Piloña () is a municipality in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

and

autonomous community The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Sp ...

Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...

, northwestern

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Its capital is the town of Infiesto. Piloña is bounded to the north by Villaviciosa and

Colunga Colunga () is a municipality in the Autonomous community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It lies on the Cantabrian Sea, and is bordered to the west by Villaviciosa, to the south by Parres and Piloña, and to the east by Caravia. Poli ...

, to the east by

Parres Parres is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is bordered on the north by Caravia and Ribadesella, on the east by Cangas de Onís, on the west by Piloña and Colunga, and on the south by Amieva. ...

, to the west by Nava and

Cabranes Cabranes is a municipality in the autonomous community of Asturias. As of 2023, it had a population of 1,105 spread between its six parishes: Fresnéu, Graméu, Pandenes, Santolaya, Torazu, and Viñón. Cabranes has a rugged, yet not mounta ...

, and to the south by Ponga, Caso,

Sobrescobio Sobrescobio (; ) is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is bordered on the north by Piloña, on the east by Caso, on the south by Aller, and on the west by Laviana. It is situated in the southeas ...

and

Laviana Laviana ( Asturian: ''Llaviana'') is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, located in Spain. It is bordered on the north by Bimenes and Nava, on the south by Aller, on the east by Piloña and Sobrescobi ...

. The area is semi-mountainous with many small, but deep and narrow valleys.

History

In prehistoric times there were

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...

settlements in caves in Piloña such as Aviao (Espinaredo) Cave, Collaréu Cave, and La Peña Ferran (Ferran Rock) which were excavated by the Count de la Vega del Sella in the 1920s. There are several sites with Paleolithic rock art and

Neanderthal Neanderthals ( ; ''Homo neanderthalensis'' or sometimes ''H. sapiens neanderthalensis'') are an extinction, extinct group of archaic humans who inhabited Europe and Western and Central Asia during the Middle Pleistocene, Middle to Late Plei ...

remains, including Sidrón Cave in Borines. Piloña lies in a narrow basin that runs parallel with the coast. Over time it formed part of the natural path between

Oviedo Oviedo () or Uviéu (Asturian language, Asturian: ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains th ...

and

Cangas de Onís Cangas de Onís ( Asturian: ''Cangues d'Onís'' "valleys of Onís"'' Canga'' (plural ''cangues'') is an Asturian word for "valley, canyon".) is a municipality in the eastern part of the province and autonomous community of Asturias in the north ...

, which connects central

with the Asturian east. Piloña was the largest settlement along that path. In Roman times Beloncio was occupied, and is identified with the town Paelontium mentioned by Ptolemy as the capital of the

Astur Astur may refer to: *an inhabitant of the northwest of Hispania - see Astures *Astur (genus), a bird genus (sometimes included in the genus ''Accipiter'') * Astur (typeface) *Astur CF Astur Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football team based in Ovi ...

tribe known as Lugones. There is also evidence of Roman occupation at Borines.

Economics

The area is poor and depopulating. There were over 20,000 inhabitants in 1930; 8,799 in 2001; and 8,440 in 2005. The three largest towns are Infiesto (with about 20% of the population), Villamayor and Sevares. All three are on the

Piloña River Piloña () is a municipality in the Provinces of Spain, province and autonomous community of Asturias, northwestern Spain. Its capital is the town of Infiesto. Piloña is bounded to the north by Villaviciosa (Asturias), Villaviciosa and Colunga, ...

, a left-hand tributary of the

Sella River The Sella is a river located in northwest Spain. It flows through the province of León and Asturias from the Picos de Europa to the Cantabrian Sea of the Atlantic Ocean at Ribadesella. See also * List of rivers of Spain This is an incomple ...

, and on the main highway, the N-634. The area is agricultural with cattle being raised for both milk and meat, and with some production of forest products.

Parishes

There are 24

parishes (administrative divisions) A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

Churches

* Iglesia de San Cipriano (Infiesto)

References

External links

Virtual Guide to Piloña, in Spanish

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20091115104838/http://www.piloastur.com/ Photo Archive of Piloña {{DEFAULTSORT:Pilona Municipalities in Asturias * Astures