Salas, land of medieval stories, legends and pilgrims

If Alexandre Dumas had been born in Salas, it is very likely that the three musketeers would have lived their great adventures among the Castle of Valdés-Salas, the collegiate church of Santa María la Mayor, the church of San Martín, the sanctuary of the Virgen del Viso and the Indian village of Malleza.

Salas is a land of legends so ancient and so beautiful that they inspire the imagination of great artists as well as that of ordinary mortals. Moreover, it exudes nobility on all four sides in the broadest sense of the word, and that gives it a very special air.

So Salas, capital and municipality, is a land of passage and at the same time an excellent place to stop. It is a medieval, Jacobean and legendary land. Its pores breathe culture and thought, feeling and beauty, serenity and firmness. It is a land of passage, among other circumstances, because the Primitive Way of St. James runs through it, which was also the Camín Real.

Few medieval towers are still standing in the historic centres of Asturian towns and cities with the importance and architectural scope of Valdés-Salas Castle. Many centuries carved in stone are summed up in this building, which dates back to three centuries: the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries.

The Tower has now been converted into a museum of Asturian Pre-Romanesque art, and still conserves the dungeons and other details that take you back to the Middle Ages, and the Palace has been transformed into a charming hotel that delights many travellers and pilgrims from halfway around the world who pass through the town on their wanderings along the Primitive Pilgrim's Way to Santiago de Compostela, The fact is that on the Salas side, the Pilgrim's Way runs right under the round arched bridge of the Valdés-Salas Castle.

It also turns out that this castle was the birthplace of Fernando de Valdés-Salas, an outstanding ecclesiastic and politician of 16th century Spain, whose fascinating biography has one of its most outstanding episodes in the fact that he was the driving force behind the founding of the University of Oviedo. And although D. Fernando spent most of his life outside Asturias, his remains rest in Salas, in the collegiate church of Santa María la Mayor, whose construction was promoted by him and in whose interior his parents also rest. Fernando de Valdés-Salas always wanted to return to his homeland, to such an extent that he left a provision in his will that if he died from Sierra Morena downwards his body would go to Seville, where he had been archbishop, but if he died from Sierra Morena upwards, he would return home, and as in the end he died in Madrid, he rests forever in Salas.

The Collegiate Church of Santa María la Mayor is one of the most precious jewels of a historic quarter that will never cease to amaze you, both for its beauty and its history. The collegiate church of Salas will leave you open-mouthed when you contemplate its altarpiece and the mausoleum of Fernando de Valdés-Salas, sculpted in alabaster by the sculptor Pompeo Leoni in the 16th century, and made thanks to a testamentary disposition of D. Fernando.

In addition, and as a curious fact, the Collegiate Church of Salas was until a few decades ago the property of the House of Alba - as was the case with the castle and numerous estates - which were inherited by the Valdés-Salas family.

Nowadays, part of the castle is also the headquarters of the Valdés-Salas Foundation - which has a University Extension classroom -, and which provides this peaceful village in western Asturias with an incessant cultural life, given the important work of disseminating knowledge that it constantly carries out.

So with all these ingredients, it would not be surprising that even D'Artagnan himself, if he were reincarnated in Asturias, would be fascinated by Salas, where nobility and legend embrace at every turn.

The church of San Martín de Salas has experienced many vicissitudes since the 10th century. What was once the parish church of Salas, located on a hill, just one kilometre from the town, retains the charm of antiquity, despite the many alterations it has undergone over the years.

Literally embraced by a cemetery that gives it an air between romantic and mysterious, worthy of a historical novel plot, San Martín conserves part of its founding pre-Romanesque elements, although what is exhibited on its walls are faithful replicas, as the originals - as a measure of heritage protection - are displayed and explained in the Tower of the Castle of Valdés-Salas.

When you arrive at San Martín de Salas, just as you pass through the entrance gate to the church and cemetery, you can take shelter under a yew tree, especially if the sun is hot, and a few metres further on, in the middle of the cemetery, another yew tree - this one a thousand years old - casts its magic and casts its shadow over the burial grounds, as if accompanying those lying there for eternity.

The sensation in the enclosure is one of total peace, and of an encounter with the oldest and most characteristic art of the Asturian monarchy: the pre-Romanesque, although the church of San Martín has undergone reforms and changes over the centuries, especially during the 15th century and also in the 18th century.

