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Pizarral is a Spanish municipality and town in the province of Salamanca, in the autonomous community of Castilla y León. It is integrated into the Guijuelo region and the Salvatierra sub-region. It belongs to the judicial district of Béjar.

Its municipal area is made up of the town of Pizarral and the unpopulated area of Torozos, it occupies a total area of 16.67 km² and according to the demographic data collected in the municipal register prepared by the INE in 2017, it has a population of 53 inhabitants.

Toponymy

A very interesting place-name for medieval history is Salvatierra, which in its simple form or forming part of compound denominations refers to towns of greater or lesser importance or to entire regions. All the regions or towns called Salvatierra are in territory that has once been a border; That is why these place names help us to draw medieval borders when we do not know their exact layout. The region of Salvatierra, in the southeast of Salamanca, halfway between the Tormes and the Alagón, which includes the territory of twelve towns or annexes (Salvatierra, Villar de Salvatierra, Navarredonda de Salvatierra, Campillo de Salvatierra, Castillejo de Salvatierra, Fuenterroble de Salvatierra, Pizarral de Salvatierra, Berrocal de Salvatierra, Montejo de Salvatierra, Herreros de Salvatierra, Palacios de Salvatierra and Cabezuela de Salvatierra) and could have been a defense of the Christian border, in the time of Ramiro II or of the border between León and Castilla, It did not run very far, nor does the provincial boundary that separates Salamanca from Ávila today.

The council of Salvatierra, first, and then during the XVIII century the party of Salvatierra, comprised three parts, called formerly sexmos, and later, at least from the XVIII century, rooms: the sexmo or Lower Room, the sixth or fourth of Above and the sixth or fourth of La Villa and its suburbs.

The fourth or sixth of Abajo included the terms of the following places: Pedrosillo de los Aires, Navarredonda de Salvatierra, Berrocal de Salvatierra, Palacios de Salvatierra, Montejo de Salvatierra and Pizarral de Salvatierra.

Pizarral de Salvatierra: name of a place, with Town Hall, belonging to the sixth or fourth floor. It is a totally transparent place-name, which faithfully responds to reality of the slate terrain not only of the place where the hamlet is located but of practically the entire term. As in many other cases, it is a name of abundant character, slate, enabled as a place name.

The first documentation is from 1629 (Piçarral); in the Cadastre of Ensenada and in the map of Don Tomás López, Pizarral; in the different provincial Gazetteers, Pizarral de Salvatierra.

As for Torozos, the name of a hamlet, the center of a small property, in the municipality of Pizarral, today practically uninhabited. It is a place-name that is difficult to interpret. It could be the evolution of pieces, with introduction or epenthesis of one or anaptictic (>torozos); The name trozos/torozos, of obvious significance, and very abundant as a name referring to farms or plots or very small lands, and as a micro-toponym, would have become first a minor place-name, and then a major place-name, Bulls.

Now, it could also be a repopulation place name, since we know that bordering Tierra de Campos to the south are the Montes de Torozos between Palencia and Valladolid, from where the repopulators of this area of Salvatierra would come, who baptize a part of the term of Pizarral with the name of their land of origin. This place name appears only in the Cadastre of Ensenada and in the current Gazetteers.

History

The foundation of Pizarral dates back to the repopulation carried out by King Alfonso IX of León at the beginning of the XIII century, when it was included in the Alfoz de Salvatierra, within the Kingdom of León. With the creation of the current provinces in 1833, Pizarral was integrated into the province of Salamanca, within the Leonese Region.

The origins of Salvatierra and Montejo date back to 1202 and 1224, respectively, indicating that Pizarral was established in that time period.

Throughout the centuries, records of Pizarral have been preserved, such as the Book of places and villages of the Bishopric of Salamanca (manuscript 1604-1629), edited by Antonio Casaseca Casaseca and José Ramón Nieto González in 1982 where, on page 124, Pizarral is described.

Demographics

Graphic of demographic evolution of Pizarral between 1900 and 2022

Source: Spanish National Statistical Institute - Graphical development by Wikipedia.

According to the National Institute of Statistics, Pizarral had, as of December 31, 2018, a total population of 47 inhabitants, of whom 30 were men and 17 women. Regarding the year 2000, the census reflects 100 inhabitants, of which 48 were men and 52 women. Therefore, the loss of population in the municipality for the period 2000-2018 has been 53 inhabitants, a 53% decrease.

The municipality is divided into two population centers. Of the 47 inhabitants that the municipality had in 2018, all of them resided in Pizarral, since Torozos is depopulated.

Symbols

Shield

Spanish shield, half split and cut; first of silver, a natural slate wall; second of azure, a silver rosary placed in an oval border; third of gold, a clarinated sable cow in its color. At the bell, closed Spanish royal crown.

Flag

Rectangular cloth flag of proportions 3:2 (length by width). Vertical tertiary, with blue stripes on the pole, yellow on the flap, and white in the center, with the Municipal Heraldic Coat of Arms; having this height, 2/5 of the width of the Flag.

Administration and politics

Municipal elections

Transportation

The municipality is well connected by road, through the N-630 national highway that connects Gijón with Seville and allows you to go both to the provincial capital and to other nearby towns; Parallel to this highway runs the Ruta de la Plata highway, which follows the same route as the national highway and has a direct exit in the neighboring municipality of Montejo, allowing faster communications with the rest of the country. Another important highway is the DSA-216 that starts at the junction with the N-630 and joins the municipality with Berrocal de Salvatierra.

As far as public transport is concerned, after the closure of the Vía de la Plata railway route, which passed through the municipality and had a station there, there are no train services in the municipality or in the neighbors, nor regular line with bus service. On the other hand, Salamanca Airport is the closest, being about 46km away.

Social Center

The Pizarral Social Center shares a building with the Municipal Hall, and was built in the year 2000. The Center was completely renovated in June 2020, modernizing its appearance and adapting it to the new regulations.

Heritage

Church of St. Michael the Archangel

The Church of Pizarral, in Romanesque style, was built at the beginning of the XVII century and is dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel. It welcomes the patron saint of the town, the Virgen del Rosario

The first book that talks about the Church of Pizarral is Book of places and villages of the Bishopric of Salamanca (manuscript 1604-1629), edited by Antonio Casaseca Casaseca and José Ramón Nieto González in 1982.

Natural water sources

Pizarral has 4 water sources in different enclaves of the municipality. Two of them have been remodeled over the years, in order to facilitate supply to the municipality, but the other 2 are in their original conception.

Slate Bridges

The name of the municipality is due to the amount of slate found in the area where Pizarral is located, and that is why the traditional heritage of the town has been made with slate. An account of this are the fountains and the bridges that cross the stream and the stream that cross the urban area.

Town Hall Square

In the summer of 2020, construction began on the Plaza del Ayuntamiento in the space between the Town Hall and the Municipal Scale. At the end of August, the urban reform of what is the first public square in Pizarral was completed. It has several biosaludable equipment.

Parties

• 7 October: Virgin of the Rosary
• 4 October: Santa Barbara