Dawn

Dawn

Thursday, June 13, 2013


The reason why Spain's 'old quarters' (cascos viejos) are so aesthetically appealing is that there's nary an ugly building in them. In stark contrast to the new barrios which surround them. Or, as a character in Domingo Villar's Death on the Galician Shore puts it, "In the past, there were were rarely any ugly buildings." There are, of course, buildings in decay - like these two below - but the dictum holds true for Pontevedra's gem of an old quarter.



Reader Sierra had pointed out that there are far finer galerías in the city of La Coruña, up on the windy and rainswept NW corner of Galicia. But it struck me today that - apart from the inclement weather - there's another reason. Up there, the impressive 6 or 7 storey buildings face the sea and its weather and every floor needs protection. Here in Pontevedra, where the streets are narrow, it's only the 3rd floor which is exposed to the elements. So there are no galerías needed for the lower floors. Only balconies.

Which is a nice lead into today's fotos. When I was taking these, by the way, I was constantly aware that I needed to be quick as people were about to walk into camera shot. Since I wasn't hard to see, I was forced to consider two explanations:- 1. They had seen me but didn't care, or 2. As I've said before, they lacked antennae and were unaware of that I was doing. I prefer the latter explanation as the former amounts to very bad manners where I come from.

But on to the pix . . . .













Final note on the galerías . . . They have a very modern use. Where the building houses offices, they fall within the definition of 'outside' for those who must smoke. Or so it seems.

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