Architecture
Stone by stone
One of the most striking aspects of the area is its architecture. Based on tradition, people used every available resource in order to make daily life easier.
Hórreos:
They can be spotted all around the Valley. They were built to keep food safe from animals, that is why they are raised on four pillars. The peculiarity of Laciana’s hórreos is in their roof. Most of them are made of straw (Called teito) instead of roof tile or slab.
Houses and palaces:
Several houses and palaces were built in the Valley. The most remarkable about these houses is their shape. Traditionally, these houses were U-shaped, and in the middle of this U, it was placed the hórreo.
In the ground floor of the houses, people used to built stables where they kept the cattle, which provided heat to the upper floor, where the owners lived.
Pilones:
They are fountains with an attached tank. They had a double function, they gave water to the humans, and they were used as trough for the animals. Their singularity is again their shape, they are round shaped.
Cabins:
In the mountains of the Valley, there are several cabin groups, called brañas. In former days, these cabins were a shelter for cattle and shepherds. Nowadays, lots of these cabins have been reformed and used for tourism.
Washing places:
They were a meeting point for women who went there to work washing the clothes.
Mills:
They took advantage of the hydraulic power of rivers in order to grind rye and wheat.
Potros:
They were used to hold animals when they needed to be shoed. There was one of them in each village.
Bridges:
There are several Roman bridges, the most notable in San Miguel de Laciana y Rioscuro.
Mining turrets:
Structures built over a vertical well to hold the pulleys over the well Access. They help the cage or lift to get up and down. They are useful for the miners to get in and out, but also for the access of machinery, wagons and materials. It also conducts in and out ventilation, electric energy, compressed air and drainage. We can find two of these turrets in Laciana: Pozo María
in Caboalles de Abajo and Pozo Calderón
in Orallo.
The first multilanguaje page about our valley