The Town Hall of El Valle

Ayuntamiento de El Valle administers a distinctive municipality in El Valle de Lecrín region, in the province of Granada. It is made up of three urban centres —Restábal, Melegís and Saleres— that shared their fate for centuries and in 1972 came together as a single local entity: El Valle.

Origins

Settlement of the area dates back to Roman times, but it is during the Islamic period (8th to 15th centuries) that the three centres take on their present form. The Arab irrigation channels, the Nasrid layout of Saleres, the thermal baths of Restábal and the place names —Melegís, Saleres— bear witness to an agricultural landscape shaped by Andalusi culture: orange, olive and almond trees, and water at the source to sustain an entire hillside.

Reconquest and Mudéjar art

After the Christian conquest (1492) and the subsequent Morisco rebellion of 1568–1569, the old mosques were transformed into Mudéjar churches: the San Juan Evangelista Church in Melegís —designated Site of Cultural Interest—, the San Cristóbal Church in Restábal and the Santiago Church in Saleres preserve 16th-century structure, coffered ceilings and decorative elements over Nasrid foundations.

Formation of the municipality

In 1972, the three villages were united in a single council seated in Restábal. The name El Valle reflects exactly that shared identity: a municipality that exists as the sum of its three villages.

Today

With around 970 registered inhabitants and an area of 23.6 km², El Valle manages an annual budget of close to €1.2M, a council of 7 councillors, and the municipality’s basic public services. The Municipal Seat is located at Avda. Andalucía 34 in Restábal, the administrative capital.