The old town is the Cimadevilla of Gijon, situated on and around the Santa Catalina Hill in Gijon. We took a taxi into the town – I was still on somewhat ‘go-slow’ – and started looking round.
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The Santa Catalina hill juts out into the bay and on the top there was once a Roman villa. Today you can find sculptures, and the remains of 17th century fortifications. The information board is in Spanish but I have included it because it shows the layout of the site.
We didn’t find Eduardo Chillida’s famous statue1 but we did find ‘Northeast’ which was made by Joaquín Vaquero Turcios, 1994, of Corten steel.
Streets and squares
The Santa Catalina Hill on its western slopes, above the harbour, is known as the Hill of Cholo. The origin of the name is unclear, but apparently it is the place to vist in the evening. We saw a rather more subdued face of the area.
The Chapel de la Soledad was built in 1674 and today it is associated with the Fishermen’s Guild in Gijon. Gijon was of course a fishing port, and at one point also involved in whaling. This was the area in which trade was conducted, and where the fishermen lived.
And then we just wandered, finding narrow streets (clean) and small squares. It was late morning, and fairly quiet but there was plenty of evidence of bars and cafes offering the busy night life about which I had read!
We came out into the Square of Jovellanos. Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos (1744-1811) was apparently an important Spanish stateman in Spain, but I had never heard of him. Oh dear. He was even painted by Goya… He was born in Gijon and the mansion on the right (photo below) is a museum dedicated to him.
The Romans
There is apparently an old settlement/castro which was later used by the Romans at Campo Torres, on the opposite side of the bay. We didn’t visit but noticed the location of the site on top of the hill, to the right of storage site. This site was abandoned and Gegionem established on top of the Santa Cataline hill in Gijon.
In Cimadevilla you can find parts of the Roman walls.
And in the Plaza Jovellanos there are walls, parts of towers, a Roman soldier and a dragon!
The Club Astur de Regatas is a private club, just round the corner from the Church of San Pedro, and with wonderful views across the bay. It was established in 1911 and is clearly very prestigious.
The Roman Baths of Campo Valdes
The Roman baths lie under the square in front of the Church of San Pedro. The baths were discoverd by accident in 1903 during sewage works, and the museum only opened in 1995. I must admit we found the site disappointing because there was a dearth of information, which was unusual in Spain.
The Roman established a town here in the 1st century AD and the baths date from the 1st-2nd centuries AD.
And nearby stands the statue of Octavian Augustus, the Roman emperor who came to Asturias to end the wars of Rome against the Cantabrians and Asturians.
Church of San Pedro
The Church of San Pedro is modern and dates from 1945-55. It stands at the bottom of the hill of Santa Cataline, which is the headland at the top of the old town of Gijon. It replaced a 15th century church which burned down during the Civil War in 1938.
It was the weekend and so there was a wedding. We slipped into the back of the church and managed a photograph!
Demonstrations
On the square outide there was a noisy demonstration about the Spanish aid workers who had been detained by the Israeli forces.
This was our first look at the Cimadevilla of Gijon and we only started to get a flavour of the area. You really need to wander here in the evenings, and for that you need to stay in a hotel in this area. However, we wanted the peace and tranquillity of the Parador.
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