Lucena

Lucena is a city in the province of Córdoba in Andalusia, Spain, which we blitz-visited when picking up our campervan Guaytita on 5 June (2025) in the nearby Antequera (which we did not visit).

We had lunch at the "tres culturas" restaurant, the third one being the contemporary Christian. This big city (second in Cordoba province) was indeed a major Jewish centre from the 9th to the 12th centuries, with the rare distinction of having a Jewish-majority population, as reported by muslim rulers: "a city of many Jews" with "no Gentile in its midst". Its Jewish necropolis is the largest Jewish cemetery in Spain. Seen as a minor Jerusalem, this Jewish influence stopped with the 1148 conquest by the Almohad conquest. It was then conquered by the Crown of Castile in 1240.

It has a noted celebration of Semana Santa for its unique way of carrying the "pasos" in the processions, with sculptures carried on shoulders as nowhere else in Andalusia.