Berja is a quiet town at the foot of the Sierra de Gádor, only 14 km from the sea. It does not look like a place with two thousand years of history, but a few kilometres from its centre there is a hill with Roman, Muslim and Christian layers: Villavieja.
Vergi, a Roman town
The Roman town of Vergi stood here, and the studies place its beginnings at least in the second century BC, as part of the province of Baetica. Its wealth came from the mountain behind it: the Sierra de Gádor was rich in lead, a metal that marked the history of the whole area.
Villavieja
Villavieja is an archaeological site about 1.5 km southeast of the town centre. The hill carries a medieval fortified settlement, from the ninth to the fifteenth century, built over the older Roman one. At its foot are the remains of a Roman amphitheatre, together with a sarcophagus and an aqueduct, and the site is protected as a Bien de Interés Cultural.
Local tradition says that San Tesifón brought Christianity to the area in the first century, but there is no document to prove it.
Silk and lead
After the Romans, the Muslims introduced the cultivation of silk, and the mulberry trees and silk workshops were part of the economy of the Alpujarra for centuries. In the nineteenth century came the great lead mining of the Sierra de Gádor, which shaped the villages and the fortunes of the region.
The town today
In the centre, the church of the Anunciación and the arcaded square are the places to sit down and watch the town. Berja is a good base to understand the Alpujarra of Almería: a town with a lot of character, with good tapas bars (see the picks in our guide to Berja).
How to visit
- Villavieja is a short drive from Berja. Ask at the Berja tourism office about access and opening days before you go.
- The best time is the morning or the late afternoon.
Near our routes
Berja is the start of our loops from Berja and of the climbs Puerto de Castala and Alto de Hirmes. In 2009, stage 13 of the Vuelta a España started in Berja, on its way over the Puerto de la Ragua.
Photo of the church of the Anunciación: Ismael Olea (CC BY 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons. Other photos: Ride Almería.