Villayón () is a municipality in the

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 ...

of the

Principality of 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 ...

, Spain. It borders Navia to the north,

Cuaña Cuaña (Galician-Asturian; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Coaña'') is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It lies along the Cantabrian Sea to the north, and is bordered on the south by Boal, on the eas ...

Boal Boal (Galician-Asturian: ''Bual'') is a municipality, a civil parish and a town in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias (Spain). It borders north with El Franco and Coaña, south with Illano, west with Castropol and east with ...

and

Illano Illano (Eonavian: ''Eilao'') is a municipality in the Principality of Asturias Autonomous communities of Spain, Spanish autonomous community. It is bordered on the north by Boal, on the south by San Martín de Oscos, on the east by Boal, Villayó ...

to the west, Valdés,

Tinéu Tineo is a ''concejo'' (municipality) in the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is situated on a small tributary of the Narcea River. It is the second-largest municipality in Asturias. It is bordered to the north by Valdés, to the south by C ...

and

Allande Allande ( Asturian and Galician-Asturian: ''Ayande'') is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. Its capital is Pola de Allande. The municipality is bordered on the north by Villayón, on the south by ...

to the east and Allande to the south.

History

Evidence of the first human settlement in the area has been found in the Carondiu mountains in the form of barrows and stones. There are also hill forts built by Celtic settlers. In Roman times, gold was mined in Villayón, as attested by remains found in the alluvial deposits around Arbón. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the first references to this area can be found on the plate of Carriu, carved in the 8th century, which includes a reference to two places related to Villayón, called ''Vila nomine Ciuscau'' and ''Portus Astureo''. In the Middle Ages, Villayón belonged to Navia (Pola de Navia) and its owners changed periodically, as the territory was often bought and sold as an asset. This situation ended in the 16th century, when Felipe II confiscated the land to incorporate it into the Crown's domains and the local population formed its own council. In the centuries that followed, the former landowners tried to claim the land, but the royal court ruled in favour of the local inhabitants, who were mainly vaqueiros d'alzada, a cultural group whose main activity was to herd cattle in successive pastures. In the centuries that followed, voices in favour of Villayón's separation from Navia's jurisdiction grew until, after the Spanish Revolution of September 1868, the new government agreed to create a municipality with its own mayor. Despite this, the population began to decline as the locals left for the Americas in search of a better future. From the 60's, this process was accelerated since the population started to leave the municipality for places with better work prospects in Central Asturias and in other European countries. Today, the remaining population commutes to Navia to work and the economy is boosted by tourists who come to explore its natural attractions, such as the Oneta waterfalls, declared a National Monument by Spain.

Geography

The

Río Navia Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Fl ...

passes through the municipality. The waterfalls in Oneta (Cascada de Oneta) are the highest in Asturias.

Population

Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.9) ImageSize = width:580 height:300 PlotArea = left: 60 bottom: 30 top: 20 right: 20 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:6000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = late ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:1000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:500 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar: 1877 text: 1877 bar: 1887 text: 1887 bar: 1900 text: 1900 bar: 1910 text: 1910 bar: 1920 text: 1920 bar: 1930 text: 1930 bar: 1940 text: 1940 bar: 1950 text: 1950 bar: 1960 text: 1960 bar: 1970 text: 1970 bar: 1980 text: 1980 bar: 1990 text: 1990 bar: 2000 text: 2000 bar: 2010 text: 2010 PlotData= color:barra width:20 align:center bar: 1877 from:4084 till: 0 bar: 1887 from:3710 till: 0 bar: 1900 from:4335 till: 0 bar: 1910 from:4326 till: 0 bar: 1920 from:4218 till: 0 bar: 1930 from:4090 till: 0 bar: 1940 from:4360 till: 0 bar: 1950 from:4730 till: 0 bar: 1960 from:5335 till: 0 bar: 1970 from:3474 till: 0 bar: 1980 from:2617 till: 0 bar: 1990 from:2268 till: 0 bar: 2000 from:1895 till: 0 bar: 2010 from:1466 till: 0 PlotData= bar: 1877 at: 4084 fontsize:S text: 4.084 shift:(0,5) bar: 1887 at: 3710 fontsize:S text: 3.710 shift:(0,5) bar: 1900 at: 4335 fontsize:S text: 4.335 shift:(0,5) bar: 1910 at: 4326 fontsize:S text: 4.326 shift:(0,5) bar: 1920 at: 4218 fontsize:S text: 4.218 shift:(0,5) bar: 1930 at: 4090 fontsize:S text: 4.090 shift:(0,5) bar: 1940 at: 4360 fontsize:S text: 4.360 shift:(0,5) bar: 1950 at: 4730 fontsize:S text: 4.730 shift:(0,5) bar: 1960 at: 5335 fontsize:S text: 5.335 shift:(0,5) bar: 1970 at: 3474 fontsize:S text: 3.474 shift:(0,5) bar: 1980 at: 2617 fontsize:S text: 2.617 shift:(0,5) bar: 1990 at: 2268 fontsize:S text: 2.268 shift:(0,5) bar: 2000 at: 1895 fontsize:S text: 1.895 shift:(0,5) bar: 2010 at: 1466 fontsize:S text: 1.466 shift:(0,5) From
INE Archiv
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Parishes

