These historic villages have gained a romantic reputation for their idyllic looking clusters of whitewashed buildings, often clinging to rugged hillsides seemingly stacked one upon another. Their whiteness alone appears striking in the blazing Andalusian sun, and to be sure, the white surfaces function to reflect the intense heat. But there is another important purpose behind the historical whitewashing of these villages.
Since Roman times, these same villages used pulverized limestone in public constructions, paint and home maintenance in part for its known antiseptic and disinfectant properties. They consistently used powdered lime in burials as well, to prevent viruses and germs from surfacing, especially in historical times of pandemic outbreaks.