Puntos de Interés
Culture
Lagoa de Pedras Miúdas (Pedras Miúdas Lagoon)
Atop Monte San Miguel stand five windmills which, from north to south, are named Muíño de Lorenzo, Muíño de Catoira, Muíño do Ribeiro, Muíño de Moure and Muíño de Casal. These names derive from their former owners, who marked their initials on the door lintel. Constructed at various times in the mid-19th century, they have been damaged by local fires despite restoration efforts.
From their privileged position, the mills offer a beautiful panorama where one can see the mouth of the River Ulla in the Ría de Arousa, Catoira, its mountains and the lagoon sharing its name.
These mills follow the traditional Galician model, with a circular floor plan excavated slightly into the terrain, granite masonry walls and a gable roof covered with local clay tiles secured with stones to withstand coastal winds. However, what really distinguishes them is their double-sail system, a mechanism uncommon outside Galicia. This design features sails on both sides of the mill, joined by a beam that crosses the structure in a northwest-southwest direction to harness the prevailing winds. In addition, the sails, made entirely of wood, are not arranged perpendicularly to the axis of rotation, allowing them to effectively harness lateral winds.
Inside the mill, a gear system transforms the horizontal movement of the sails into a vertical movement, driving the grinding mechanism. This consists of two millstones: a fixed one on the floor and a mobile one (the runner stone) that rotates above it to crush the grain. The millers could also adjust the temple of the mill - the distance between the millstones - allowing regulation of the fineness of the flour according to specific needs. .