Lugares colombinos
Encyclopedia
Provinces of Spain
Spain and its autonomous communities are divided into fifty provinces .In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian , sing. província.*Galician , sing. provincia.*Basque |Galicia]] — are not also the capitals of provinces...
Huelva, which includes several places that have special relevance to the preparation and realization of the first voyage of Cristopher Columbus. That voyage is widely considered to constitute the discovery of the Americas by Europeans. It was declared a conjunto histórico artístico ("historic/artistic grouping") by a Spanish law of 1967.
There are two localities so honored: Palos de la Frontera
Palos de la Frontera
Palos de la Frontera is a town and municipality located in the southwestern Spanish province of Huelva, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is situated some from the provincial capital, Huelva...
(both the old center and the La Rábida Monastery
La Rabida Monastery
La Rábida Monastery is a Franciscan monastery in the southern Spanish town of Palos de la Frontera, in the province of Huelva and the autonomous region of Andalucia...
3 kilometres (1.9 mi) distant), and Moguer
Moguer
Moguer is a municipality and small city located in the province of Huelva, Andalusia, Spain. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 18,381. Its surface area is , and its population density is ....
. Columbus visited each of these places several times, and people associated with each played roles in his voyage. He received help and collaboration for his projected voyage from the brothers of the La Rábida Monastery, the Pinzón Brothers
The Pinzon Brothers
The Pinzón brothers were Spanish sailors, explorers and fishermen, natives of Palos de la Frontera, Huelva, Spain. All three, Martín Alonso, Francisco Martín and Vicente Yañez, participated in Christopher Columbus's first expedition to the New World and in other voyages of discovery and...
of Palos de la Frontera, the Niño Brothers of Moguer and other prestigious families of mariners in the area who were further distinguished by their participation in the voyage of discovery.
In the years following Columbus's voyage this area of Spain, especially Palos, suffered a great economic decline, owing in part to emigration to the newly discovered territories overseas. The recuperation of the historical importance of this region with respect to the Spanish discovery and conquest of the Americas (and the interest in preserving and restoring the buildings associated with Columbus) began, in part, with the nineteenth century writer Washington Irving
Washington Irving
Washington Irving was an American author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century. He was best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works...
, from the United States, whose travels in Spain included this area. His diary entries for 12–14 August 1828 deal with the Lugares colombinos; that same year he would publish The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus
The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus
A History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus is a four volume biographical account of Christopher Columbus written by Washington Irving in 1828...
; he also published a short essay about Palos as an appendix to Voyages and Discoveries of the Companions of Columbus.
The Lugares colombinos remain a strong reminder of the history linking Spain to Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, and are the most noted historical and cultural sites in the province of Huelva.
Palos
Palos de la Frontera describes itself as the "cradle of the Discovery of America". The royal provision undertaking to provide two caravelCaravel
A caravel is a small, highly maneuverable sailing ship developed in the 15th century by the Portuguese to explore along the West African coast and into the Atlantic Ocean. The lateen sails gave her speed and the capacity for sailing to windward...
s for Columbus was read out at the fourteenth century Church of Saint George the Martyr (Iglesia de San Jorge Mártir) on 30 April 1492. It was declared a National Monument in 1931.
Near this church is the Fontanilla
Fontanilla
The Fontanilla is the former public fountain of Palos de la Frontera in Spain where, according to tradition, these fountains provided the water for the ships of Cristopher Columbus's first voyage—the Santa María, the Niña, and the Pinta—when, on 3 August 1492, they departed from Palos de la...
, the public fountain from which, according to tradition, Columbus's boats drew the fresh water for their voyage. The fountain lay between the church's Puerta de los Novios and the wharf from which Columbus's expedition departed. The base of the fountain dates back to Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
times and it is protected by a tetrapylum, a sort of gazebo
Gazebo
A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal, that may be built, in parks, gardens, and spacious public areas. Gazebos are freestanding or attached to a garden wall, roofed, and open on all sides; they provide shade, shelter, ornamental features in a landscape, and a place to rest...
, constructed of stone in the thirteenth century in the Mudéjar
Mudéjar
Mudéjar is the name given to individual Moors or Muslims of Al-Andalus who remained in Iberia after the Christian Reconquista but were not converted to Christianity...
style.
The Pinzón Brothers (Martín Alonso Pinzón, Vicente Yañez Pinzón
Vicente Yáñez Pinzón
Vicente Yáñez Pinzón was a Spanish navigator, explorer, and conquistador, the youngest of the Pinzón brothers...
