Andalusia

Andalusia — the Moorish south. Its deep difference is Al-Andalus: from 711 to 1492 the south was the most advanced civilisation in Western Europe, and after the Reconquest Castile resettled it as vast noble estates — so it carries both the inheritance of Córdoba, Seville and Granada and the latifundia poverty that set it apart from the smallholding Christian north. A land of historic want and emigration, it is also the cradle of flamenco and bullfighting, and a festive culture of Holy Week, the ferias and flamenco's cante jondo gives Spain much of its international image. The Mezquita, the Alhambra and the whitewashed pueblos draw the world, while tourism and farming slowly close the gap with the north.

• Existed: 1238 CE – present
• Type: Entity