Page 103 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Spain

GALICIA  101

Fishing in Spain Gothic choir stalls. In the garden
is the 10th-century Mozarabic
The Spanish eat more sea food Iglesia de San Miguel.
per head than any other
European nation except Portugal. Environs
The country has Europe’s largest At Santa Comba de Bande,
fishing fleet in terms of catch. 26 km (16 miles) to the south,
However, with the fishing indus- is an even older little church.
try in crisis, there are only about The features of this 7th-cent ury
9,500 boats that land Spain’s Visigothic (see pp54–5) church
catch of fish and shellfish. Much include a lantern turret and a
of this is caught off shore, where horseshoe arch that has
octopus, mackerel, clams and carved marble pillars.
lob ster are plentiful. The stocks
in the seas around Spain have
become depleted by over fishing t Verín
and an oil spill in 2002, forcing Ourense. * 14,000. @ n Rúa
Unloading the catch in Spain’s largest deep-sea trawlers to travel as Irmáns La Salle s/n, 988 41 16 14.
fishing port, Vigo far as Canada and Iceland. ( 3rd, 11th & 23rd of month. _
Carnival (Feb), Santa María (15 Aug).
built in the style of a fortress, r Celanova Though it stands amid vine yards,
with towers and battlements. It Ourense. * 5,500. @ n Praza Verín produces more than wine.
has a cloister and choir stalls and Maior 1, 988 43 22 01. ( Thu. Its mineral springs have given it
a richly decorated west porch. _ San Roque (15 Aug). a thriving bottled water industry.
Nearby is the Iglesia de San The town has many old houses
Telmo, dedicated to the pat ron On the main square of this little with arcades and glass balconies
saint of fishermen, whose town is the massive Monasterio (galerías). The Castelo de
Baroque ornamentation shows de San Salvador, Monterrei, built
a Portuguese influence. Near also known as the during the wars
the cathedral is an iron bridge, Monasterio de San with Portugal, is
the Puente Internacional, Rosendo, after its 3 km (2 miles) to
built by Gustave Eiffel in 1884 founder. Founded the west. Inside its
to stretch across the river to during the 10th three rings of walls
Valença do Minho in Portugal. century and later are two keeps, an
The Romanesque Iglesia de rebuilt, it is mainly arcaded courtyard
Santo Domingo, be side the Baroque, though and a 13th-century
Parque de la Alameda, has ivy- one of its two church with a
covered cloisters and tombs lovely cloisters is Ceramic tiled floor of the carved portal. The
with carved effigies. The church Renaissance. The Iglesia de San Miguel castle once housed
overlooks the river, which is used enormous church a monas tery and
in August for the Descent of the of this Benedictine monastery hospital. Now a parador, it can
Río Miño, a festive canoe race. has an ornate altarpiece and still be visited with a guided tour.

The Castelo de Monterrei, standing high above the town of Verín

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