When you leave San Martín you can continue the ascent along the winding road, which, between bends, woods and good views, takes you to the Sanctuary of El Viso.

The Virgen del Viso has been venerated in Salas since time immemorial, and this Marian sanctuary is one of the most outstanding - together with that of L'Acebu in Cangas del Narcea - in the whole of western Asturias.

When you arrive at Viso you are impressed by its hundred-year-old oak trees, its crosses carved into the rock, its panoramic views, as if it were an infinite vantage point over the landscape, and the verses that are recited there:

Oh my Virgen del Viso,
I do not say goodbye to you,
For next year,
I must return if I live

Devotees from all over the world flock to El Viso, as well as those from Salta who have always celebrated this devotion.

But if you are not a devotee, it doesn't matter. Dozens of travellers come hiking or cycling, or simply stopping with their cars in the area to enjoy the surroundings.

Furthermore, if you continue a little further along the road towards the highest point, you will find the Viso viewpoint, where there is a pleasant recreational area and where, on clear days, you can contemplate the mountains of half of Asturias.

The river waterfalls in Asturias are always the perfect refuge for the xanas and other fantastic creatures that you may come across at some point during your trip, and the Nonaya river waterfall is no exception: like any self-respecting waterfall, it has its own legend, and this one in particular tells that good-looking young men eager to find their better half may at some point see the Nonaya xana and hear its song.

And if you approach the waterfall of the Nonaya, even if you do not see the xana, you will almost certainly meet a pilgrim of those who make the Camino de Santiago Primitivo, and who deviate a few metres from their route to contemplate the natural beauty of the surroundings and refresh themselves with the effluents of the Nonaya.

The scenery is absolutely idyllic, with its bridge, its forest and the great surprise of this natural waterfall...

So, the Nonaya waterfall is legendary, thanks to its xana, and jacobean, due to its proximity to the Camino de Santiago... Unique in Asturias!

Malleza is an authentic Indian "island" in the interior of Asturias, and that is why it is known as Little Havana. And the truth is that whoever gave it that name was right.

Its brightly coloured houses, with impressive galleries and manicured gardens with palm trees, reveal the past of abundant emigration to America of the inhabitants of the area, and their unconditional love for their land of origin.

Malleza is enchanting at first sight, with its church topped by a curious and striking dome, something unusual in rural Asturias. The sweet tranquillity of the village square, surrounded by stately Indian houses, makes a special impact on you; it is like suddenly being on another continent, but with the resplendent greenery of the Asturian land.

Another curious thing is that in some of the Indian houses in Malleza you can see the hórreos and paneras almost next to them, giving the impression that the spirit of rural Asturias is in fact a journey from the Asturian panera to the Indian palm tree.

When you say goodbye to Malleza, which is only 11 kilometres away from the city of Salas, you will carry in your mind's eye the images of unforgettable, grandiose, peaceful quintas, surrounded by a friendly, rural and, above all, very Asturian landscape.

It is probably the dream of every pilgrim to encounter surprising and unexpected discoveries along the way, which add a note of excitement and diversity to their journey of spirituality and adventure.

The Jacobean itinerary through the council of Salas holds many pleasant surprises for pilgrims and perhaps one of the most solemn is the one that walkers have when they focus on the Baroque towers of San Salvador de Cornellana in the distance or when they come across the triple apse of the church of this monastery right next to the path.

San Salvador de Cornellana, with its church and monastery, is imposing in every sense of the word, and of course it is an obligatory stop to contemplate both the exterior and the interior of this spectacular complex, which also has an impressive transept in its surroundings.

So don't forget that this route of civilisation that is the Way of St. James has incomparable landmarks in Salas, and one of them is San Salvador de Cornellana.

Salas has two fluvial arteries that give it life and life: the rivers Narcea and Nonaya - the latter a tributary of the former - and, curiously, the Nonaya flows into the Narcea in the vicinity of the monastery of San Salvador de Cornellana, in a wonderfully fertile area, where it is common to find farmers, pilgrims, fishermen and tourists, who wander in search of the beauties of the river or the Pilgrims' Route to Santiago de Compostela.

The Narcea takes on different nuances depending on the time of day, with its light and shade, its brightness and mattness, its transparency and its translucent moments.

The Narcea is the second most important river in Asturias after the Nalón, and its often crystal-clear waters are the delight of fishermen, spontaneous bathers, lovers of crops, and locals and foreigners willing to enjoy the river environment.