Although that was not an easy one, as shown by the modifications that are visible in several points of its walls. In fact, the very existence of the Wall was endangered at various points in its history. Its possible demolition to facilitate the growth of the city, as happened in other towns, was the subject of intense debate during the 19th century, which was happily resolved in favour of conservation.

The scars of the struggle between those who did not see it possible to reconcile progress and heritage conservation and those who defended the importance of respecting history and monuments are still visible. Among these scars, the Bishop Odoario gateway occupies a prominent place. Its opening in the 1920s was precisely what marked the turning point for the protection of the Wall and its subsequent enhancement. 

Ángel López Pérez, mayor of the city in four different periods between 1905 and 1931, carried out the project to open this access with the aim of facilitating transit to the new hospital of Santa María. He followed in the footsteps of similar initiatives undertaken in previous decades to also provide access to other newly created facilities: the train station, through the Station Door (opened in 1875, but rebuilt in 1921); the prison, through the Campo Castelo or Bishop Izquierdo Door (opened in 1887), and the seminary, through the Bishop Aguirre Door (1894).

At the beginning of 1921, coinciding with the laying of the first stone of the Santa María hospital centre, which today houses part of the offices of the Provincial Council of Lugo, Ángel López ordered the dynamiting of the nearest section of the wall in order to build the new passageway. However, the action was met with rejection from the local residents and a complaint that ended up in the courts, as the proper legal channels had not been followed to act in this way on the wall. That legal process was not enough to repair the damage, and although the project was prolonged for several years, finally, in 1928, the last of the accesses opened in the millenary enclosure was inaugurated: the Bishop Odoario Gate.

But the opposition that this new action aroused and the commotion it caused hastened the process for the Spanish government to approve the declaration of the Lugo Wall as a national monument, a process that had begun several years earlier, but which had not progressed at the pace desired by those in favour of protecting the monument. The official agreement was finally adopted on 16 April 1921. Since then, with the exception of occasional work on the existing gates, the structure of the Wall has remained intact and projects have even been undertaken to remove part of the constructions that had grown up around it over the centuries. Nowadays, the Wall is not only a symbol of Lugo, but it has also become a meeting and leisure point for the locals who walk along its parapet and for the tourists who come to the city attracted by its monumentality.

Viveiro

This town in the Lugo region of A Mariña boasts a Holy Week that has been declared a festival of international tourist interest and stands out, among other reasons, for the artistic value of its images, some of which are articulated. The “Paso” of the Supper, created at the beginning of the 19th century by a craftsman using local sailors as models to shape the figures of the Apostles, is more than two hundred years old. The processions of the Last Supper, The Arrest, The Encounter and The Holy Burial are some of the most emotional and colourful of its usual calendar. This year it will not be possible to enjoy them in the street to avoid crowds, but worship will continue in the churches and exhibitions and virtual activities will be organised.

More information at http://semanasantaviveiro.com/

Ferrol

Since 2014, Easter Week in Ferrol has also been recognised as a festival of international tourist interest. From Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, the five brotherhoods of the city organise a total of 24 processions that fill the streets of Ferrol with fervour and colour. The main events take place between the neighbourhoods of Esteiro and A Magdalena on Wednesday, Thursday and Good Friday. This year, these processions will be replaced by alternative events, which will take place in the headquarters of each Easter brotherhood and in the Angustias, Amboage and Contralmirante Azarola Gresillón squares, respecting the sanitary measures and the capacity restrictions established by the authorities.

More information at http://www.semanasantaferrol.org/

Santiago de Compostela

The streets of the city of the Apostle are the unbeatable setting for the development of a Holy Week of regional tourist interest that has undergone an intense revitalisation in recent years, as demonstrated by the fact that Compostela now has more than a dozen brotherhoods. Its members are responsible for organising the 17 processions which recreate the main episodes of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The events planned for this occasion will take place between 26 March and 11 April, although the processions will also be dispensed with in order to avoid the health risks associated with crowds of people. Instead, the activities organised by the confraternities will be moved to their own headquarters and other enclosed spaces where capacity can be controlled and health measures can be complied with.

