You don't arrive at the entrance to Puerto de Vega: you enter, like someone entering a scene that blends naturalness with a certain theatrical local color. The white of the facades, rather than dazzling, comforts. There is a serene, almost Cartesian order to it, which does not detract from the seafaring vocation of the place. We can visit the centrally located "Benigno Blanco" park, with its large trees; discover the centuries-old and romantic Plaza de Cupido, nerve center of the town on which the primitive fishing village was established and where the ancient beauty of mansions like the Plaza or the Columnas are striking; we'll be amazed by the immense Casino, with a floor plan of 500 square meters...
How to get to Puerto de Vega?
We found this town 7,5 kilometers east of the capital of Navia, communicated by the N-632.
Yes, we are on the A-8 Cantabrian Highway, you have to take the 474 output and then the LV-7 takes us to Puerto de Vega.
How many inhabitants does Puerto de Vega have?
It currently has about 2.000 inhabitants, is the most important population center after Navia, the capital of the municipality.
It is not surprising that this town, which seems to have come out of an oil painting by Darío de Regoyos, has been recognized as “Exemplary Town of Asturias” in 1995 and, with poetic justice, the Awarded the most beautiful in the region in 1998.
Illustrious past of Puerto de Vega
It is not trivial that Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos, enlightened by vocation and martyr by conviction, He found his final resting place in Puerto de Vega back in 1811.As if fate had reserved a corner of Asturias for him where he could die a noble death. The neighbors welcomed him as one of their own, and in his dying days, he left behind a legacy here that is more than physical: it is spiritual. The commemorative plaques, the library that bears his name, the street, the monument… All of that is fine, but the essential thing is that Jovellanos, who dreamed so much of a reasonable Spain, had in this port a glimpse of what that Spain could have been.
What to see in Puerto de Vega?
Puerto de Vega is, above all, a port, because here the sea is neither a decoration nor an excuse for a summer postcard. Here the sea rules, and men obey with a mixture of respect and inherited arrogance. For centuries, bonito and hake fishing —that aristocratic couple from the Cantabrian Sea— marked the economic and vital pulse of the placeAnd although modern times, with their computerized refrigerators and fish markets, have blurred the romanticism of the trade, in Puerto de Vega there are still boats that return with the dawn, and men who call the wind "compañeru."
Port, small but resounding, it's like an amphitheater where the tragedies and comedies of everyday sailor life are represented. It has a wall included, battlements in perfect condition that stopped piracy in the Middle Ages and protected the town from the French invasion three centuries later..
In the surroundings of the port you can also visit the Baluarte promenade and the La Riva viewpointIn Puerto de Vega, the Baluarte is not just a promenade: it's an old bastion that still retains some of its original purpose. From here, port movements were monitored, and in more turbulent times, potential threats from the sea were also monitored. We can see in it Two 1588th-century cannons and a monolith in honor of those who erected the Bastion in XNUMX along with several nautical pieces.
In another beautiful place, In the corner of the Riva, we discover a recreation of the fishing table made in 1992 to pay homage to the local fishing heyday, including the whaling of yesteryear.. Here stands a monument with three floors loaded with history. Highlights the first known whaling contract, two imposing jaws four meters long from whales of about 30 tons. On the second floor an immense altarpiece "allegory of whale hunting", shows us clearly how the capture of these marine giants was. On the third level, a modern whale canyon stands out on a crenellated fence. Invented by Sven Foy, Norwegian sailor, in 1854 and amply tested on his ship «Spes et fides».
The Watchtower Chapel: A Promise on the Brink of the Abyss
At the edge of the cliff, the Atalaya Chapel watches over the sea like a worried mother. Dedicated to the Virgin of Atalaya, protector of sailors, it was erected as a promise after a storm. by the Guild of Seamen and Commerce around the year 1605.
Culture in Puerto de Vega
The Ethnographic Museum: memory with tools
In the village's old schools, the Juan Pérez Villamil Ethnographic Museum preserves life from bygone times without idealizing it. It represents the trades that sustained daily life: riverside carpenters, the rowers or spinners, the shoemakers, ferreiros, madreñeiros, basket makers, carpinteiros or cabinetmakers, or the canteiros or loserosEach room is a tribute to anonymous effort, skill, and necessity transformed into popular art.
To finally say that the love of its citizens has turned the town into a festive reference of the Asturian West. Its patron saint festivities of Our Lady of the Watchtower They generate an unusual amount of excitement over a period of four days, each with its own name: September 7th is "The Eve," September 8th "The Telayona," September 9th "The Telayina," and September 10th "The Jira." The devotion, as expected, is professed to a seafaring virgin and takes various forms, both pagan and Catholic: songs, wine, cider, good food, processions, and, among other events, a tribute to the most veteran sailor.
Text: © Ramón Molleda for asturias.com