The municipality is formed by six parishes: * Arbón * Busmente-Herías-La Muria * Oneta * Parḷḷeiru *

Ponticiella Ponticella () is one of six parishes in the municipality of Villayón, in Asturias, Spain. Geography Ponticella is a Parroquia with 450 inhabitants, as of 2007, and an area of 53,16 km2. It is at an elevation of 456 meters. The village ...

Villayón (parish) Villayón () is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It borders Navia, Asturias, Navia to the north, Cuaña, Boal and Illano to the west, Valdés, Asturias, Valdés, Tinéu and Allande to the east and A ...

Economy

Farming has been historically the main economic activity in Villayón. Until the 20th century, all the production was meant to fulfil the needs of the local communities. A variety of cow called "vaca roxa" was the backbone of this industry since it was used for milk, meat and for bartering. It used to roam free in the pastures located in the highlands in the municipality. Afterwards, a second breed was introduced; "vaca frisona" (

Holstein Friesian The Holstein Friesian is an international breed or group of breeds of dairy cattle. It originated in Frisia, stretching from the Dutch province of North Holland to the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. It is the dominant breed in industrial ...

) and forests were cut down to extend pastures and produce more milk. Agriculture did not play a huge role in the development of the local economy since its production was meant to sustain the local population. In recent years, Villayón has exported successfully its local produced ''fabas'', a variety of white beans that is mainly used for preparing traditional Asturian dishes, such as ''pote'' or ''fabada''. It is estimated that 10 tonnes are produced every year. Due to its proximity with Navia and the poor road connections, industry was not developed in this area. The only source of employment in the secondary sector is energy production due to the workers that operate the Arbón Dam. In the past decades the local council has been promoting Villayón as a destination for those who desire to explore nature and experience rural life, so tourism has been increasingly important for the local economy.

Culture

Language

Villayón is located at the linguistic boundary between the eastern group of Galician dialects and the Western group of Asturian dialects. Consequently, parishes are divided in four groups depending on their dominant language: * Galician speaking parishes: ** Arbón and

* Parishes divided into Galician and Asturian speaking villages: ** Parḷḷeiru and Villayón * Parishes in which a language that presents characteristics of both Asturian and Galician: ** Oneta and Villayón * Asturian speaking parishes: ** Busmente y Eirías

Food and Drink

Villayón is known for its gastronomy, which is fairly similar to the rest of Asturias, although, there are several peculiarities in which it differs. Pote (a vegetable and white beans (''fabas)'' stew) is normally cooked with collard, but in this municipality it is substituted with

rapini Rapini (broccoli rabe or raab) () is a green cruciferous vegetables, cruciferous vegetable, with the leaves, buds, and stems all being edible; the buds somewhat resemble broccoli. Rapini is known for its bitter taste, and is particularly associ ...

. Ox meat has also been established as a specialty of the area.

References

External links

Federación Asturiana de Concejos

{{DEFAULTSORT:Villayon Municipalities in Asturias Towns in Asturias *