More information at https://www.semanasantasantiago.es/es/inicio/

Fisterra

The traditional festivities of Easter Week in Fisterra, also declared a festivity of Galician tourist interest, add a singular recreation in this town of the Costa da Morte that year after year congregates thousands of people, becoming the main event of its extensive programme. It takes place on Easter Sunday and the locals themselves are responsible for bringing to life the protagonists of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. As last year, the promoters of the activities have had to cancel the processions and the aforementioned representation, but the liturgical acts planned inside the parish church of Santa María das Areas are maintained, and to avoid that the capacity limitations prevent the faithful and the curious from taking part, the Xunta de Confrarías da Semana Santa de Fisterra will broadcast them live through its space on Facebook.

More information at https://www.facebook.com/semanasanta.fisterra/

Lugo

The celebration of alternative activities centred on the processions that should take place every day is the idea on which those in charge of the board of brotherhoods of Lugo are working to keep Holy Week alive in the city of the wall, a festival also of regional interest. Thus, the neighbours will not be able to see the procession of the Holy Sacrament (a singular event linked to the privilege that the Cathedral enjoys to exhibit it permanently) nor the colourful encounter between Jesus Christ and the Virgin, but they will be able to join, with the consequent capacity limitations, the events that will be organised on special days such as Palm Sunday, and Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. 

More information at http://www.semanasantadelugo.com/es/noticias

Mondoñedo

The processions that take place from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday make Holy Week one of the main festivities in the Mondoñedo calendar and have led to it also being considered a festival of tourist interest in Galicia. Its origins date back to at least the 16th century, and although on this occasion the locals will not be able to take to the streets to attend these acts of great fervour and solemnity, they will be able to go to the monumental cathedral to follow the different masses planned throughout this festive cycle. 

More information at https://www.facebook.com/turismomondonedo

Betanzos

Declared of regional tourist interest in 2017, the Holy Week of Betanzos stands out especially for the processions of Palm Sunday and Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, being the one popularly known as Os Caladiños the most famous of them all. For the second consecutive year, the streets will not be the scene of the traditional route of the “pasos” and the brotherhoods and Nazarenes, but the liturgical acts will keep their spirit alive and the social networks will contribute to their promotion as it happened a year ago, when they were broadcast through the YouTube channel of the Pastoral Unit of Betanzos.

More information at https://www.facebook.com/semanasantabetanzos

Cangas

The artistic value of its “pasos”, some of them articulated to give more realism to the celebration, its antiquity and its roots make the Holy Week of Cangas one of the most outstanding in the province of Pontevedra and also allowed it to be declared of tourist interest in Galicia. Some of its brotherhoods were founded three centuries ago and their work has contributed to the fact that processions such as the Holy Supper, the Denial of St. Peter or the Holy Meeting attract large crowds. None of them will go out this year, but some liturgical acts are maintained and brotherhoods such as the Hermandad de los Dolores y la Soledad encourage residents to decorate their balconies with commemorative flags.

More information at https://cangas.gal/es/areas/turismo/fiestas-y-festivales/semana-santa

Paradela (Meis)

The involvement of the entire parish of Paradela, in the municipality of Meis, Pontevedra, has made its Easter Week one of the most outstanding in Galicia and therefore also of regional tourist interest. The locals themselves become actors for a few days to give life to the main characters of the central episodes of the biblical story: the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, the Last Supper, the arrest of Christ, the trial, the Stations of the Cross…. All of these are re-enactments which, like a year ago, will fall out of the programme of activities on this occasion due to the covid restrictions, although the brotherhood will probably once again take advantage of social networks to organise a Virtual Holy Week.

More information at http://bit.ly/SemanaSantaParadela

Santiago de Compostela

Monuments to St. Francis and the Sacred Heart

The city where he spent a good part of his life houses several of Francisco Asorey’s works. The most visible and important is the monument to Saint Francis of Assisi on which the sculptor worked between 1925 and 1930 to commemorate the seventh centenary of the death of the Italian saint. The sculpture is located in front of the façade of the monastery that the saint himself had ordered to be built at the beginning of the 13th century in Compostela after his pilgrimage to the tomb of the Apostle. In addition, in the courtyard of the Compañía de María school there is a sculpture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus sculpted by Asorey in 1940.

Lalín

Monuments to Loriga and Aller

There are two works by Asorey in the municipality of Lalín, although in this case, unlike the ones in Compostela, they are not religious creations, but two pieces designed to pay homage to two outstanding personalities of the capital of the Deza region. The first, dating from 1933, is dedicated to the aviator Joaquín Loriga, famous for being part of the Elcano Squadron that completed an aerial travel between Madrid and the Philippines in 1926 and for being one of the pioneers of aviation in Galicia. His neighbours had started a popular subscription to give him an aeroplane, but after his tragic death in a plane crash in Madrid they decided to use the money to erect a monument to him, which was commissioned to Asorey and inaugurated in 1933. At the end of the 1950s, the sculptor’s talent was again called upon from Lalín to immortalise in stone another illustrious Lalín native, the mathematician, priest and astronomer Ramón María Aller Ulloa.

