Weightoz
Pesoz (in eonaviego Pezós) is a council of the autonomous community of the Principality of Asturias, in the north of Spain, the only parish of said council and a town of said parish, capital of the council. It limits to the north with Illano, to the south with Grandas de Salime, to the east with Allande and to the west with San Martín de Oscos.
In recent years it has experienced a significant downward demographic trend, until it fell below 200 inhabitants in 2007, being since that year the second least populated council in Asturias, after Yernes and Tameza, with 141 inhabitants registered in the census 2021. It is one of the councils in which Eonaviego or Galician-Asturian is spoken.
Geography
Its relief corresponds to the general relief of the region, that is, abundance of slate in its primary form. The type is greywacke, a sedimentary rock of old formation, quartz and feldspar with residual associations of other rocks. The Grauwacka variety is combined with all varieties of the common slate. The color of the greywacke is usually brown, gray with some green, white and red lines and some almost black slates. The structure of these slates varies a lot, the most usual being the one that is broken into regular slabs and sheets, which in turn is used for the construction of house roofs and bordering farms, resulting in this material being economically accessible.
Its topography is abrupt, but less rugged than the geographical contour, with heights of less than 800 meters, being noteworthy the Cordales de Leares and San Isidro, as well as the Sequeiros hill, to the north and northwest. The Pesoz hill runs through the municipality from north to south, limiting the southern elevations with the Cordal de Grandas.
As for its hydrographic network, it is worth noting the Agüeira and Navia rivers, the first flowing into the second. The Agüeira is born in the port of La Garganta, in Galician lands, specifically in Fonsagrada, Lugo. After crossing the neighboring councils of Santa Eulalia and San Martín de Oscos, it enters Pesoz, collecting the waters of the Ahio River and flowing into the Navia near Pelorde, in the Doiras reservoir. The Navia serves as a border limit with the council of Allande.
Thanks to its particular relief, its vegetation is full of birches and oaks in the middle of the mountains, and chestnut trees in the background. The repopulation of the middle of the last century, forces a setback of native species in favor of others such as eucalyptus and pine.
It has a microclimate isolated from the sea breezes that rise through the valleys of the lower Navia River, remaining as a series of high valleys of the Agüeira River with certain environmental characteristics of their own, with quite cold winters with strong frosts and warm summers. It has a relatively dry air, which allows it to have been one of the wine councils of Asturias since ancient times. Currently, the principality of Asturias recovers the history of this wine as part of the historical and tourist attraction of the area, being the territory of the council within the D.O.P. came from Cangas
History
There is evidence that the territory of Pesoz was occupied since ancient times, as evidenced by the fortifications of Santa Cruz and San Isidro, which showed us the system they had to defend the settlements and that it was none other than the digging of slate slabs. It is known that these forts began in the Neolithic, continued in the Bronze Age to have its heyday in the Iron Age.
There are indications that mining operations existed in the area at the time of Romanization, which appears toponymically documented in As Furadías and Brañavella.
However, it is not possible to have data from both the Visigothic period and the period of the Asturian monarchy. The first medieval document of which there is evidence is the one that refers to the donation made by Alfonso VII to the Bishop of Oviedo, of some territories between the Eo and Navia rivers and which were considered as an integral part of Castropol, made this which gives rise to doubt, since in another donation made by Fernando II, he associates it with Grandas de Salime. This situation of being under episcopal jurisdiction was maintained during the late medieval and early modern ages, coming to an end at the time of the confiscation carried out by Felipe II in 1580, who sold the land to Alonso de Navia Bolaño, causing a angry response from the people, who did not accept it and resorted to the sale, not resolving the situation until 1585, in which the people were right. The grantor is Alonso del Camino under the auspices of the royal representative Gutierre de Navia y Mon. In October of that year, the first council laws and ordinances were approved and the council, already detached from bishop's supervision, was born. However, when going to the general meeting of the Principality, he would do so under the auspices of Castropol. These ordinances were not modified until 1779, in which the town was granted much more prominence.
Already in more recent times, we must comment on the consequences that the council suffered with the War of Independence against the French troops, in which invasions were suffered by General Bonet and General Ney in 1809. Of the Carlist wars It should be noted that Pesoz becomes a place of passage for the games of Casariego and Méndez.
In the XX century, we will highlight the incidence that the construction of the Grandas reservoir had for the council, which positively affected its population and that when it ended caused a demographic decline, with very negative economic and social consequences for the council, from which it is expected to be able to leave within a very short time, since the municipality has the resources to be able to face the future with a greater optimism.
