Estepa

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The municipality of Estepa is in the extreme south-east of the province of Seville. Its population was 12.397 inhabitants in 2007.[1] The town is located north of the Sierra del Becerro mountains. It possesses the most ancient past and preserves remains that like that it testify and date back to the prehistoric times, with remains of sílex, axes of stone, etc. A bit later, the remains reveal the accession of the Lybian - Phoenician or Lybian - Punic race; two accessions are known at least, one placed in the place called Los Canterones and other one under the zone where one finds the current Estepa. The historians do not put in agreement on the double denomination with which Estepa was mentioned in the classic sources(fountains), Astapa and Ostippo. According to the most accepted theory toponym was treating itself about one only with two different meanings but always recounted to the current Estepa. In Roman epoch it was Ostippo free city linked to the Conventus de Astigi (Écija). The Roman city should have occupied the high part of the city, but scanty testimonies remain of her(it). It is at this moment when the existing plain fills to the north of Estepa, since it is evidenced by the numerous remains of agricultural developments that suggest be small populations. In the Middle Ages it was sedate of the Masters of the Order of Santiago, conquerors' cradle, as D. Juan Torres de Vera, in the epoch of the Discovery; Marquisate of an extensive territory in the Modern Age; Vicaría General, with jurisdiction vere nullius up to(even) 1.874. And Head of his region, with flourishing industrial push in the current epoch. Estepa is known principally by its production of Christmas sweets, principally mantecado, or traditional Spanish crumble cake. In fact, it possesses 30 shortcake dough factories, of that approximately 20 factories are grouped in the Manufacturers' Association of Shortcake doughs of Estepa, MAKE FAMOUS, that takes charge of looking for officials to help and to give advice, trying to create a good image for the products. 15 other factories are associated in the entity Coexema A.I.E that deals basically with the exportation of products, overcoming every year the volume of exports. All of them employ up to 2,000 people, from September to December, 90% of whom are women, producing about 20 million kilos of Christmas sweets, not only the traditional ones mantecados, polvorones, etc., but also numerous specialties of high confectionery, that are growing more and more popular. Around the mantecado industry has been arising other auxiliary industries; from Graphical Arts, mechanical construction of machinery for feeding, factories, cartonajes, transports, etc., several of them of great importance in the sector. There are also other industries of importance including industrial slaughter house, Limestone Stone, etc. and, by municipal initiative, in the South Mountain range exists the Industrial estate: with more than 140,000 meters of surface distributed in 96 parcels, financed by the organizations Epsa and Sodestepa LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, more than of 50% being occupied by diverse types of industries (Mantecado factories, Oleoestepa, Factories, Warehouses, etc.,). Operating parallel to the industry of the mantecado is that of tourism which has been developed so that in addition to buying these products there, tourists can visit its typical monuments and places. Iglesia de Santa María la Mayor de la Asunción (Church of Santa Maria the Greater of Asunción), the Convento de Santa Clara, and the Convento de San Francis (coconvent of San Francisco) are their more outstanding monuments, next to the Castle, on a Hill that is called the Balcony of Andalusia. hi katie!

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