A Coruña

Monument to Manuel Curros Enríquez

The gestation of the imposing monument with which the city of A Coruña remembers the writer and journalist Manuel Curros Enríquez lasted almost three decades and was marked by various problems. The death of several important members of the Real Academia Galega (the entity promoting the tribute), doubts about the location of the monument, the fact that the first competition for ideas was not successful and the insufficient funds to undertake the project with which Asorey won the second competition were some of the obstacles that had to be overcome. It was finally inaugurated in 1934 in the gardens of Méndez Núñez, but the initial plan to deposit the ashes of Curros in a space provided for this purpose at the back of the building was never completed.

Samos

Monument to Father Feijóo

The sculpture with which those responsible for the monastery of San Julián de Samos wanted to commemorate the passing through the monastery of one of its most illustrious monks, Benito Jerónimo Feijóo y Montenegro, better known as Father Feijóo (1676-1764) and one of the most outstanding representatives of the Enlightenment, was also awaited. The project had begun in 1935, but had to be put on hold because of the Civil War and was not taken up again until the 1940s. Finally, the statue sculpted by Asorey and placed in the centre of the cloister named after Feijoo himself was unveiled in 1947.

Vigo

Monument to García Barbón

The importance that the businessman and patron of the arts José García Barbón (1831-1909) had in Vigo can be seen in buildings such as the theatre that bears his name and the School of Arts and Crafts. And also in the monument with which the city wanted to show its gratitude a few years after his death to this emigrant who had prospered in Cuba and who, on his return to Galicia, after spending a few years in his native Verín, decided to settle permanently in Vigo. In this case, Asorey designed a large sculpture with the figure of García Barbón seated and the god Hermes presiding over the whole from above. The piece was inaugurated in 1927 by King Alfonso XIII in the avenue also dedicated to the patron of the arts and very close to the house he had lived in the city, but years later it was moved to a roundabout in Isaac Peral street. Another work by Asorey in Vigo is the sculpture dedicated to Eduardo Cabello, the engineer responsible for the works on the city’s port. This piece is located in the Bouzas area and was inaugurated only a year after the García Barbón sculpture.

Pontevedra

Monument to Manuel Barreiro Cabanelas

Manuel Barreiro Cabanelas (1867-1950) is another emigrant who prospered in emigration (Brazil), was noted for his philanthropic works and was immortalised by Francisco Asorey. The important donations he made to the Provincial Hospital of Pontevedra, which allowed it to expand its services on several occasions, led the Provincial Council to promote the construction of a statue in the early 1940s, which has changed its location at least a couple of times, but without ever moving away from the hospital façade. It was originally located above a fountain, but this was removed during one of these changes of location.

Mondariz

Monument to Doctor Rodríguez

Also related to medicine is the sculpture unveiled in Mondariz in 1925. Maximino Rodríguez Fornos was a doctor who died as a result of a fatal infection contracted during his intervention in a complicated childbirth. In homage to his dedication and by popular subscription, Asorey was commissioned to create a piece in which, next to the bust of the honoured man, there are figures that can be interpreted both as Greek gods and as the protagonists of the episode that caused the doctor’s death.

Lugo

Monument to Mayor López Pérez

Mayor of Lugo for four different periods between 1905 and 1931, as well as being a lawyer and president of the Círculo de las Artes, Ángel López Pérez left an indelible mark on the city of the Wall to the point of being honorarily designated “perpetual mayor”. Once again, Asorey was the sculptor chosen to turn into art a tribute for posterity, which can still be seen in Rosalía de Castro Park. The sculpture, which includes a fountain and a pond, was unveiled in 1958, but plans for a neighbourhood tribute to Ángel López Pérez dated back to the early 1930s.

Marín

Statues for the Naval School

The Marín Naval Military School can boast of housing a total of four creations by Asorey. All of them were commissioned on the occasion of the transfer of the Navy’s study centre from Cádiz to Marín and its inauguration in 1943. By that date Asorey had already completed a stone sculpture dedicated to the Virgen del Carmen, patron saint of seafarers, and a bronze statue of Álvaro de Bazán, the famous 16th century admiral. In the following years they would be joined by busts dedicated to two other illustrious mariners: Isaac Peral and José Luis Díez.

