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.

Ethnoludic Museum of Galicia (Melga)

Ponteceso

In the town of Ponteceso, in the Bergantiños region, you will find this authentic paradise for lovers of games and toys. More than 4,000 pieces from all over the world make up the collection of this center in which millenary cultures, traditional Galician games and examples of how sports have evolved coexist. Visitors will also have the opportunity to participate in some of the activities organised there, such as plasticine workshops, origami or toy construction. More information here.

Grobit Village

O Grove

The Hobbits, characters created by the writer J.R.R. Tolkien, have distant relatives on A Toxa, the small and famous island located in the Pontevedra municipality of O Grove. Their place of residence, the Grobit Village is a children’s park formed by small houses that seem to sprout from the ground (one of them can be visited), play areas and multicoloured logs. The space is located in a forest park of great natural value inhabited also by a couple of gentle donkeys, always ready to interact with visitors. More information here.

Illa do Covo

Pontevedra

This small river island located in the waters of the Lérez River combines culture, leisure and fun to become another ideal destination for families. There you can find the pieces of the artistic project called Illa das Esculturas, areas for walking and a space for family leisure. It is also the setting for an original proposal called Discovering the Illa do Covo, which encourages participants to discover the artistic and natural heritage of the place through a route guided by eight videos. More information here.

City of Culture

Santiago de Compostela

The complex built on Mount Gaiás offers numerous proposals to enjoy a day of games and fun with the family. The climbing wall and the skate track in the Theatre Garden and the play area in the Parque da Balea will delight children and young people, while those who prefer to walk or relax in green surroundings can do so in the Parque del Lago, the Literary Garden or the Galician Forest. More information here.

Domus

A Coruña

Its more than 150 interactive modules make this museum in A Coruña an ideal place to learn and reflect on human beings in a fun and playful way. At present, because of the covid, it offers three activities (maker@domus, atapuerca@domus and mission@domus) with prior reservation of places for groups of people living together. More information here.

Galician Museum of Toy

Allariz

Among the wide range of museums in the town of Allariz, there is also a place for the world of toys. The Galician Museum of Toy, located in the pazo of the old courthouse, houses a collection of games and toys from very different periods. More information here.

Fernández Pacheco Train Collection

Ourense

The history and evolution of the world of railways is condensed in the more than 4,000 pieces of this collection, which ranges from the first steam engines to high speed. Among its scale replicas there is no lack of mythical trains such as the Orient Express or the machine used by Buster Keaton in the film “The General”. The collection can be visited at the Marcos Valcárcel Cultural Centre. More information here.

Briz Farm

Marín

Lakes, slides, games integrated into nature and spaces for walking come together in an enclosure that until the beginning of the 19th century was part of the possessions of the monastery of Oseira. The place also includes a space called Park of the Senses with five different areas to stimulate the touch (with different textures), the ear (with large musical instruments), the eyesight (with the panoramic views offered by the place), the smell (with aromatic plants) and the taste (with fruit trees). More information here.

Kiko Pastur Magic Museum

Santiago de Compostela

Since November 2020, the world of illusionism has its own monographic space in the old town of Compostela. The magician Kiko Pastur is the driving force and director of this museum where it is possible to observe historical articles and pieces, see reproductions of some of the numbers of the great magicians of history and be surprised by optical illusions that will challenge our minds. More information here.

O Morrazo is also a land of prehistoric heritage. It contains all the petroglyph typologies of the Atlantic style: from circular compositions to depictions of deer, labyrinths or even engravings in which designs of hunting weapons can be seen.

Among the most important ones are those of the Mogor beach, in Marín. It is made up of three sets of works carved into rocks, the Pedra do Labirinto, the Os Campiños and the Laxe dos Mouros. On them one can clearly identify labyrinth-shaped designs, forms that trace back to a common past between the peoples who lived in this area in the three millennia before Christ and those who lived in regions as far away as Syria at the same time.

The Morgor petroglyphs are estimated to be between three and five thousand years old, and are not by far the only prehistoric attractions of the municipality. In Marín there are numerous dolmens, forts and stelae that speak to a very lively past. In recent times there have been attempts to recover at least part of this heritage, ever-present in the southern area of ​​the Galician Community.

It is difficult to determine nowadays what the purpose of these engravings was. The truth is that they are almost always located outside villages and in places that were once natural paths from one village to another, along roads travelled over centuries and, also, at strategic surveillance points. This is the case of the Mogor petroglyphs. From the carved rocks you can enjoy a beautiful view of the Pontevedra estuary, with the beach that gives them their name in the foreground. The time of scanning the horizon in search of enemies is passed, now it’s time to enjoy the view and perhaps, afterwards, go down to the sand for a refreshing bath.

Because one of the most interesting features of this place for the traveller is its location, a few metres from the sea and in one of the most popular beach areas surrounding the city of Pontevedra. In the summer months, sandy ​​Mogor and its neighbours Aguete and Portocelo welcome numerous residents from the province capital who arrive by bus, a line still known today as a “trolley”, because of the old trolleybus. There is also an even more appealing way to access this trio of unique beaches with well-equipped hotel services: using the old coastal road, now converted into a lane specially designed for cyclists, which starts behind another one of the places that makes Marín renowned throughout Spain: the Naval Military School.