Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Baena

BAENA, a town of Spain, in the province of Cordova, 8 leagues S.E. of the city. It is picturesquely situated, near the River Marbello, on the slope of a hill crowned with a castle, which formerly belonged to Gonzalo de Cordova, and is now the property of the Altamira family. It has four parish churches and three schools, one of which, exclusively for girls, has a high reputation in the province. The education, which is conducted by sisters of charity, does not go beyond reading, writing, arithmetic, and religious instruction. Grain and oil are the principal articles of commerce. The site of the Roman town (Baniana or Biniam) can still be traced, and various antiquities are frequently met with. A subterranean vault was discovered in 1833, containing twelve cinerary urns, with inscriptions commemorating various members of the Pompeian family. In 1292 Mahomet Ibn Aljama vainly besieged the city, the defence of which on that occasion is commemorated by the five Moorish heads in its coat-of-arms. Baena is the birthplace of Juan de Penalosa. Population, about 12,000.