Cangas

Monument to Soage

Another of the statues that Asorey sculpted to pay homage to a philanthropist can be found in Cangas. The monument dedicated to José Félix Soage is dated 1924 and would have been placed a year before the inauguration of the market square paid for with the donations of this emigrant in Argentina. The piece consists of a bust of Soage and the image of a sailor holding an oar and is located in the gardens that also bear the name of the philanthropist.

Cambados

Monument to Cabanillas and tributes to Asorey

The town where Asorey was born could not remain oblivious to the legacy of the sculptor. In its streets you can see the monument erected in memory of another illustrious neighbour of the town and to whom he was linked by a relationship of friendship and by various parallels in their careers: Ramón Cabanillas. The so-called “poet of the race” was honoured by the “sculptor of the race” with a piece made up of a large block of stone on a pedestal on which a bust of the writer can be seen. The work, located on the Paseo da Calzada, was inaugurated a year before the death of the sculptor, who shortly afterwards would be the recipient of his own tribute. In this case it was two of his disciples, José Cao Lata and Joaquín Gil Armada, who were in charge of shaping a piece inaugurated in 1965 in the square also dedicated to Asorey and in which, in addition to the bronze face of the sculptor, a replica of one of his most famous creations can be seen: A Naiciña.

Wall and interpretation centre

Declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, the Roman wall is the main symbol of Lugo and by itself it already justifies a visit to the city. Its more than two kilometres long delimit the historical centre of Lugo and turn its adarve into a usual place to walk for neighbours and visitors. A dozen gates allow access to the interior of the city and six staircases give access to the upper part of the wall. In addition, one of the buildings in the historic centre has been fitted out with a Wall Interpretation Centre where the importance and influence of this construction on the history of the city can be seen.

Cathedral of Santa Maria

The beginning of the construction of the Cathedral of Lugo dates back to the 12th century, but the works in the following centuries have led to the appearance of elements of very different architectural styles. The Pantocrator of the North door, the 17th century choir, the chapels of the Virgin of the Big Eyes and of San Froilán and the Holy Sacrament, which is permanently exposed by a papal privilege, are some of the main attractions of this temple.

Domus of the Mitreo

Two decades ago, during the work prior to the construction of the Vice-Rector’s Office of the Lugo Campus of the University of Santiago, the remains of an old Roman house (“domus”) and a space dedicated to religious worship (“mitreo”) came to light. Conveniently preserved and museumised, the Domus of the Mitreo is a space that allows visitors to learn about aspects of both the Roman era and the subsequent evolution of Lugo.

Domus of the Mitreo

Located in the heart of the old town, the Plaza do Campo is one of the main meeting points for the people of Lugo. In its centre you can find the San Vicente Fountain, a baroque piece from which it is a tradition that a couple of times a year wine flows.

Roman Bridge

Of Roman origin, although reconstructed in the 12th, 14th and 18th centuries, this viaduct over the river Miño on the outskirts of the city continued the 19th century route of Antoninus’ itinerary that linked the cities of Lucus Augusti (Lugo) and Bracara Augusta (Braga). Nowadays it is only suitable for pedestrian traffic and besides offering beautiful views of the river it is linked to some leisure areas such as the river promenade.

Thermal baths

Located inside the building of the Spa of Lugo, but can be visited with previous reservation, the Roman baths were built in the year 15 before Christ and are another of the main legacies of that time that have survived until today. You can see the changing room and the different spaces of the bath room.

Rosalía de Castro Park

If the interior of the wall is the heart of Lugo, the Rosalía de Castro Park is its lung. Located outside the city walls, it still occupies a central space of the city and stands out for its gardens, its ponds, its monuments and for the viewpoint from which you can appreciate a beautiful panoramic view of the valley of the Miño river.

Casa dos Mosaicos

The mosaics that decorated an old Roman house built between the 13th and 14th centuries are the main attraction of this museum enclosure where you can also see how the system used by its ancient inhabitants to heat the rooms was.

San Froilán Cemetery

Beautiful pantheons, sculptures of great artistic value and funerary monuments with historical connotations turn the municipal cemetery of Lugo into a space that transcends its main use. For some years now, it has been part of the European Network of Historical Cemeteries and is the setting for guided tours and activities such as concerts and poetry recitals.

