Page 471 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Spain
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AND AL UCÍA      469

       4 Palos de la       E Casa Museo de Martín
       Frontera            Alonso Pinzón
                           Calle Colón 24. Tel 959 10 00 41.
       Huelva. * 12,000. @ n Parque   Open Mon–Fri. &
       Botánico José Celestino Mutis Paraje   R Monasterio de Santa Clara
       de la Rábida, 959 49 46 64. ( Sat. _   Plaza de las Monjas. Tel 959 37 01 07.
       Santa María de la Rábida (3 & 16 Aug).
                           Open Tue–Sun am. Closed public
       Columbus set sail for the New   hols. & 8
       World on 3 August 1492 from
       Palos, the home town of his two
       cap tains, the brothers Martín and   5 El Rocío
       Vicente Pinzón. Martín’s former   Huelva. * 2,500. @ n Avenida
       home, the Casa Museo de Martín   de la Canaliega, 959 44 38 08.
       Alonso Pinzón, is now a small   _ Romería (May/Jun).
       museum of exploration, and his
       statue stands in the main square.  Bordering the Parque Nacional de
         The 15th-century Iglesia de   Doñana (see pp470–71), El Rocío   Crowds following the image of the
       San Jorge has a fine portal,   is famous for its annual romería,   Virgin at El Rocío
       through which Columbus left   which sees almost a million
       after hearing Mass before board-  people converge on the village.   Andalucía’s Fiestas
       ing the Santa María. The pier is   Many of the pilgrims travel from   Carnival (Feb/Mar), Cádiz.
       now silted up.      distant parts of Spain, some on   The whole city puts on fancy
                           gaudily deco rated oxcarts, to   dress for one of Europe’s
       Environs            visit the Iglesia de Nuestra   largest and most colourful
       In the beautiful white town of   Señora del Rocío. A statue of the   carnivals. Groups of singers
       Moguer are treasures such as   Virgin in the church is believed   practise for many months to
       the 16th-century hermitage    to have performed miraculous   perform ditties satirizing
       of Nuestra Señora de Monte-  healings since 1280. Early on the   current fashions, celebrities
       mayor, and the Neo-Classical   Monday morning of the festival,   and politicians.
       town hall. The Monasterio de   men from Almonte fight to   Romería de la Virgen de
       Santa Clara houses the Museo   carry the statue in procession,   la Cabeza (last Sun in Apr),
       Diocesano de Arte Sacro and   and the crowd clambers onto   Andújar (Jaén). A mass
                                                 pil grimage to a lonely sanc-
       has a pretty cloister.  the float to touch the image.
                                                 tuary in the Sierra Morena.
                                                 Día de la Cruz (first week in
                                                 May), Granada and Córdoba.
                                                 Neighbourhood groups
                                                 compete to create the
                                                 most colourful crosses
                                                 adorned with flowers on
                                                 squares and street corners.
                                                 Córdoba Patio Fiesta
                                                 (mid-May). Flower-decked
                                                 patios in old Córdoba are
                                                 opened to the public with
                                                 displays of flamenco.
                                                 El Rocío (May/Jun). More
                                                 than 70 brotherhoods of
                                                 pilgrims arrive at the village
                                                 of El Rocío to pay homage
                                                 to the Virgen del Rocío.
                                                 Columbus Festival
                                                 (late Jul/early Aug), Huelva.
                                                 This celebration of
                                                 Columbus’s voyage is
                                                 dedicated to the native
                                                 music and dance of a
                                                 different Latin American
                                                 country every year.
                                                 Exaltación al Río
                                                 Guadalquivir (mid-Aug),
                                                 Sanlúcar de Barrameda
                                                 (Cádiz). Horses are raced
                                                 on the beach at the mouth
                                                 of the Río Guadalquivir.
       Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Rocío, El Rocío



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