The province of Coruna in Spain
The province of A Coruna is to be found in northern Spain in the
region known as Galicia.
Coruna has several claims to fame. Firstly it is home to the
city of Santiago de Compostela (lit. "of the star field") whose
massive cathedral holds the remains of the apostle Saint James.
But another of the provinces cities, Ferrol, was the launching
point for Spain's ill fated Armada against the English in 1588.
Most visitors to this area center their trip around Santiago de
Compostela and with good reason. Santiago has a large medieval
quarter that not only contains its impressive cathedral, but
also an array of equally inspiring architectural gems including
palaces, monasteries and museums. The city is also known for its
pilgrimage called the "way of St. James" which attracts tens of
thousands of Christian visitors every year. These pilgrims come
from as far a field as France and make the entire journey on
foot staying at specially designated hostels on route. Their
reward, if and when they complete their journey, is a
certificate and mass at the cathedral.
Santiago's pilgrims are also notable for another reason. In
addition to walking with traditional long crooked staffs, they
also attach a "clam" clam shell to the staff itself. It is
thought that in earlier times this shell, now the symbol of
Santiago, could have been used as a multi purpose utensil to
scoop water from a river or act as a small dish.
Away from Santiago, A Coruna city also has a few sights of its
own ranging from the worlds oldest working lighthouse, built by
the Romans, to coastal forts and the regions biggest marina.
Coruna is also renown for the glass fronted buildings lining its
marina which have given rise to the city being known as the
"glass city". In addition to its older buildings, A Coruna also
has the futuristic "Domus" building which is a celebration of
man - a museum of sorts!
As Galica's most prosperous province, Coruna has many towns and
most of these have a location and history associated with the
sea. Coruna has always derived much of its wealth from fishing
and its deep water ports, including Ribeira, land vast
quantities of fish and assorted seafood.
>From a visitor's point of view places like Rianxo, a beautiful
coastal town, along with neighbouring port town, A Pobra do
Caraminal, offer an opportunity to see the less commercialised
side of Coruna province. These towns have traditional central
plazas called "alamedas" along with a look and feel all of their
own. If you visit one of these places you will also notice that
everything grinds to a halt at 2.00pm for afternoon siesta and
only starts to come to life again between 4.30pm and 5.00pm. The
compensation for this extended lunch is the long working
"afternoon" which does not end until around 9.00pm at night!
Staying in A Coruna, but moving inland, there is plenty more to
see including the ancient and once highly important town of
Padron.
Padron is a town of two halves. The new part is ugly and does
not warrant a mention, but the old district is quaint, has a
river running through it and also hails as the home of Galicia's
most famous daughter, the author and poet Rosalia de Castro.
Although not known outside Spain, Castro is a real folk hero and
there is a museum dedicated to her in her former house. Padron
is also famous for two other reasons, the hot chilli peppers it
produces and its biblical location as the preaching point of
Saint James.
To find out more about the province of A Coruna and Galicia in
general, visit galiciaguide.com a 250
page tourist information portal about the region.