La Campa Square and the Tower
Chapter 1/9 · Salas
Welcome to Salas, capital of the municipality of the same name, known as the gateway to western Asturias! We start in La Campa square, next to the Tourist Office, in the heart of the town. This is a circular walk on foot: we will come back to this very spot.
Salas grew up on the banks of the river Nonaya, which is why old documents call it Salas de Nonaya, at the foot of a castle that Queen Urraca gave to Count Suero in 1120. In 1277 King Alfonso X granted it a town charter, and in 1994 its historic centre was declared a Site of Cultural Interest. The Primitive Way of Saint James also passes through here, so you may well meet pilgrims.
In front of us is the tower, the oldest building in the historic centre. It is square, with battlements and corner turrets, and its ground floor once held the town jail. It dates from the late 14th or early 15th century, but on 13 December 1959 a violent storm brought down its northern half, and from 1960 the architect Luis Menéndez Pidal rebuilt it, so part of what we see is from the 20th century. Notice that it has no door onto the street: you enter by the arched bridge that links it to the palace, at first-floor level.
Let us walk over to that palace, the home of the Valdés-Salas family.
Start · Salas