Sos de Rey Catolico

Destinations
Sos de Rey Catolico
By m.p. - Mar 9, 2008 - 10:34 PM

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This small village in Zaragoza celebrates the birth of Fernando II of Aragón, the Catholic King, every March 10

A small village in the northwest of Zaragoza province, lying in the foothills of the Pyrenees, around 120 kilometres to the north of Zaragoza City, celebrates a birthday every 10th March – of Fernando II of Aragón, el Rey Católico. The Catholic King was born in the Palacio de Sada in Sos, a palace owned by the Sada family, on 10th March 1452, an event which centuries later would give the village its surname. known today as Sos del Rey Católico.

It’s a place which is steeped in history, and had great strategic importance for many centuries, a natural fortress which stands on the border between what were the kingdoms of Navarra and Aragón. This fortified town surrounded by its defence wall, still intact today, is a built on a spur. In the northern part of the town, on one of its two promontories, on the Peña Feliciana, are the remains of the castle which was built by Ramiro II in the 12th century, with the squared keep, the Torre del Homenaje, in its centre. The Romanesque San Esteban church is at its foot, where 14th century frescoes can still be seen in the crypt. Also found here is the font where Fernando II was baptised. The palace where the future king was born still stands today. It is now a museum where guided visits tell the story of the monarch’s life and the period in which he lived. The municipal library is housed in what was once the mediaeval market.

Sos is one of the historic Cinco Villas, the five villages which were granted the status of towns for remaining loyal to Felipe V in the War of Spanish Succession. It is the most northerly of the Five Towns, declared a Historic Artistic Site in 1968, with a walk along its cobbled streets taking you back into the past: its rich history echoed in the stone buildings with their arched windows, and the seven arched gateways in its defensive walls. The main entrance is at the Puerta de Zaragoza, which takes the visitor along the main street which is named its most famous son, Fernando el Católico. The town’s history is a part of its everday life: the Renaissance building which houses the Town Hall dates from the 16th century, and in the main square is the Colegio ‘Isidoro Gil de Jaz,’ built as a teaching centre by order of Isidoro Gil, a minister under Carlos III, and which is also today a school.
There are even the remains of a Roman road outside the town centre. Also outside the town are the Ermita de Santa Lucía, a small church whose original structure dates back to the 13th century, and the monastery of Nuestra Señora de Valentuñana, where there is an exhibition which is well worth a visit: a collection of souvenirs brought back by Augustine missionaries from various parts of the world.
A romería takes place here every year in honour of the Virgen de Valentuñana, on the second day of Pentecost.

August is the month for partying: with the Luna Lunera music festival, a mediaeval street market and, as part of the town’s main feria celebration, a parody of the famous San Fermín bull run in Pamplona, where the mozos run before a mock-up cardboard bull and no-one gets hurt.

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