(We recently received this very nice email from one of our clients about their reasons for buying their Villa in Spain repeated below for you to read, Karla)
You recently asked me to let you know of the reason why I decided to purchase a Clover Estates Villa and move to Limaria.
Spain celebrates Easter Week like nowhere else in Europe, with the most luxurious and extravagant Semana Santa or ‘Holy Week’ celebrations being held in Seville, Andalucia. The religious spectacle takes place between 16 and 23 March this year, starting on Domingo de Ramos (Palm Sunday) and ending on Domingo de Resurrección (Easter Sunday), so is already upon us. The Semana Santa in Seville draws huge crowds of spectators numbering upwards of one million for the climactic scenes.
The elections to the regional parliament of Andalucia took place on 9 March 2008 and the outcome is now known. Although the status quo was largely maintained, there was a marked shift in voting which sets up the prospect of an historic win for the opposition in the not too distant future if they can consolidate and build on recent progress.
There are a total of 109 parliamentary seats in the chamber, representing the people of Andalucía’s eight provinces. Each province is allocated a minimum of eight seats, with the remaining 45 seats distributed amongst the provinces in line with population figures. More than 6.2 million people were eligible to vote in the 2008 regional election and, although slightly down on last year’s figure, turnout was high at 73.65%.
I previously reported that Clover Estates were going to attend the World’s largest exhibition of overseas property, appropriately titled ‘A Place in the Sun’, on Friday 29 February 2008 - Sunday 02 March 2008. Now that the event has completed, I thought it an opportune time to provide some feedback from our sales consultants who attended the show.
Continuing my blog about the Mediterranean Diet
If you are looking to benefit from more than just the fantastic climate and clean air in Andalucia, the ‘Mediterranean diet’ might be just what the doctor ordered. It combines the basics of healthy eating with the delicious flavours of the locally sourced foodstuffs. Although there are a variety of Mediterranean diets, with each one being specific to a particular country or region in the area, the Andalucian diet has all the healthy characteristics found in the common Mediterranean dietary plan. These are:
Ferias and fiestas are the local fairs and celebrations which are usually held in honour of a patron saint, or to celebrate a religious festival. The ‘feria’ (Latin for ‘free day’) dates back to ancient Rome and signified a day on which people were not obliged to work. As Christianity spread, the Christian Church established its own dates for ferias (feast days) when Christians were required to attend Mass. As these gatherings became more established, they developed into the festivals we know today and were fixed on saints’ days.
Clover Estates are excited to be attending the World’s largest exhibition of overseas property at the Manchester Central (formerly GMEX/MICC) on Friday 29 February 2008 - Sunday 02 March 2008. There is always a terrific atmosphere at these shows, with prospective clients keen to benefit from the wealth of experience on hand. Celebrity guests will include the presenters from A Place in the Sun who will be offering advice and sharing their experiences of buying property abroad.
The Romeria de la Virgin Saliente, takes place every year on the 7th/8th September. (A Romería is a Spanish religious pilgrimage. The word “Romería” comes from “romero”, meaning those travelling towards Rome. It is a Catholic celebration that consists of a trip or peregrination that ends at a sanctuary or hermitage. It is not necessarily always a trip, but in some cases a celebration that lasts all day long.)
To the north of Albox, atop the Sierra de Las Estancias mountain range, is the Monastery of the Virgin of the Saliente (now declared a monument of artistic and historical importance). The monastery, built to grand proportions, was commissioned by Bishop Claudio Sanz Torres y Ruiz de Castañedo in 1769, and constructed on the site of a primitive hermitage.
It contains the image of the Virgin of the Saliente (Virgin Mary), represented by a beautiful 60cm statue consisting of five elements, distinctive of apocalyptic iconography and referred to in The Book of Revelation Chapter 12.