, and Francisco Martín Pinzón), co-discoverers of America, were from Palos. The oldest, Martín Alonso, played a decisive role in the voyage. His prestige as a shipowner and marine expert encouraged the mariners throughout the district; he also put up one third of the cost of the voyage and, rejecting the first ships provided for Columbus, obtained others that were more appropriate. The house of the brothers, also, in Palos, is now the Casa Museo de Martín Alonso Pinzón, and conserves its fifteenth century façade and part of its original flooring.
One can also walk along the banks of the Rio Tinto near the Calzadilla wharf from which the Plus Ultra flying boat took off on the first Trans-Atlantic flight between Spain and South America in January 1926. Quite near that is the historic port of Palos—now disappeared because of decreased river flow and silting—and the old rural road leading to La Rábida.
La Rábida
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
monastery of Santa María de La Rábida (14th-15th century), where in 1485 Christopher Columbus arrived for the first time with his son Diego
Diego Colón
Diego Columbus was the 2nd Admiral of the Indies, 2nd Viceroy of the Indies and 3rd Governor of the Indies. He was the firstborn son of Christopher Columbus and wife Filipa Moniz Perestrelo, and was born in 1479/1480 in Porto Santo, Portugal or 1474 in Lisbon, Portugal. He died February...
, tired and dispirited after his failure with John II
John II of Portugal
John II , the Perfect Prince , was the thirteenth king of Portugal and the Algarves...
in the Portuguese court. In this small monastery he met with hospitality, help, and support, especially on the part of two monks. Fray Juan Pérez, guardian of the monastery, had served in the court of Spain
Kingdom of Castile
Kingdom of Castile was one of the medieval kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. It emerged as a political autonomous entity in the 9th century. It was called County of Castile and was held in vassalage from the Kingdom of León. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region...
as a clerk and confessor and Fray Antonio de Marchena, custodian of the monastery and a famous astrologer
Astrologer
An astrologer practices one or more forms of astrology. Typically an astrologer draws a horoscope for the time of an event, such as a person's birth, and interprets celestial points and their placements at the time of the event to better understand someone, determine the auspiciousness of an...
(a role that had not yet been fully disentangled from that of an astronomer
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
), had also been a councilor in that court. Both of these monks gave Columbus support at court and helped him to secure the crews he needed. The convent was a place of refuge and of development and promulgation of Columbus's ideas, especially given that the sciences at that time were largely the work of the religious orders.
The church is of artistic interest for its Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
-Mudéjar
Mudéjar
Mudéjar is the name given to individual Moors or Muslims of Al-Andalus who remained in Iberia after the Christian Reconquista but were not converted to Christianity...
architecture, as well as the grand rooms decorated with fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
s by Daniel Vázquez Díaz
Daniel Vázquez Díaz
Daniel Vázquez Díaz was a Spanish painter.Born in Nerva, Spain, Vázquez Díaz settled in Paris in 1918, where he found cubism to be the ideal form of expression...
, the cloister, and the museum, which holds numerous objects commemorating the discovery of America. Above all, there is the namesake of the monastery, the fourteenth century statue known as the Virgin of Miracles
Virgin of Miracles
The Virgin of Miracles or Saint Mary of La Rábida is a religious Roman Catholic image venerated at the La Rabida Monastery in the city of Palos de la Frontera ....
or Saint Mary of La Rábida. It is an elegant example of Gothic Mannerism
Mannerism
Mannerism is a period of European art that emerged from the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520. It lasted until about 1580 in Italy, when a more Baroque style began to replace it, but Northern Mannerism continued into the early 17th century throughout much of Europe...
, bringing the figure a particular curvature, such that it changes in aspect from even small differences of perspective. Columbus and his men prayed before this figure the night before their departure. The statue was crowned by Pope John Paul II 14 June 1993. It is the only image of the Virgin Mary that John Paul crowned in Spain.
The Monastery was declared a National Monument in 1856. It was declared the "First historical monument of the Hispanic peoples" (Primer Monumento histórico de los pueblos Hispánicos) in 1949. On 28 February 1992, the Andalusian Autonomous Government
Andalusian Autonomous Government
The Andalusian Autonomous Government is the regional government body of Andalusia, one of the 17 autonomous communities which make up Spain...
awarded the monastery the "Gold Medal of Andalusia". At the Ninth Ibero-American Summit
Ibero-American Summit
The Ibero-American Summit , is a yearly meeting of the heads of government and state of the Spanish-...