“De Tapas”

And to finish this tour around Lugo, there is nothing better than recovering your strength by indulging in one of the most famous gastronomic practices of the city: the “tapeo”. Bars, tascas, taverns and other diverse establishments dress up the consumptions of their clientele with an extensive, varied and tasty offer of tapas whose fame is well known and which also leave an unbeatable taste in the mouth of the visitors.

“Cantares Gallegos” (Galician songs)

Rosalía de Castro. Honored in 1963

This work by Rosalía de Castro is one of the founding texts of the galician literary renaissance and constitutes a complete declaration of love for Galicia. Among its verses its landscapes, its inhabitants, its customs and the traditional way of life are reflected. Some of his poems allow us to get closer to specific places and moments, such as the celebration of the pilgrimage of Nosa Señora da Barca, in Muxía. The importance of “Galician songs” is so great that the election of May 17th as the Galician Letters Day is precisely because it was that day in 1863 when the first copy of the work was published.

“Guía de Galicia” (Galicia Guide)

Ramón Otero Pedrayo. Honored in 1988

“This book appears inspired by the ambitious desire to be the friend and comrade of the traveler who arrives in Galicia with an open spirit to natural and artistic beauties, to present and past realities.” This is how Otero Pedrayo describes his “Galicia Guide” in the prologue of this work, which includes itineraries to tour this land stopping at its places of greatest interest. First published almost a century ago and in spanish, the work maintains its interest by the erudition of the author and the validity of many of its contents.

“As cruces de pedra na Galiza” (The stone crosses in Galiza)

Alfonso Daniel Rodríguez Castelao. Honored in 1964

The search for cultural links between Galicia and other Celtic peoples led Castelao to undertake a study of the crosses and other similar constructions that would last for much of his life. “The stone crosses in Galiza”, a work published posthumously in 1950, continued the work that Castelao had dedicated to the crosses of French Brittany and to previous works, such as the speech prepared on the occasion of his entry into the Royal Galician Academy. The descriptions of crosses, souls boxes and calvaries and the dozens of illustrations that accompany them make this book an indispensable reference manual for lovers of popular art.

“Queixumes dos pinos” (Wailing of the pines)

Eduardo Pondal. Honored in 1965

The pines that give title to this book of poems and its most famous verses (those that form the Galician Hymn) are one of the many elements of his native Ponteceso visible in this work by Eduardo Pondal. The Camelle coast, the landscape of Monte Branco, the oak grove of Verdes, the Dombate dolmen and the course of the Anllóns river also populate these pages devoted to the lands of the Bergantiños region and its surroundings.

“A cociña galega” (The Galician cuisine)

Álvaro Cunqueiro. Honored in 1991

Álvaro Cunqueiro was a prolific author with an overflowing imagination and was also passionate about good eating, as he reflected in several of his works. In “A cociña galega” he makes a detailed review of the main ingredients and dishes of the gastronomy of this land, touring all of Galicia in search of traditional rites, such as pig slaughter, and seasoning its pages with innumerable anecdotes.

“A Esmorga” (The revelry)

Eduardo Blanco Amor. Honored in 1993

Although it is a work of fiction, “A Esmorga” is also an open door to the city of Ourense, in whose streets the main events of the revelry of its three protagonists take place. The Burgas, the San Cosme Fount, the Corregidor Square, the Alameda and other places of the city, renamed Auria in the novel, appear on its pages, which has led the city council to design a route today tourist following in the footsteps of the characters from Blanco Amor.

”Guía de Galicia para el Turista” (Galicia Guide for the Tourist)

Eladio Rodríguez González. Honored in 2001

The publication that the poet, journalist and lexicographer Eladio Rodríguez wrote for the Galician Hotel and Innkeepers Association dates back to 1917. The volume includes descriptions and recommendations of the main cities and towns in Galicia and, as the Otero Pedrayo’s guide, it allows us to see how much all these places have changed.

“Arrodeos e desvíos do Camiño de Santiago e outras rotas” (Detours of the Camino de Santiago and others routes)

Uxío Novoneyra. Honored in 2010

Folgoso do Courel, his native municipality, was the setting that inspired many of the verses of this great poet, but his poems were captivated by many other landscapes throughout Galicia. This volume collects those verses linked to each other because they were inspired by emblematic places of the different routes of the Camino de Santiago such as O Cebreiro, Compostela or Fisterra.

