Villar del Río

Altitude: 1.139 m
Population: 167
Area: 12.703 Has
Annual Festival: Saint Filomena

By the Cidacos riverside. Opposite the church there is a renewed washing place and a watering trough.





Our Lady of the Vado’s Church – Gothic, 16th century, bricks built with slate and an ashlar buttress. One single nave, crossing and octagonal apse. On the inside, there is Renaissance retable and a just restored Romanesque sculpture (12th century).







Aula Paleontológica (Paleontologic Museum)
http://www.rutadelasicnitas.com/villar/index.htm
The Paleontologic Museum of Villar del Río shows in a didactic way the meaning and origin of the ichnites sites of the Highlands of Soria, a valuable source of investigation in the field of dinosaurs and Mesozoic reptiles. As well as information about the way of life of dinosaurs according to their footprints, some clues about how to find ichnites and games about curious details over dinosaurs, plants and animals that used to live with them, can be found in this museum.

On the Saturday previous to Easter Sunday, young men hang a piece of cloth (called Aleluyas) on the windows of the single ladies’ houses. A Judas (a kind of scarecrow) is made and hung outside Saint Filomena's Church. After Sunday mass, it is brought to the river and burnt.

These festivals are dedicated to Saint Filomena and Saint John from 28th to 31st of August.

On the night of the 28th the peseta is sang: Young men and ladies go to the houses where an Aleluya is hung and sing: “the ladies of the town must have a peseta because tomorrow is St John". At dawn, a branch of a black poplar tree is cut down. On the morning of the 29th, the branch is decorated and a young man holds it at the head of the procession celebrated after the mass. After the procession, young men ask for the peseta singing: “we sing to Fernando’s daughter. May she prepare the peseta because we’re coming here to get it". The father or grandfather of the single lady pays the young men the peseta, which is a small amount of money that these men will spend on the festival.

On the afternoon of the 29th the rosco is run. Two or three people get in a circle holding their hands. Another person chases them trying to hit them with a black poplar branch. Afterwards, a rosco (special cake) is eaten and zurracapote (fruity wine) is drunk.

On the 30th, Saint Filomena's day, the ornaments of the poplar branch are withdrawn and divided among the young men who will give them to the ladies after the mass. After the procession the sticks on which the sculpture of the Virign is carried are auctioned.

Bretún - A magnificient example of traditional architecture. On top of the town stands St. Peter's Church. It is been renewed and it keeps some Aztec remains that an Indiano (Spanish immigrants to the Americas that came back rich) brought. It has one single nave, made of stone, it keeps the Gothic chevet (16th century) as the rest of the building was renewed in the 18th century. There used to be two chapels: St Christ (in ruins) and Saint Christine (big size on rectangular ground plant).

Several ichnites lie both in the town and in its outskirts. An important site is known as La Matecasa, at the beginning of the town as well as the ones called Corral de la Peña, El Frontal and Fuente Lacorte. Mrs. Sara García Cambara, neighbour of the town, will explain you these sites.

Camporredondo - By the side of the river Ostaza, just below Diustes beechwood and next to a huge juniper forest. Although it was abandoned many years ago, some houses have been restored recently.

Diustes - A beautiful example of mountain style village. Several bridges communicate its streets among which the river Ostaza and the stream Valley flow. Lush pine and beech woods surround the town, such as the big "Diustes Beech wood" – of over 50 Has- which is remarkable for its beauty and ecological value.

Gothic, 16th century church in honour of St Just and Shepherd. Several sculptures were stolen some years ago but fortunately they were recovered by the police.

Huérteles - It stands between the roads that drive you to Soria and San Pedro Manrique, at the botton of the Mountain El Cayo, it has fertile fields and good pastures. Asuntion’s Church, rural Gothic, 16th century chevet and 19th century construction.

La Cuesta - On the hillside of the Mountain Ayedo. For many years, a drug addict rehabilitation program was carried out in this town. Today, several houses have been renewed and a Rural Guest House has been opened. There are also two big palaces. One of them is being restored and the other can be considered a real treasure. It is from 17th century and belonged to the Ríos family. It keeps inside a beautiful pediment with shields.

The Church is dedicated to the Assumption and it used to be a farm. Its retable are in the Burgo de Osma Cathedral’s Museum.

La Laguna - This small village is located in the Rincón de la Caballera with views over the Helechosa and Valdehondo gullies.

Some ichnites can be found in the Path to the Mill and by the riverside in Las Llanas.

In the heyday of the Broch Culture in Soria and during the Celtiberian period, the Highlands were dominated by two big fortified settlements: Los Casares of San Pedro Manrique and El Castillo of La Laguna. The walls of this town are the highest and strongest of uper Cidacos and the Linares riverbanks.

Montaves - It is the second highest town of Soria (1.375 m) found at El Cayo mountain side. St John the Baptist’s Church is nearly in ruins; the services have been taking place in the old schools for many years now. The retable as well as a highly valuable Crucifixion are preserved.

Another treasure of the town are the medieval "cool boxes", which were wells carved in the earth that were used to keep the winter snow to sell it in summertime.

Santa Cecilia - Several renewed houses are used as second houses during the summer. There are only three walls left from the Apostle James' Church with a Roman tombstone on one of them.

Valduérteles - Two neighbourhoods, the High and the Low, both located at the botton of a gully that goes up to the river Cidacos. An attractive and colourful place. Its church is Our Lady of the Hawthorn’s Church. Incites sites and a big amount of fossils can be found there.

Villar del Maya - The shields on the walls of the houses show the importance of this town during the transhumance period. The house of the family Rodrigo Velasco was the wealthiest of the region. The Romanesque retable from St. Thomas' Church is displayed at the Burgo de Osma Cathedral's Museum. In wintertime the village is almost abandoned, as the fields were sold to the Patrimonio Forestal del Estado.

Town Council: 975 18 52 16
Bar El Molino: 975 18 52 16
Bar la Plaza - Tel. N.: Public: 975 18 53 99
Pharmacy: 652 42 95 45
Aula Paleontológica (Paleontologic Museum): 975 18 50 93 / 625 79 54 77 - Learn more at www.rutadelasicnitas.com