(Havana, 1999) the Heads of State and Presidents of Government recognized La Rábida as the site of the Forum of the Organization of Ibero-American States
Organization of Ibero-American States
The Organization of Ibero-American States is an intergovernmental organization, comprising the Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking nations of America and Europe, plus Equatorial Guinea in Africa....
.
Near La Rábida is the Wharf of the Caravels
Wharf of the Caravels
The Wharf of the Caravels is a museum in Palos de la Frontera, in the province of Huelva, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Its most prominent exhibits are replicas of Christopher Columbus's boats for his first voyage to the Americas, the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María...
(Muelle de las Carabelas) a museum installation with reproductions of Columbus's ships, the Santa María
Santa María (ship)
La Santa María de la Inmaculada Concepción , was the largest of the three ships used by Christopher Columbus in his first voyage. Her master and owner was Juan de la Cosa.-History:...
, La Niña
Niña
La Niña was one of the three ships used by Christopher Columbus in his first voyage towards the Indies in 1492. The real name of the Niña was Santa Clara. The name Niña was probably a pun on the name of her owner, Juan Niño of Moguer...
, and La Pinta.
Moguer
On several occasions, Columbus visited the fourteenth century Santa Clara Monastery in Moguer, a convent of the Poor Clares. The abbess, Inés Enríquez, was the aunt of King Ferdinand IIFerdinand II of Aragon
Ferdinand the Catholic was King of Aragon , Sicily , Naples , Valencia, Sardinia, and Navarre, Count of Barcelona, jure uxoris King of Castile and then regent of that country also from 1508 to his death, in the name of...
, and supported Columbus's projected voyage before the court.
Notable features of the monastery are the Mothers' Cloister (claustro de las Madres), whose fourteenth century lower floor siglo XIV, reminiscent of Almohad architecture, is the oldest surviving cloister of a convent or monastery in 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...
; the infirmary, a two-story sixteenth century Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
building with Genovese columns; and the convent church, with three nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
s and a polygonal apse
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
. The main altar has an altarpiece
Altarpiece
An altarpiece is a picture or relief representing a religious subject and suspended in a frame behind the altar of a church. The altarpiece is often made up of two or more separate panels created using a technique known as panel painting. It is then called a diptych, triptych or polyptych for two,...
carved in 1642 by Jerónimo Velázquez, and the fourteenth century choir has Spain's only surviving Nasrid
Nasrid dynasty
The Nasrid dynasty was the last Moorish and Muslim dynasty in Spain. The Nasrid dynasty rose to power after the defeat of the Almohad Caliphate in 1212 at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa...
choir stalls. The monastery was declared a National Monument in 1931. Next to the monastery is the Columbus Monument.
Columbus and his men passed the first night after returning from his first voyage of discovery in this church, thereby fulfilling a vow
Columbus's vow
Columbus's vow was a vow by Christopher Columbus and other members of the crew of the caravel Niña on 14 February 1493, during the return trip of Columbus's first voyage to perform certain acts, including pilgrimages, upon their return to Spain...
they had made on the high seas when a storm was on the point of capsizing the caravel Niña, which he captained on the return voyage from America after the wreck of the Santa María.
In Moguer, Columbus also received support from cleric Martín Sánchez and landowner Juan Rodríguez Cabezudo, to whom he confided the custody of his son Diego during his first voyage.
One of the provisions that Columbus received from the Catholic Monarchs
Catholic Monarchs
The Catholic Monarchs is the collective title used in history for Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being both descended from John I of Castile; they were given a papal dispensation to deal with...
Ferdinand and Isabel was support from the towns of the Andalusian coast in assembling his three caravels. By means of a commission directed to the town of Moguer to fulfill this provision, he seized two boats in this locality in the presence of the notary Moguer Alonso Pardo, boats that were later discarded by Martín Alonso Pinzón.
The caravel Niña was built in the shipyards of Moguer's puerto de la ribera around 1488, and was property of the Niño Brothers, who also played an important role in recruiting and preparing local mariners for Columbus's expedition.
Today, Moguer is also known as the birthplace of the poet Juan Ramón Jiménez
Juan Ramón Jiménez
Juan Ramón Jiménez Mantecón was a Spanish poet, a prolific writer who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1956. One of Jiménez's most important contributions to modern poetry was his advocacy of the French concept of "pure poetry."-Biography:Jiménez was born in Moguer, near Huelva, in...
