CARMONA

town, Seville province, in the autonomous community (region) of Andalusia, southern Spain; it overlooks the Andalusian Plain from its site on a ridge of the Sierra de los Alcores. It originated as Carmo, the strongest town of the Roman province of Hispania Ulterior under Julius Caesar, and was captured from the Moors (who called it Karmuna) in 1247 by Ferdinand III of Castile. Historic landmarks include the Roman walls and towers of the old city, the Gothic Santa Mara church (14241518), the San Pedro church (begun 1466), in the Churrigueresque style, and the ruins of the Alczar de Arriba, which was the citadel of Peter the Cruel (135069). A large Roman necropolis, discovered nearby in 1881, has been excavated. The modern town is a processing and agricultural centre (livestock, fruits, grapes, cereals, olives, and olive oil). Pop. (1981) 22,779.