The attractive Andalusian town of Priego de Córdoba nestles among the hills of the Sierra Subbética. It has a colourful and varied past: in the Middle Ages it played a prominent role in both Islamic and Christian Spain; it has been the home of a flourishing textile industry and it possesses one of Spain's most glorious collections of baroque architecture.

Today Priego de Córdoba regularly wins prestigious awards for the outstanding quality of its olive oil. Typically Andalusian in some respects, it nevertheless has a unique character fashioned over the centuries.

However, in the shadow of spectacular cities like Sevilla, Granada and Córdoba, it is little known outside Spain. This engaging, informative and accessible account charts Priego's fluctuating fortunes, setting its history against the background of developments at a national level and showing how past events have contributed to the creation of the town as it exists today.

This is the first study of Priego to be written in English and is a valuable resource for the historian, tourist or general reader who does not feel confident to tackle the substantial literature which is available on this subject in Spanish. .