Capital
The capital of the council and almost the agglutinator of the entire population is Pesoz (Pezós in Asturian). Mountainous terrain although gently modulated and with slightly undulating peaks. With serious demographic problems at present, livestock is the source of life for the majority of the population. It is established at the confluence of the Agüeira and Aio rivers, establishing the hamlets around the Ron palace.
Demographic evolution
The population of Pesoz follows the lines drawn for the entire western rural region. Of the 900 people at the beginning of the XX century, there were 256 at the beginning of the XXI, being noteworthy the increase originated in the middle of the century by the construction of the Grandas de Salime Reservoir and which increased the population to 2,154 inhabitants. To the loss of this population that was temporarily settled in the council, emigration to Europe and to the industrial centers of the principality, particularly Avilés and Gijón, will also be added later, causing a decrease of up to 60% between 1950 and 1960, which brings as Consequently, the premature aging of the population, with 20% being less than 20 years of age, presenting quite altered demographic structures. This single-parochial municipality concentrates the majority of its population around its capital, dispersing the rest in small nuclei, many of them practically uninhabited.
| Graph of demographic evolution of Pesoz between 1842 and 2021 |
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Population of law (1842-2011) or according to population censuses of the INE. |
Economy
Economically speaking, the motor that sustains the council is basically the primary sector, and more specifically the livestock that generates 80% of local employment. With a winter confinement regime, the production has a mixed dairy and meat orientation, the latter being the dominant one, although by a narrow margin.
Regarding the secondary and construction sectors, little or nothing can be said about the influence that this has in the council, since it employs only 2% of the population, with construction being the activity that generates the greatest number of jobs creates.
Lastly, with regard to the tertiary service sector, this represents 18% of employment in the council, with small businesses and the administration branch generating almost all of the jobs, being developed said activity practically entirely in the capital of the council.
Heritage
The main artistic and historical heritage in the council are the castros of Santa Cruz de Pesoz and San Isidro on the border of the neighboring council of San Martín de Oscos. These forts show us the first human settlements and in them we can see how they lived and maintained their defense.
Apart from the forts, it is also worth noting the Palacio de Ron (it takes its name from the Ron family), around which the urban center of the capital is articulated. It has four wings distributed around a central patio that serves as a spatial distributor. In 1909 the main façade underwent a remodeling, which consists of a door that is framed in an arch, all crowned with the family coat of arms. Inside it we can see a tower from which you can see the entire Agüeira valley. The southern wall has two corbels, which are believed to have been used to support a drawbridge.
Regarding the religious work, we have the originally Romanesque Church of Santiago de Pesoz, of which the apse is at least in this style; its vault is decorated with paintings referring to the life of Christ. In addition to the apse, the church is made up of an access portal from the XV century, a side chapel from the XVII and another opposite to this from the XX century span>. The building is built with plastered slate, reinforced at the corners and openings with stone ashlars. The roof is also made of slate.
The municipality has an interesting Ethnological Museum
As well as this historical and artistic heritage, Pesoz is also characterized by having a wonderful natural heritage, very beautiful and attractive thanks to the survival of native flora and riverside flora. Of enormous natural wealth we can say that it is the basin of the Agüeira river, which shows us the species typical of the riverside forest, and which results in an idyllic landscape.
Parties
Among its main festivals, we will highlight:
- In the month of February or March carnival in the town of Sanzo
- In the month of June, the fiestas of San Antonio in the town of Francos on day 13 and the fiestas of San Juan in the town of Sanzo on the 24th day.
- In the month of July, it is the holidays of Santa Marine in the town of Vilarmarzo on the 18th.
- In the month of August, it is the feasts of San Lorenzo in the town of Lixóu on day 10 and the feasts of the Asunción in the town of Pesoz and those of San Roque in the town of Vilabrille, both in day 16.On day 24 the fiestas of San Bartolomé in the town of Sen.
The progressive decrease of the population has reduced the number of municipal festivities in the same way, although those that are celebrated show us the old traditions that are still preserved today. A good dish from the area cannot be missing from the festivities, being the broths, the stews, and the meats, whether bovine or porcine, which make up the exquisite delicacy of the land. And all this decorated with the wonders of Pesoz, which are species of fried sweets with different shapes.
Parishes
- Weight (in Galician-asturian: Pezós)