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Galicia
Make the most of your time in Galicia, use the information provided on this web site by clicking on the links to plan your visit.
Known as the ‘land of a thousand rivers’ and ‘green Spain’, Galicia is tucked away to the north-west of Spain and claims distinct differences in its culture and development to the rest of the country. Galicia, and more specifically the city of Ferrol, is where the infamous dictator General Franco was born. Ironically, despite being able to speak the local language, Gallegos, he banned the dialect and trampled any bids for autonomy during his reign. Nevertheless, since Franco’s death in 1975 and the advent of a new constitution in 1978, Galicia, and indeed the country’s other divisions, have blossomed into autonomous community with their own degrees of power and self-government.
Galicia faces out towards the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Cantabrian Sea to the north, while to its south is Portugal. The community also borders the regions of the mighty Castile and Leon and the somewhat smaller Asturias. Galicia itself is divided into four sub-sections and has been since 1833; these are La Coruna, Lugo, Pontevedra and Ourense, while its capital city is Santiago de Compostela, the destination for pilgrims travelling the Way of St James.
The region’s coastal areas are marked by high cliffs, while streaked throughout the community are numerous estuaries. The coast also has a milieu of inlets called rias. Between the coastal, fishing focused part of the area and the inland, agricultural parts there is a backbone of mountains featuring a number of small undulations and some peaks of up to 2,000 metres. Contrasting with its varied terrain is a steady climate which tends to remain mild throughout the year with occasional forest fires due to the heat.
Whereas most of Spain was colonised by the Moors Galicia remained relatively untouched. It did undergo a period of Roman rule, some of the remains of which can be seen in a wall around Lugo and the Tower of Hercules at La Coruna. It was the Celts, though, who left the most important imprints on the area. Much Celtic tradition can be seen throughout the region and it is this that marks the major distinctions between Galicia and other areas of Spain.
Geographically Galicia is fairly small and has fewer than three million inhabitants. There are proportionally very few non-Spanish people living in the region, meanwhile Buenos Aires in Argentina has a particularly large number of Gallegos.
Culturally, the region has less of a focus on rice and pasta like the rest of Spain and substitutes them for vegetables, and in particular potatoes. Also, due to its vast coastal concentration, people tend to eat a lot of fish and shellfish. While Galicia has a reputation for being a poor part of Spain its tourism industry has grown in recent years and it does have a good number of places to visit and sights to see. Galicia has its own song – Os Pinos, or The Pine Trees – its own flag and its own parliament called the Xunta de Galicia.