Hermitage of Santa Ana
This chapel is now derelict, but the site on which it stands affords a splendid view of the surrounding mountains.
From its lofty position, it overlooks the whole village. Beneath the whitewash that now covers its walls, remains of their original stucco finish can still be found. This simple building dates back to the 16th century and comprises a single nave crowned with a barrel vault finishing in a half orange formation in the apse; meanwhile, the main chapel features a semi-spherical vault on pendentives. The chapel is finished off with an octagonal pivot crowned by a cone. The exterior includes a porch opened by Roman arches, one on each side, above which a simple niche stands. Its sides are supported by solid buttresses.
Legend has it that beneath the Ermita de Santa Ana, once the highest and oldest parts of the town, there lies a tunnel that no-one has ever found. This passage, so the legend says, leads to the river basin and was therefore used by the Arabs to collect water. Opposite the chapel is an area of flat ground known as "el Allaná" where, some twenty metres above ground level, the rock bears visible signs of doors which, so the popular legend goes, were blocked off..
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Ermitas de Málaga, by Lisardo Guede; Sur Digital.
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