A tour of Caudilla, a ghost town in Toledo where there is only one inhabitant left

Today, Spain has 49 million inhabitants, more than in its entire history, but many areas of the country are becoming depopulated.

The Silos de la Atalaya and the Cuevas de los Canutos, the hobbit holes of Toledo
The ghost town of Cuevas de las Quinterías and the Zarzalar Route, in Nerpio, Albacete

These areas, commonly known as "empty Spain," are rural regions that have experienced an exodus to the cities in the last century, seeking more opportunities and better services. An example of this empty Spain is the ghost town of Caudilla, in the province of Toledo, in the community of Castile-La Mancha. This town was once inhabited by 188 residents and had its own town hall, but lost it in 1973, when, after many years of decline, it became part of the new municipality of Santo Domingo-Caudilla, along with the town of Val de Santo Domingo.

The history of Caudilla dates back to the times of the Reconquista, when this place was repopulated by people from what later became known as Old Castile and is now Castile and León. The oldest document about Caudilla dates back to 1216, according to the Santo Domingo-Caudilla City Council. Today, most of the town is in ruins, but there is still one inhabitant and some houses are occasionally inhabited by their owners. The always interesting YouTube channel Aventuras Entresierras (which I recommend subscribing to) has published a video touring this town (the video is in Spanish but has an English audio track, which you can activate in the bottom bar of the player):

You can see some screenshots from this video here. The tour begins at an old house whose facade still retains some of its former grandeur. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of its interior, as you'll see in the video.

The second stop is Caudilla Castle, also known as Rivadeneyra Castle, as it was built by order of Hernando de Rivadeneira, Marshal of Castile, between 1449 and 1450. All that remains is a circular tower, with an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus at the top, and some vestiges of its keep.

The next stop on the tour is the Church of Santa María de los Reyes, a single-nave Catholic church built between the 16th and 18th centuries. It's now in ruins, and its entrances are sealed.

Finally, we see the Hermitage of Christ of Oblivion, a small Catholic church now abandoned. Its image of Christ of the Forgotten is currently in the parish of Santo Domingo-Caudilla. The hermitage was built in 1727 and is adjacent to the town cemetery.