“Santiago de Compostela. Guía de sus monumentos e itinerarios” (Santiago de Compostela. Guide of its monuments and itineraries)

Xosé Filgueira Valverde. Honored in 2015

The dissemination of Galician heritage occupied a large part of the literary production of who, among many other positions, he held the direction of the Museum of Pontevedra for almost half a century. One of his first publications in this field was this Compostela guide, published in the early 1930s, which allows us to see what the city was like almost a century ago.

“Terra Chá”

Manuel Maria. Honored in 2016

As its own name indicates the native region of Manuel María is the central theme of this collection of poems. The landscapes around the Miño river, monuments such as the Torre de Vilalba or the Pazo de Sistallo and the evocation of traditional pilgrimages such as that of the Virgen de la Saleta, in San Xiao de Mos (Castro de Rei) nourish this collection of poems. They were published for the first time in 1954 and have also inspired a route through the area that has as its starting point the author’s house museum, located in Outeiro de Rei.

“Hemingway en Galicia” (Hemingway in Galicia)

Carlos Casares. Honored in 2017

Carlos Casares’ admiration by Ernest Hemingway, a writer who was linked to him by narrative and stylistic ties, was translated into this work. Casares traced through Hemingway’s letters and texts the steps through this land gave by the author of titles such as “The old man and the sea”, a work that Casares translated into Galician. Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, Ourense, Vigo and Noiaare some of the places that Hemingway recommends to visit to friends and colleagues.

“Lugo”

Antón Fraguas. Honored in 2019

The ethnography, geography and history of Galicia in general and of those places through which he passed at different stages of his life in particular were the main areas of literary creation and dissemination of Antón Fraguas. To the city of Lugo, where he lived in the 1950s, he dedicated one of his most important works, a monograph in which he combined a review of the history of the city with a description of its most important monuments and celebrations.

“Galicia”

Ramón Piñeiro. Honored in 2009

The texts of Ramón Piñeiro, a key figure in “galeguismo” and the dissemination of Galician culture, are combined in this volume with the photographs of Víctor Vaqueiro to invite the reader to a tour of a land that the author defines as “a country of humid Europe, an Atlantic crossroads between the north and south of the continent ”.

Legend has it that San Froilán managed to tame a hungry wolf with his words and make him his travel companion. In the celebration in his honor as patron of the city, the concerts will be the star dish of the menu with which the organizers will satisfy the public’s desire for fun. Among those present there will be not only inhabitants of Lugo and its surroundings, but also neighbors of many other parts of Galicia that have the celebration marked in red in their calendars.

During the nine days of celebrations (from October 4th to 12th) there will be half a hundred musical performances that will be distributed between the Horta do Seminario (the 6 main attractions), the Plaza de Santa María (27 proposals) and other spaces of the city (16 concerts). The local groups will have a special role throughout the San Froilán sharing the stage with leading artists from the Galician, national and international scene, representatives of the most varied styles. Sés, Dulce Pontes, La Habitación Roja, Los Enemigos, Familia Caamagno, Don Patricio, NAO, Ray Gelato & The Giants, Tanxugueira, and Def con Dos are some of the bands of the large San Froilán 2019 cartel.

In addition, to regain strength, the wide range of local cuisine will be reinforced one more year by the traditional stands, where the star dish will be the octopus. Strolling through the fairground and tasting delicious portions of the popular cephalopod is another of the appointments that everyone who attends the Lugo parties must meet. The proposals focused on children, grouped under the name of San Froilanciño, and other classic activities, such as those that will be held on Domingo das Mozas in tribute to traditional Galician music and costumes, will not be missing.

And for those who want to escape for a while from the party, Lugo offers a rich architectural and historical heritage to enjoy. Walking through the wall, relaxing in any of the city’s squares, entering its Cathedral or visiting other spaces such as the Provincial Museum of Lugo and the hot springs are just a small sample of other attractions of a celebration that turns the start of autumn into a party.

More information here.

Christmas Market of Santiago de Compostela

The Christmas Market of Santiago de Compostela opened on Carreira do Conde street this past December 2nd and will be available until January 6th. It is worth consulting its website to check the hours at which they carry out activities, intended for children, among which are workshops to make cork objects, refrigerator magnets, or Christmas cards, popular games and classes taught by the market’s own exhibitors. Among them there are artisans that work wood or leather, or make toys, jewelry or decoration pieces.