(1881–1958), winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature
Nobel Prize in Literature
Since 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...
in 1956, perhaps best known for his prose work Platero y yo (1917; "Platero and I"). An eighteenth-century house in which he lived from the age of 2 into adulthood is now a museum, the Casa Museo Zenobia y Juan Ramón Jiménez, as is his birthplace—the nineteenth-century Casa Natal Juan Ramón Jiménez—and his nearby country house Fuentepiña.
Washington Irving rediscovers the Lugares colombinos
Among the prolific works of the nineteenth century American writer Washington IrvingWashington Irving
Washington Irving was an American author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century. He was best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works...
are several with a bearing on the Lugares colombinos: his diary entries for 12–14 August 1828 when he visited the area; portions of The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus
The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus
A History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus is a four volume biographical account of Christopher Columbus written by Washington Irving in 1828...
; and "A visit to Palos", an appendix to Voyages and Discoveries of the Companions of Columbus. His 1828 diaries provide a useful record of the state of the Lugares colombinos before deliberate preservation and restoration began and also relate his contact with the descendents of the Pinzón Brothers in that era, but far more than that, his work played a determining role in making the world aware of the Lugares colombinos and in recovering their history. His works gave worldwide renown to Palos de la Frontera
Palos de la Frontera
Palos de la Frontera is a town and municipality located in the southwestern Spanish province of Huelva, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is situated some from the provincial capital, Huelva...
, La Rábida
La Rabida Monastery
La Rábida Monastery is a Franciscan monastery in the southern Spanish town of Palos de la Frontera, in the province of Huelva and the autonomous region of Andalucia...
, Moguer
Moguer
Moguer is a municipality and small city located in the province of Huelva, Andalusia, Spain. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 18,381. Its surface area is , and its population density is ....
, The Pinzón Brothers
The Pinzon Brothers
The Pinzón brothers were Spanish sailors, explorers and fishermen, natives of Palos de la Frontera, Huelva, Spain. All three, Martín Alonso, Francisco Martín and Vicente Yañez, participated in Christopher Columbus's first expedition to the New World and in other voyages of discovery and...
, Fray Juan Pérez, and so forth as protagonists of the discovery of the Americas.
In 2001, on the occasion of the annual 12 October celebration of the discovery of America, the Provincial Deputation of Huelva officially recognized Irving's role in rescuing the memory of this history and broadcasting it throughout the world.
Access
After the Lugares colombinos first became tourist destinations, travellers came on small boats through the estuaryEstuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
of Huelva or on the old Huelva-Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
highway (now the A-472) which passes through nearby San Juan del Puerto
San Juan del Puerto
San Juan del Puerto was a Spanish Franciscan mission founded before 1587 on Fort George Island, near the mouth of the St. Johns River in what is now Jacksonville, Florida. It was founded to served the Saturiwa, a Timucua tribe who lived around the mouth of the St. Johns...
. In the 1970s, the area began to industrialize, and a bridge was constructed over the Huelva estuary, linking the capital (the city of Huelva
Huelva
Huelva is a city in southwestern Spain, the capital of the province of Huelva in the autonomous region of Andalusia. It is located along the Gulf of Cadiz coast, at the confluence of the Odiel and Tinto rivers. According to the 2010 census, the city has a population of 149,410 inhabitants. The...
) to the beaches of Mazagón
Mazagón
Mazagón is a beach town in Spain near Huelva....
and to the Lugares colombinos.
Today, the main roads into the area are:
- From Huelva capitalHuelvaHuelva is a city in southwestern Spain, the capital of the province of Huelva in the autonomous region of Andalusia. It is located along the Gulf of Cadiz coast, at the confluence of the Odiel and Tinto rivers. According to the 2010 census, the city has a population of 149,410 inhabitants. The...
: by the H-30, N-442, and H-624 to La Rábida (10 kilometres (6.2 mi)) and to Palos de la Frontera (10 kilometres (6.2 mi)); the by the H-30, A-49Autovía A-49The Autopista A-49 is a major highway in Andalusia, Spain. It connects Seville with the border of Portugal. It is also European route E1....
(in the direction of Seville) and A-494 to Moguer (20 kilometres (12.4 mi)). - From the province of Seville: by the A-49 (in the direction of Huelva) and A-494 to Moguer (86 kilometres (53.4 mi)), thence to Palos de la Frontera (93 kilometres (57.8 mi)) and La Rábida (96 kilometres (59.7 mi)).