Belmonte de Miranda
Encyclopedia
Belmonte de Miranda is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

. It is bordered on the north by Salas, on the east by Grado
Grado, Asturias
Grado is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias in Spain. It is bordered on the north by Candamo and Las Regueras, on the east by Proaza, Santo Adriano and Oviedo, on the south by Teverga and Yernes y Tameza, and on the west by Belmonte de Miranda and...

, to the south by Somiedo
Somiedo
Somiedo is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is bordered on the north by Belmonte de Miranda, on the east by Teverga, on the west by Tineo and Cangas del Narcea, and on the south by the province of León.It is the second least densely populated...

 and Teverga
Teverga
Teverga is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is bordered on the north by Belmonte de Miranda, Grado, Yernes y Tameza, and Proaza; to the south by León province, to the west by Somiedo and to the east by Quirós and Proaza.Formerly a mining area,...

, and on the west by Tineo
Tineo
- Politics :-Parroquias :-Tourism:The Sacred Art Museum of Tineo is located at the Plaza Alonso Martinez inside the Convento de San Francisco del Monte , a 14th century Roman Catholic church accessible via the AS-217 road.-External links:***...

.

Geography

The municipality is crossed from south to north by the basin of the river Pigüeña, a trout-rich tributary of the Narcea
Narcea
The Narcea is a river of Asturias. It is a tributary of the Nalón River....

, the river which forms the northern border with Salas, and which is usually fished for salmon.

The southeast part of the municipality forms part of the Somiedo Natural Park
Somiedo Natural Park
Somiedo Natural Park is a natural park located in the central area of the Cantabrian Mountains in the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain....

. In it are a great variety of native forest species: oaks, chestnuts, and so forth. Here the fauna is varied and abundant, including wolves, foxes, badgers, roe deer, boars, and brown bear
Cantabrian brown bear
Cantabrian brown bear refers to a population of Eurasian brown bears living in the Cantabrian Mountains of Spain. Females weigh, on average, 85kg but can reach a weight of 150kg. Males average 115kg though can weigh as much as 200kg. The bear measures between 1.6 – 2m in length and between 0.90...

.

Demography

The inhabitants of the municipality are in 66 principal villages divided into 15 parishes, the largest of which is Belmonte
Belmonte
-People and titles:*Prince Belmonte or Princess Belmonte, a Spanish and Italian noble title*Domenico Pignatelli di Belmonte, a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church*Gennaro Granito Pignatelli di Belmonte, a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church...

, with 32.1 km².

Like many of the municipalities in the mountains of Asturias, Belmonte de Miranda is losing population. At the turn of the twentieth century, it numbered over 7000. Emigration was a major cause of population decline, especially in the 1940s. In the final decades of the twentieth century, the population of the capital seems to have become fixed at around 800.

Economy

Agriculture is the most developed economic activity in the region. It is done on small ranches and many of the ranchers are of advanced age, which endangers the future of the enterprise.
In the industrial sector, the most notable company is Río Narcea Gold Mines.
Nearly a third of the population works in the service sector, especially in the burgeoning hospitality businesses.

Famous people

  • P. José Alvarez Fernandez O.P. (May 16, 1890 – October 19, 1970), Dominican
    Dominican Order
    The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...

     missionary, active in the Amazon for 53 years, until his death in Lima
    Lima
    Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...

    .
  • Alvaro de Cienfuegos y Sierra (February 27, 1657 – August 19, 1739), cardinal and archbishop of Rome.
  • Xose Alvarez Fernandez Pin (1948-), Asturian writer, known for his works El bable de Xuanín ia outrus cuentus (1980) and Fíos de nadie (1981).
  • Ángeles Villarta, writer, journalist, and director
  • Celso Alvarez Alvarez, forensic doctor, ex-director of the Service of Internal Medicine at the Hospital Covadonga and the Hospital Central de Asturias in Oviedo
    Oviedo
    Oviedo is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain. It is also the name of the municipality that contains the city....

    .

Parishes
Parish (subnational entity)
A parish is an administrative division used by several countries. In the British Isles it is known as a civil parish to distinguish it from the ecclesiastical parish.-External links:* Editorial in The Guardian, 2011-05-16....

  • Agüera
    Agüera (Belmonte)
    Agüera is one of 15 parishes in Belmonte de Miranda, a municipality within the province and autonomous community of Asturias, in northern Spain. Its name comes from the Asturian word "agüeru", which means a pool or irrigation channel...

  • Almurfe
    Almurfe
    Almurfe is one of 15 parishes in Belmonte de Miranda, a municipality within the province and autonomous community of Asturias, in northern Spain.It is in size with a population of 38 .-Villages:* Almurfe...

  • Begega
    Begega
    Begega is one of 15 parishes in Belmonte de Miranda, a municipality within the province and autonomous community of Asturias, in northern Spain.It is in size with a population of 83 .-Villages:* Bixega* El Pontigu...

  • Belmonte
    Belmonte, Asturias
    Belmonte is one of 15 parishes in Belmonte de Miranda, a municipality of the same name, within the province and autonomous community of Asturias, in northern Spain.It is in size with a population of 688 ....

  • Castañedo
    Castañedo (Belmonte)
    Castañedo is one of 15 parishes in Belmonte de Miranda, a municipality within the province and autonomous community of Asturias, in northern Spain.It is in size with a population of 35 ....

  • Cuevas
    Cuevas, Asturias
    Cuevas is one of 15 parishes in Belmonte de Miranda, a municipality within the province and autonomous community of Asturias, in northern Spain.It is in size with a population of 35 ....

  • Las Estacas
    Las Estacas
    Las Estacas is one of 15 parishes in Belmonte de Miranda, a municipality within the province and autonomous community of Asturias, in northern Spain.It is in size with a population of 83 ....

  • Leiguarda
    Leiguarda
    Leiguarda is one of 15 parishes in Belmonte de Miranda, a municipality within the province and autonomous community of Asturias, in northern Spain.It is above sea level and has a population of 185 Leiguarda is one of 15 parishes (administrative divisions) in Belmonte de Miranda, a municipality...

  • Llamoso
    Llamoso
    Llamoso is one of 15 parishes in Belmonte de Miranda, a municipality within the province and autonomous community of Asturias, in northern Spain.It is in size with a population of 31 ....

  • Montovo
    Montovo
    Montovo is one of 15 parishes in Belmonte de Miranda, a municipality within the province and autonomous community of Asturias, in northern Spain.It is in size with a population of 35 ....

  • Quintana
    Quintana (Belmonte)
    Quintana is one of 15 parishes in Belmonte de Miranda, a municipality within the province and autonomous community of Asturias, in northern Spain.It is in size with a population of 178 ....

  • San Bartolomé
    San Bartolomé (Belmonte)
    San Bartolomé is one of 15 parishes in Belmonte de Miranda, a municipality within the province and autonomous community of Asturias, in northern Spain.It is in size with a population of 178 ....

  • San Martín de Lodón
    San Martín de Lodón
    San Martín de Lodón is one of 15 parishes in Belmonte de Miranda, a municipality within the province and autonomous community of Asturias, in northern Spain.It is in size with a population of 242 ....

  • San Martín de Ondes
    San Martín de Ondes
    San Martín de Ondes is one of 15 parishes in Belmonte de Miranda, a municipality within the province and autonomous community of Asturias, in northern Spain.It is in size with a population of 49 ....

  • Vigaña
    Vigaña (Belmonte)
    Vigaña is one of 15 parishes in Belmonte de Miranda, a municipality within the province and autonomous community of Asturias, in northern Spain.It is in size with a population of 38 ....


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