Spanish towns candidates for Rural Capital 2021

1Aia (Gipuzkoa | Basque Country) Ten Spanish towns aspire to become, on May 18, the Rural Capital 2021, within the initiative organized for the fifth year by the website specialized in rural accommodation EscapadaRural.com.

Next, we visit the 10 finalist locations.

Surrounded by a magnificent natural environment, the Pagoeta natural park, with beech trees and green pastures, the Gipuzkoan town of Aia is a guarantee of tranquility and tranquility, set with an interesting cultural heritage. In this area the baroque church of San Miguel Arcángel stands out, in Laurgain (three kilometers away); the Andra Maria de Aizpea hermitage, documented in 1530 and occupying a natural rock shelter (where, it is said, the Virgin appeared); or the San Pedro hermitage, with an altarpiece attributed to Andrés de Araoz. A walk through the historic center of Aia contemplates numerous samples of traditional architecture (Casa Gilisagasti, Casa Garagorrienea, Casa Ostatu-Berri) and, as if that were not enough, the wonderful beach of Zarauz is 20 minutes away by car.

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2Chelva (Valencia | Valencian Community) The election of the Rural Capital has this year with 247 candidate localities (20% more than in the 2020 edition, which distinguished the Cantabrian Potes), among which 10 finalists have been chosen according to some minimum requirements: having less than 10,000 inhabitants, a true commitment to quality rural tourism and not having participated in previous editions of this initiative.

One of the finalists is the Valencian Chelva, where a walk through its historic neighborhoods is imposed. Benacacira, the Andalusian neighborhood, preserves the urban fabric of the medina that was in the 11th and 12th centuries; Azoque, the Jewish quarter, maintains its medieval structure of alleys and entrance portals; the Arrabal neighborhood, where from the fourteenth century part of the Moors expelled from the Kingdom of Valencia settled, and the Ollerías, the Christian neighborhood, so called because of the many kilns that housed its streets for the production of artisan ceramics.

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3Cuacos de Yuste (Cáceres | Extremadura) Once these 10 finalists have been selected, the popular vote to designate the Rural Capital 2021 will remain open (at Escapadarural.com) until May 14 (94,545 people participated last year). Four days later, on May 18, the name of the winning town will be made public.

Another candidate is Cuacos de Yuste. Beyond its main monument, the nearby Monastery of Yuste, where the Emperor Carlos I of Spain lived his last days, the historical complex of Cuacos de Yuste (declared a Picturesque Site), in the Extremadura region of La Vera, invites you to a walk quiet for its winding streets, where you can admire the well-preserved popular architecture of its mountain houses, built with masonry, adobe and half-timbered, and have cantilevers and porticoed facades like those of its Plaza Mayor (in the photo) .

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4Olvera (Cádiz | Andalusia) Located in the Sierra Norte de Cádiz, at a crossroads between the provinces of Cádiz, Málaga and Seville, Olvera is part of the popular Route of the White Villages. Its whitewashed houses and steep streets that lead to two of the claims that the town boasts the most: the church of Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación (from the 18th century) and the castle (built at the end of the 12th century, it was part of the defensive system of the Nasrid kingdom of Granada). A town that was declared a historical-artistic complex in 1983.

Among the natural attractions within the Olvereño territory is the Peñón de Zaframagón Nature Reserve, which is home to the largest nesting colony of griffon vultures in Western Andalusia and one of the largest in the Peninsula. Declared a special protection area for birds, other important raptors such as Egyptian vultures, Bonelli's eagle, common hawk and eagle owl gather here. In addition, the Olvera municipal area - surrounded by mountain olive groves and hundreds of rural roads - runs through the Sierra Greenway, the only route declared of tourist interest in the community and which follows the old Jerez-Almargen railway route, which it was never used.

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5Daroca (Zaragoza | Aragón) The medieval mark deserves a stop along the way, in a historically frontier land. It induces a journey back in time to go through the Lower Gate, escorted by high towers, but also to go through the old wall to the Greater Castle, erected on top of what was once an Arab fortress (remains of Muslim plasterwork from the 11th century have been found ), or visiting the Palacio de los Luna, a noble residence around the 15th century that preserves its wooden roofs. Also worth a stop in Daroca is the Casa del Diablo, dating from the 15th century, so named because in the middle of the 19th century it hosted an anticlerical revolutionary nicknamed 'El Diablo Royo'.

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6Ortigueira (A Coruña | Galicia) This fishing village on the Galician north coast is one of the most charming municipalities in the Rías Altas. A tour of its streets should lead you to visit the Barrio do Ponto, in the old town; the conventual complex, which houses the Town Hall, the Benefit Theater and the parish church; the food market, from the early twentieth century, and strolling through its port. Ortigueira is famous among Celtic music lovers, since the Ortigueira Celtic World Festival has been held here since 1978 (although its edition this year has also been canceled due to the pandemic). Since 2000 its name is the Ortigueira Festival, and every second weekend in July hundreds of fans of folk music camp on Morouzos beach to attend the event.

From here numerous routes depart between its nearby and imposing mountains and its wild beaches. One of the most attractive options is to discover the Loiba cliffs (in the photo), about 10 kilometers away by car. There is a signposted route that allows you to cross it from Esteiro beach (Mañón) to the Ribeira do Carro beach (Ortigueira). A stretch of coastline that is, for many, the best bank in the world.

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7Sepúlveda (Segovia | Castilla y León) This town founded in the Iron Age of just over 1,000 inhabitants is part of the association The Most Beautiful Towns of Spain. Some of the unavoidable visits go through its Plaza Mayor (in the photo), its nerve center and partially arcaded; the church of El Salvador, one of the paradigms of Castilian Romanesque; the Lope Tablada de Diego Museum; the sanctuary of the Virgen de la Peña; or the Puerta del Azogue (or Arco del Ecce Homo), one of the seven gates that the Sepúlveda wall had. Nor should we forget to try the star dish of its gastronomy: lamb roasted in a wood oven.

In addition, it is the perfect base camp to enter the Hoces del Duratón natural park, where the main protagonist is the griffon vulture. Located downstream of the town, here the river has been embedded in a deep canyon that, in some places, reaches more than 100 meters of elevation. Historical attractions are added to its imposing landscape beauty, such as the Romanesque hermitage of San Frutos (from the 12th century) and the cave of the Seven Altars, whose interior houses a Visigoth religious monument from the 7th century.

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8La Baronia de Rialb (Lleida | Catalonia) This municipality that extends through the lower part of the Rialb conca, on the banks of the homonymous reservoir, is made up of 11 villages (Gualter, la Serra, la Torre, Politg, Pallerols, Vilaplana, Bellfort, Palau, el Puig, Sant Cristòfol de la Donzell and Sant Martí). That is an inheritance of the old parishes, farmhouses, farmhouses, towers and monasteries of the medieval period to which its origins go back (Baronia in a jurisdictional term already from the 14th century) and that explains its wonderful and dispersed historical heritage. In the image, the monastery of Santa Maria de Gualter, consecrated in 1207, this monastic complex was destroyed during the Civil War.

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9Taramundi (Asturias) “Water, earth, iron and fire, hydraulic devices, cutlery and loom”, synthesized about Taramundi on the Asturias tourism website. This is an ideal place to learn about traditional crafts that have been preserved to this day. It is a pioneer village in Asturian rural tourism (the old priest or rectoral house was converted in the eighties into the rural hotel La Rectoral), and it has always been famous for its knives. A knife of more than seven meters and 1,500 kilos welcomes the Museum of Knives, in the village of Pardiñas, just three kilometers from Taramundi. A quiet walk through the town leads to Os castros, one of the most important forts in Asturias and a decisive enclave of the Bronze Age as a place of passage and trade. And in Mazonovo, very close to the town,expect one of the largest mill museums in Spain: it has neither more nor less than 19, in addition to a rudimentary hydraulic power station. The Taramundi Loom Museum, the Os Esquíos Ethnographic Museum, or the Bres craft center also transport us to that world of trades and crafts so deeply rooted in this part of Asturian geography.

The ubiquitous whispers of the water (it is worth going to see the La Salgueira waterfall, with a waterfall of about 50 meters), the infinite greenness of the Asturian forests and the stone that builds the villages are the essence of this enclave where the pace of life is slow and calm. Few leave here without taking a cheese, Taramundi's flagship product.

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10Yeste (Albacete | Castilla-La Mancha) The silhouette of its castle, from the 13th century and in Gothic-Renaissance style, dominates the panoramic view of Yeste. Located in the middle of the Segura mountains, within the urban complex of this Albacete town, the Renaissance Town Hall stands out. And outside the town, the fortified towers of Islamic origin and Christian use during the Reconquest are worth a visit. On the last weekend of October, the entire town throws itself into the celebration of its Fair of Popular Traditions, with samples of artisan trades, a traditional market and the celebration of a traditional slaughter.

From here, several hiking, cycling and horse riding routes start. In addition, less than 15 kilometers away, the Fuensanta reservoir awaits, where sports activities such as canoeing are practiced, there is a swimming and fishing area. And, about 20 kilometers away, the natural park of Los Calares del Mundo and de la Sima.

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