page_title: Córdoba, Spain
section_title: Festivals
hierarchical_section_title: Córdoba, Spain / Festivals
caption_attribution_description: English: Córdoba, Spain is home to the Patios Festival every year, where residents decorate their interior patios with flowers and open them up to the public to tour. The interior patio is a staple of Córdoba's historical architecture, inherited from the city's Muslim past.
context_page_description: Córdoba, also spelled Cordova in English, is a city in Andalusia, southern Spain, and the capital of the province of Córdoba. It is the largest city in the province, 3rd largest in Andalusia, after Sevilla and Málaga, and the 12th largest in Spain. It was a Roman settlement, taken over by the Visigoths, followed by the Muslim conquests in the eighth century and later becoming the capital of the Caliphate of Córdoba. The city served as the capital in exile of the Umayyad Caliphate and various other emirates. During these Muslim periods, Córdoba was transformed into a world leading center of education and learning, producing notable figures such as Averroes, Ibn Hazm, and Al-Zahrawi, and by the 10th century it had grown to be the second-largest city in Europe. It was conquered by the Kingdom of Castile through the Christian Reconquista in 1236.
  Today, Córdoba is still home to many notable pieces of Moorish architecture such as The Mezquita-Catedral, which was named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984 and is now a cathedral. The UNESCO status has since been expanded to encompass the whole historic centre of Córdoba.
context_section_description: Tourism is especially intense in Córdoba during May as this month hosts three of the most important annual festivals in the city:
  Las Cruces de Mayo (The May Crosses of Córdoba). This festival takes place at the beginning of the month. During three or four days, crosses of around 3m height are placed in many squares and streets and decorated with flowers and a contest is held to choose the most beautiful one. Usually there is regional food and music near the crosses.
  Los Patios de Córdoba (The Courtyards Festival of Córdoba - World Heritage). This festival is celebrated during the second and third week of the month. Many houses of the historic center open their private patios to the public and compete in a contest. Both the architectonic value and the floral decorations are taken into consideration to choose the winners. It is usually very difficult and expensive to find accommodation in the city during the festival.
  La Feria de Córdoba (The Fair of Córdoba). This festival takes place at the end of the month and is similar to the better known Seville Fair with some differences, mainly that the Sevilla Fair has majority private casetas (tents run by local businesses), while the Córdoba Fair has majority public ones.
caption: Interior patio during the Courtyards Festival of Córdoba - World Heritage
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