Cortijo

A cortijo is a type of traditional rural dwelling (akin to the German Bauernhof, also known as a farmhouse in English)[1] in the southern half of Spain, including all of Andalusia and parts of Extremadura and Castile-La Mancha.

[2] Cortijos may have their origins in ancient Roman villas, for the word is derived from the Latin cohorticulum, a diminutive of cohors, meaning 'courtyard' or inner enclosure.

[3] They are often isolated structures associated with a large family farming or livestock operation in the vast and empty adjoining lands.

In certain desolate areas of the southern Central Meseta, Extremadura and Sierra Morena, a cortijo would be the only inhabited center for many miles around.

[4] Many cortijos became deserted following General Franco's Plan de Estabilización and the abandonment of traditional agricultural practices by the local youth, including the lifestyle changes that swept over rural Spain during the second half of the 20th century.