“The town of Vilanova de Lourenzá has monastic origins. Aló Polo X is a Leone name related to the monarch who was the leader of the region A priest named Osorio Gutiérrez, who emerged as lord of the Terra de Campos and Galicia, tiña or Title Count”. Five hundred years after the Holy Count founded the place, the Almighty Convent of San Benito of Valladolid brought the convent under his influence and promoted the construction of a new monastery in entirely Baroque style, according to the needs and tastes of the 18th century. . style. The great architects Juan de Villanueva and Ventura Rodríguez designed the main cloister and the extraordinary altarpiece of the cathedral, respectively, dedicated to the Transfiguration (with our Same theme as Zamora Headquarters). Thus, a seemingly peripheral Benedictine monastery acquired the status of an extraordinary religious building in the Spanish Baroque panorama (perhaps not yet fully considered).
According to an extraordinary article about the facade of the Cathedral of Compostela Obrador, it was at the time of the intervention of the famous Casas Novoa that the facade of the convent church was built. almost none. Over time, the abbey eventually became a settlement for surrounding settlers under the protection of the Benedictine monks, gradually forming what is now Vera. However, the 1848 town map shows that the current unified urban layout had not yet been established. Over time it became the de facto capital of the valley of the same name (along with the parishes of San and Commerce, although currently in decline. Architectural testimonials of certain commercial buildings with wrappers are still perceptible, perhaps not for many decades) Among the shabby signs used, perhaps the electricity and outdated decor in some commercial basement.
All this points to a desire among the cities and the bourgeoisie for some kind of physical prosperity and achievement that is not fully realized but rather installed in the desire to realize it. The wrought-iron pillars of some store interiors, the eclectic look popular at the turn of the century, the strongly resonant names of those business glory days were irresistible. Restaurants, textile stores, furniture stores… are closed today. Yet, between the evocation of melancholy and the longing for permanence, steeped in the passage of time, I view with reverence and a high degree of gratitude the continued existence of some agricultural devotional enterprises that are surely due to a combination of many of these factors effect. Its almost heroic resistance in activity, the service it offers to its neighbors, its innocent window display that thankfully pays no attention to contemporary fashion, and the remarkable grace of the mansion in which it sits, even with its arcades full of life, shields Make it noble. When the sun shines, the facades and doors are always open and checkered, which greatly stimulates my healthy curiosity.
But places are their people and their character, for these help us understand reality with greater certainty and depth. In contemporary times, three famous creators have become closely associated with Valar. The famous Uruguayan poetess Juana de Ibarbourou (1892-1979) is one of the most recognized female writers in Latin America in the 20th century. However, she has never set foot there, but she is eager and tender. She sings the praises of her hometown—perhaps for this reason. After his father was born, he, like many others, immigrated to Uruguay and other sister countries to build a future. Ibabro did not lose sight of her roots, and she always recognized herself as a fellow Galician, both in her self-awareness and in her many literary creations.
Another woman, the Portuguese painter Julia Minguillón (1906-1965), lived as a child on the streets of Villanova, where her father ran the local drug store. Her affluence, of course, highlighted the family’s social status in the town and allowed the girl to devote herself to painting rather than other jobs typical of Galician captives at the time. The first lights, his first landscapes, his first paintings all took place and were created in Vilanova de Lorenza. Then Burgos, Valladolid, Madrid, Lorenza during the Civil War, Lugo, Madrid awaited her… until she achieved an outstanding resonance and reputation as a woman completely dedicated to art.
The identity of Villanova de Lorenza and that of its entire valley is still firmly rooted in its origins – narrated in Galician by Del Riego himself – as a beacon of the interior. The lighthouse in the countryside seems simple and small, but when viewed objectively, we are not complacent.
The last one is Francisco Fernández del Riego (1913-2010), who also came from a wealthy family and who, coincidentally, was also a resident of Minguillon and one of the 2023 Día das Letras Galegas” winner. Curiosity and the approach of the anniversary brought me last year closer to the personality of this writer, thanks first to the teaching of Xosé Antón Miguélez and especially to Manuel Román, his main biographer One of the Valar’s official chroniclers. This summer, I have been decisive and generous to the extreme. Del Riego is considered one of the most outstanding writers and communicators of Galicianism of the 20th century, thanks to his intellectual work and dedication to companies such as the founding of Galaxia Publishing House, the encouragement and support of the Penzol Foundation and the founding of the Día das Letras Galegas, or the Presidency and Renewal of the Royal Galician Academy, etc., less exciting but involving the effectiveness of discretion. Del Riego knew and believed that “everything is possible”, he articulated its values, thought about its universal validity, not just a localist vision, and worked to spread it. Just like the apostles.
But above all, he insisted on removing the layer of inferiority complex that covered Galicians, Galician things, and especially the language itself (mainly rural language). He gave of his devotion, his time, and his fundamental choices in life (perhaps the most precious thing we have) to give value to everything he has. Most importantly, noticing that most of what makes up them/us is truly important to identity, without complexes, without any sense that we are a minority, insignificant, of little value… when our own things are universalized of and does not exist to lock us into something exclusive to us, which then becomes a global, human-empowering, builder and developer. So it’s worth it and any effort is worth it. I think it offers a lot to learn.
The identity of Villanova de Lorenza and that of its entire valley is still firmly rooted in its origins – narrated in Galician by Del Riego himself – as a beacon of the interior. It is a beacon of the countryside, outwardly modest and small, but viewed objectively and without complacency, valuing the extraordinary value of its monastery and its character. and the rest of its values. Though perhaps it still dwells in the dream of peaceful days, in the constant alternation between the life-giving sun and the generous sphere.