Besides this, artists and artisans join each year at the Mercado da Estrela (“Star’s Market”), which is held halfway between the Museo do Pobo Galego and Plaza 8 de Marzo, in Compostela. Its sixth edition begins today, Friday, and lasts until Sunday the 17th, bringing together creators of handmade design products and also gourmet food producers, artists and painters, new musicians who offer intimate concerts… An ideal occasion to buy a creative, original and unique present for this Christmas.

Christmas Village in A Coruña

In A Coruña the center of Christmas activity is the María Pita square, occupied these days by a beautiful town made of snow-covered houses and colourful lights. In this area activities for children, theatre, magicians’ performances, concerts or workshops take place. In the Christmas Village, attractions for children have been installed, such as a carousel, a train, inflatables, a Ferris wheel, a snowboard simulator and various games.

Market in the Rúa do Príncipe in Vigo

The Rúa do Príncipe, in the centre of Vigo, has been the stage of a Christmas market for years, organized by the merchants of the area. Located on this occasion on London Street, behind the MARCO museum, it has an interesting representation of organic food producers, as well as food and craft stalls. It will be open until January 5th. It is also convenient to keep up with the local press, since in the city several Christmas-related  markets and activities are carried out in neighbourhoods such as Bouzas or Coia and in some shopping centres.

Nadalear in Pontevedra

Pontevedra holds from the 16th of December until the eve of the Wise Men day (January 5th) a Christmas market located in the Teucro square, in the historic center. The city has an intensive  program for these dates with concerts, theatre, charity galas and a festival of Christmas carols that are sung, as they were in the old times, in the taverns of the monumental area.

Market in San Marcos Square in Lugo

Lugo will also have a crafts market this Christmas. It will be assembled in the centric San Marcos Square and will be open from December 21st to January 5th. The visit to this exhibition can be complemented with the numerous activities programmed for children and adults, including artistic walks along the Original Way to Santiago, music, puppets and exhibitions in the old city jail or in the spectacular Interactive Museum of History of Lugo.

Between the eleventh and twelfth centuries, with most of the Iberian peninsula dominated by the Muslims, this art, the first entirely European, took root in the Cantabrian coast. The five Galician cathedrals are among the finest examples of the style.

Undoubtedly, the most visited one nowadays is the Cathedral of Santiago, seat of the Archbishopric of Santiago. Although construction on the old hill of Libredón began right after the discovery of the body of the Apostle in 814, the works on the existing church began in 1075 under the orders of a certain Bernardo the Old. Its original entrance, the Portico da Gloria of Maestro Mateo, is surely the most perfect example of Romanesque sculptural art and is currently in the process of restoration. The three tall and slender naves of the temple defy the prejudice that the architecture of the time was dark, mysterious.

The construction of the Cathedral of Mondoñedo started in the twelfth century. It is unmistakable because of the spectacular rose window that gives light to the main nave. Located today in a quiet village in the north of the province of Lugo, the beginning of its existence was anything but tranquil. In fact, its current location is not the original one: the bishopric was located a few kilometers north for three centuries, in San Martiño de Mondoñedo, closer to the sea, a location that was too exposed to frequent attacks of Norman pirates and Vikings. Today Mondoñedo shares with Ferrol the status of capital of the dioceses.

A little further south, less than an hour by car, is the Cathedral of Lugo, closely linked to the Jacobean Route. Also begun in the 12th century, its neoclassical facade looks soberly towards the Gate of Santiago, the entrance point of the pilgrims to the interior of the Roman wall. It is quite an experience to climb to the old bell tower and see, from the top and beneath the bells, the city at your feet and the mountains, often snowed, to the east.

Following the line towards the south is the Cathedral of Ourense, dedicated to San Martiño, saint of great devotion in Galicia. It was consecrated in 1188 and its southern facade, overlooking the Praza do Trigo, with its battlements, its Romanesque door and its clock finished in the XIV, immediately transports those who look upon it to the medieval past. Around it, the years wove a labyrinth of streets that make up old ​​Ourense, plentyfull of other type of more profane temples, those of the gastronomy.

Finally there is the cathedral of the border, the Cathedral of Tui. Today it shares the capital status with Santa Maria de Vigo. Its situation in an elevation on the Miño river, overlooking Portugal, conferred it that characteristic appearence of a church-castle. Although most of the building was finished in 1180, the addition a century later of a spectacular Gothic entrance made it unique in Galicia.

