Puntos de Interés
Municipality
Poblador de Santa Catalina
Upon arrival in Villarino de los Aires from the east, Santa Catalina offers welcomes its guests with an ornamental sculpture bearing the letters "Villarino". Although Santa Catalina was once a self-contained community, it has since become a mere enclave within the larger municipality of Villarino.
The establishment of this institution was a direct response to the necessity of providing accommodation for workers who were brought in from outside the region to participate in the Almendra reservoir macro-project between 1963 and 1970. The town of Santa Catalina was established by the company Europea de Obras in the same name. It was designed to accommodate up to 600 residents, including both temporary and permanent workers and their families.
The low, whitewashed houses of Santa Catalina, the majority of which are single storey, were designed with the objective of prioritising functionality and construction times for their tenants, to the detriment of the comfort of the residents. Nevertheless, the settlement provided its inhabitants with the necessities of life, including educational facilities, medical care, sports facilities, a place of worship, canteens and dining facilities. The side of Villarino that housed the workers and labourers is distinguished by a markedly different architectural style than that of the neighbouring village of La Rachita, which was designed for the technicians and engineers who completed the workforce.
Following the completion of the works, a significant proportion of the workers and their families chose to settle permanently in Santa Cataliana. Others integrated more closely with the local population, initiating a new phase of their lives and becoming an integral part of the history of this municipality in the Arribes del Duero.