernández-Josefina Manresa Museum in her native town, Quesada.

We can also venture to Sierra de Segura, where the classic poet and author of “Verses on the Death of His Father”, Jorge Manrique, was born, whose memory still lives on in Segura de la Sierra and Chiclana de Segura. Follow the footsteps of Santa Teresa de Ávila and San Juan de la Cruz through the nearby town of Beas de Segura. Continue through Baeza, Andújar and Jaén accompanied by the mystic and visit in Úbeda the cell of the old convent from where he sang Matins to Heaven. Rediscover the fields of Baeza and the city shrouded in mist from the hand of the poet and wonderer, Antonio Machado, without forgetting his time in Quesada. Unveil in Baeza and Jaén the musical facet of Federico García Lorca, a regular at intellectual gatherings of the time. And we will be able to immerse in the literary universe of the Mágina de Muñoz Molina in Úbeda and know the stories and Templar legends that surround every corner of Arjona, collected in the work of its illustrious countryman Juan Eslava Galán.

A wide tourist-literary offer in the province of Jaén with museums and heritage spaces, guided visits, activities, events and gastronomy to rediscover Jaén following the footsteps of our most prestigious poets and storytellers.