Four fountains and a chapel

 We are starting the day in 2008. It is a wonder of the age how the road system has been upgraded to make rural Spain more connected to the rest of it, allowing life to return to villages which had declined during the 60s and 70s.   We are heading down to a valley with a single track rail line. The line goes from Gijon to Laviana - which lies to the South West of Oviedo.





We are heading towards Fontaciera.  142 people live here//  Wiki is sure it is full of many things to see:

  • The Chapel of San Roque in Fontaciera (  17th century ).

  • The Holy Fountain

  • The Vilorteo Fountain

  • Xuan de Arrollo Washhouse Fountain.

  • Round Fountain

  • Vilorteo






We have missed the festival of San Roque, which was celebrated on the weekend after Begoña de Gijón's day (15 August). In other words, last weekend.  The festivities last 3 days, from Friday to Sunday. It has what you would expect,traditional dances, food and cider.






You want to know about Begona de Gijon, don’t you?  Our Lady of Begoña originated in the parish of Begoña , Bilbao . She was declared patron saint of Biscay in 1903 by Pius X. In Gijón, it is found in the parish church of Nuestra Señora de Begoña, on Avda. de la Costa, 33. This devotion began in Gijón in the 18th century, with the construction of a chapel in its honour. Julio Somoza , chronicler of Gijón, indicated that some Biscayan fishermen, after returning from fishing on the coasts of Newfoundland, were surprised by an enormous storm and, fearing to lose their lives, turned to the protection of their Patron Saint, Our Lady of Begoña, promising to dedicate a chapel to her on the first land they touched, if they managed to stay alive. Upon landing on the beach of Gijón, they built a chapel on a small promontory near the beach. Later, the chapel was moved inland to an area called Campo de Begoña. During the War of Independence , the chapel was practically destroyed, saving the image, which had been made by the Gijón sculptor Luis Fernández de la Vega . 




And so we end.  AS-11 is before us and the way into Gijon.

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