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Culture
Casas de la Albañeza
In the municipality of Moral de Sayago, situated between Arcillo and Abelón, adjacent to the Calzada Romana Mirandesa, stands the derelict Casa de la Albañeza. The name of the complex suggests that it may have originated from a Muslim or Mozarabic background. It is first mentioned in a text from 1182 as part of a series of settlements that arose from the use of communal pastures. Over time, small enclaves were established as a refuge for shepherds and livestock, and these eventually became permanent settlements.
Consequently, Albañeza, or La Albañeza, would have developed as a settlement where peasants would have resided, tending to their masters' cattle. In a subsequent document, the Expediente para la repoblación de los despoblados del Reino of 1769, the ownership of the estate of La Albañeza is attributed to the Colegio de Gerónimos de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Salamanca.
The Casas de La Albañeza comprise a large house, a chapel, a dovecote and a series of farm buildings, all of which are surrounded by the traditional Sayagás gates and walls, which are locally known as "cortinos". All the buildings are 17th- or 18th-century structures constructed from granite masonry, a material characteristic of the steep terrain of the surrounding area.
It is also known that a Romanesque building or chapel was situated in this area, as evidenced by the presence of ashlars and granite sculptures typical of this artistic movement throughout the different rooms. Furthermore, the exterior of the building displays several corbels, or heads of the beam that protrude from the outside of the building. These are sculpted as smooth leaves in the shape of an inverted point. Moreover, between two of these corbels, situated beneath one of the windows, is another corbel in the shape of a human head.
The principal edifice is unquestionably the most renowned architectural achievement of La Albañeza, not only for its Romanesque architectural flourishes, but also for its sheer scale, its gallery, and its rear courtyard with arcades. The oratory attached to the manor house is of a simpler design and is topped by a small baroque belfry comprising two columns joined by an upper arch, which may have previously housed a bell. The chapel was originally dedicated to the Virgen del Rayo, although the image it contains is that of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción.