“I have seen the golden poplars again, poplars of the road on the banks of the Duero, between San Polo and San Saturio, behind the old walls of Soria—barbican towards Aragon, in Castilian land—,” wrote Antonio Machado in Campos
de Castilla
.
Nothing is about concrete, roofs, streetlights or terraces overlooking the Duero River in Soria.
The collection of poems was published in 1912, inspired by those places of great scenic and cultural value next to the Duero, near the hermitage of San Saturio, a visual and spiritual emblem of Soria.
Opposite, the Cerro de los Moros.
Bécquer and Gerardo Diego were also inspired by this hill long before a real estate project threatened this natural space.
Several cultural associations and associations for the defense of heritage and nature are crying out against the plan, which foresees 1,300 homes, and ask for forcefulness from the City Council, in the hands of the PSOE, with a discreet role in this process currently involved in paperwork and procedures.
The Hill of the Moors, in Soria.Samuel Sánchez
There are two ways to escape the decibels of the metropolitan swarms in Soria.
One, upwards, towards the inn from where the distance can be seen in its broadest sense: in the background on the left, San Saturio;
below, the meandering of the Duero;
To the right, vestiges of an old church, a Jewish necropolis and the wall;
in front, the capricious orography of the Cerro de los Moros;
beyond, mountains;
Above, the blue sky and clouds over walkers, cyclists, runners and free pets, seen like little ants.
The other consists of letting yourself be carried, literally, downwards: the slope of the city leads to the Duero and a peaceful walk along its bank, a Site of Cultural Interest (BIC) since 2006 on its left side, crowned by the hermitage and with plaques with verses by Machado praising those poplars of the river, which accompany the sound of the water with the sound of their dry leaves.
The right side, on the other hand, does not receive the same protection and on it the construction of 1,304 homes is planned on the Cerro de los Moros.
About 4,000 people could fit there, 10% of the 40,000 inhabitants of a city not prone to demographic explosions.
Is it necessary to put cultural and landscape heritage at risk in a Soria without so much residential demand?
This is what the groups Soriana Association for the Defense of Nature (Asden), Friends of the Numantino Museum, Hacendera and Soria por el Futuro have asked themselves since the real estate initiative began.
Its spokespersons Ricardo Mínguez, Carmen Heras, José Francisco Yusta and Luis Giménez, aged between 71 and 78, meet to contemplate the threatened hill and reveal the intra-history along with maps, documentation and a good memory.
“Apart from the landscape, there is a poetic value, people come from all over the world to see the crossbow curve of the Duero,” exclaims Mínguez, a civil engineer and urban planner.
Significant data soon appears.
The Junta de Castilla y León (governed by the PP since 1987, with Vox since 2022) appointed BIC to the left side in 2006, the same year in which the urban plan of that City Council (PP) considered the Cerro de los Moros, in the right margin.
The developer, Pilares del Arlanzón, belongs to the PP-affiliated businessman Antonio Méndez Pozo, owner of the main regional media conglomerate and the first to be convicted of urban corruption in Spain.
The view of the Cerro de los Moros from the hermitage of San Saturio, in Soria, on February 5.Samuel Sánchez
Neighborhood representatives believe that the lack of public interest in the project should lead the City Council, controlled by the socialists since 2007, to stop it.
“They could deny it for being out of time and make a new plan to consider it rustic land, not developable, and that cannot be built on,” they demand.
Critics, urban planning professionals, insist that, since the developer has not met the legal deadlines to start the urbanization, the council would not have to pay any compensation to the construction company, as the mayor, Carlos Martínez, argued years ago.
In addition, they remember that the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando urged the conservation of these undeveloped hills in a report in which they cited the General Directorate of Heritage of Castilla y León, who in 2006 understood that building there would "visually affect the archaeological site of the castle and on the left bank of the river, which are declared BIC.”
The Urban Planning Councilor, Luis Rey, admits that “there is more land” but understands that “each developer develops on their properties and asserts their rights.”
“We seek a balance between preservation and avoiding lawsuits,” says Rey.
“We were not going to admit the construction of houses on the hill that violate the view of San Saturio, as was ordered in 2006 with the PP,” he explains, recalling that the local government negotiates an exchange in which “the company makes proposals by lowering the buildability, removing single-family homes and saving construction areas.”
“We have to see if it fits,” says the councilor.
Neighborhood spokespersons critical of the project clarify, however, that “the total buildability is the same” because the chalets are replaced by six-story blocks.
The hermitage of San Saturio, located next to the Duero River. Samuel Sánchez
Spokespersons for Culture of Castilla y León (Vox) point out that their competence “is limited to the protection of the BIC of the sector, the wall,” and call the matter a “consolidated urban situation” in legal terms.
Culture values the attempt to reduce "the landscape impact", the "surface" and the "visual impact" on what was approved in 2006 and highlights that it has been considered "the possible impact that it could have from San Saturio and its surroundings."
The neighborhood associations clarify that these plans have not included the “dramatic” visual impact from the Castle viewpoint and demand forcefulness.
A neighbor, named Carlos Fernando and 72 years old, attends the debate with the hill in the background.
“It's outrageous and a total blast!” he exclaims, before getting lost in his thoughts, looking back at those river poplars, which have engraved initials on their bark that are names of lovers, numbers that are dates, while muttering: “It also hurts emotionally.”
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