Granite and Romanesque characterise the five episcopal sees of Galicia. We could add to them other Cathedrals, those of Ribadeo, carved by the sea on the coast of slate. But that’s another story.

These festivities, held every year around 5th October (patron’s day), last for little more than a week. This year is between 4th and 12th October when they take place, although some of the events that are part of the San Froilán are extended more days.

They are also one of the oldest festivals of the peninsula, as they date from 1754, the year in which they began to make a popular celebration to accompany the religious festivities that had taken place since many years before, and such is the importance which have been achieved over the years that, in 2006, received the cataloguing of Festivals of National Tourist Interest.

Among this year’s concerts are the concerts of Goran Bregovic, Rosa Cedrón, Guadi Galego, Sés, Iván Ferreiro and Los Secretos, which will give the musical point to the desire of joy; but there is also time for other activities, such as “tapas” tastings, book presentations, magic shows and a wide variety of sporting events.

It is worth mentioning the “Domingo das Mozas”, the Sunday next to the saint’s day, in which the Galician folklore and the traditional costume of the community are honoured. This day is, perhaps, the most important of the celebrations of San Froilán. It is, of course, the most multitudinous.

In addition, until October 15, the IV GASTROARTE Handicraft and Gastronomy Fair will take place, in which many artisans arriving from all corners of Galicia and outside Galicia will exhibit their products. In another part of the city, another fair, the Antiques and Collectibles Fair. There are options for everybody.

And for the little ones, “San Froilán Miúdo”, a series of activities planned for them and that include workshops, games, theatre and music.

But you cannot speak of San Froilán without mentioning its traditional octopus huts, which offer this delicious delicacy in its most traditional recipe during the days of festivities and even in the days before and after as well. There are thousands of people who come every year to try the octopus here. This year, you have until 1st November to approach and taste it.

Finally, the last day is reserved for the Medieval Fair in the Cathedral Square and its surroundings, which is a trip to the Middle Ages for anyone who visits and ends with a medieval banquet followed by a pyrotechnic show give the golden point to a holiday difficult to forget. Who knows it, also knows that.

So before ending the holiday season this year, it is imperative to go through Lugo. You will not regret.

It was Paulo Fabio Maximo who, in the 13th year BC, founded the city of Lugo, formerly called “Lucus Augusti” (in honour of Emperor Cesar Augustus). It was therefore necessary to build a wall to defend the city from enemy attacks, also building, along its route, almost a hundred towers (today almost seventy are preserved). However, it is not until the 3rd century AD. that ends with the construction of what is nowadays one of the most important monuments in the world. Although in its beginnings five doors were open in the wall, along the years they opened more (until arriving to ten), while houses were constructed in the holes of the towers. The wooden doors at each entrance remained in place for centuries, and disappeared definitively in 1877, leaving free access to the interior walls.

In its origins, the wall also had a moat about 20 meters wide and an intervallum, which was a kind of interior walk between the wall itself and the buildings that had been built inside. These two elements were a complement to the time of defending the city. But besides being an element of defence, the wall also delimited the charter and, therefore, the taxes to collect.

Inside, the oldest urban settlement of our community and main axis of the three juridical convents that conformed Gallaecia in the time of the Roman Empire. In the eighth century it suffered the Muslim occupation, being reconquered again by Alfonso I years later. Its great development took place, however, in the twelfth century, when it became a place of passage for the pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago, maintaining its grandeur until the year 1528, in which King Carlos I decided to name the capital city of the Kingdom of Galicia. Curiously, it is from here that begins a decline that lasted until the eighteenth century, when it begins to grow again and endowed with economic, cultural and institutional improvements that over time made it modernized and reached again its historical importance as an urban centre.

Nowadays, the wall is extraordinary conserved being, besides, the unique Roman wall of the world that remains whole. This is why it is quite common to find people walking over on a walk of just over two kilometres in which, in addition to enjoying exceptional views, one ends up leaving aside the time to feel that it is part of the Imperial Rome.

What makes this wall special is, therefore, the fact of resisting today intact. Perhaps for this reason it was declared National Monument in 1921 and, in the year 2000, it received the title of World Heritage Site. In addition, in 2007 he twinned with the Great Wall of China of Qinhuangdao.

We are, finally, on a place whose great cultural and historical wealth makes the visit worthwhile from beginning to end.