Category Archives: Provincia de Zamora

Moveros de Aliste – Villages of Spain (1)

Moveros de Aliste – Villages of Spain

Apples ripening in a garden in Moveros, Zamora
Apples ripening in a garden in Moveros, Zamora

Moveros de Aliste, Zamora

Export as KML for Google Earth/Google MapsOpen standalone map in fullscreen modeCreate QR code image for standalone map in fullscreen modeExport as GeoJSONExport as GeoRSSExport as ARML for Wikitude Augmented-Reality browser
Moveros de Aliste, Zamora, Spain

loading map - please wait...

Moveros de Aliste: 41.654089, -6.249575
marker icon
Get directions Open standalone map in fullscreen mode Export as KML for Google Earth/Google Maps
Moveros de Aliste
Moveros de Aliste
Moveros, Spain

This village in Zamora, on the border with Portugal, still has a renowned production of ceramica.  It is typical of the villages in this area in that there are many fincas, or fields, dotted right in between the houses which give an expansive sensation of space and sky.

Everywhere, even in the village centre, there are fields.
Everywhere, even in the village centre, there are fields.

Gardens are used to grow vegetables and fruit.  No space is wasted, especially now that each house has a water supply.  Every village in Spain has drinkable water and mains sewage.

In his garden, a man uses long sticks of black poplar tree to support his beans.
In his garden, a man uses long sticks of a  black poplar tree to support his beans.

Until Spain entered the European Community it was common in most villages to share a common water supply, usually a spring or a well.

disused spring in Moveros
disused spring in Moveros

The Church is the centre of village life.  We came across a group of women preparing the Church for the annual visit by the Bishop of Zamora.  The were cleaning everything and arranging gladioli and other flowers for the altar.

Women arranging flowers for the Mass and the Bishop's visit.
Women arranging flowers for the Mass and the Bishop’s visit.

Houses of Granite.

The town is built on granite and the houses have thick walls of granite blocks which keep them cool in summer.  The summer months are hot and the winters cold with frosts mainly in January through to April.

Granite walls everywhere.
Granite walls everywhere.

Apples, pears and plums.

In July the trees are bearing ripening fruit.  Here apples and pears abound and many trees are bowing low with plums.  Often local people will offer visitors fruit as a gift and the hedgerows, too, are dotted with bushes and trees from which fruit can be eaten in passing.

This couple were picking huge green plums which they insisted we try.
This couple were picking huge green plums which they insisted we try.

Ceramica

The two remaining pottery ovens are still worked by women who turn the clay manually.  The men fire up the ovens and collect the wood.  Until recently this local skill was the livelihood for the villagers, but the skills have died out, and the demand for ceramic goods had fallen with mass-production.

One of the remaining pottery outlets in Moveros.
One of the remaining pottery outlets in Moveros.

 

That’s about it about Moveros.

It looks as if this blog will be more about a few photos than about much real news, but you never know.

Read more about Moveros here (in Spanish)

FacebookTwitterGoogle+RedditLinkedInStumbleUponPinterestShare