Puntos de Interés
Municipality
Entralgo
Along the fertile slopes of the Nalón River is the village of Entrialgo or Entralgo. It is about 1.5 km from Pola de Laviana in a beautiful spot designated as a Protected Natural Landscape of the Cuencas Mineras and is the birthplace of Armando Palacio Valdés, a writer who is famous for his realist-costumbrist novels inspired by Asturias.
The first signs of human presence in the small village of Entralgo date back to a Roman road that came from Puerto de Tarna and cut through the Nalón valley.
There were apparently not many historical events in the village until the great industrialization of the area due to coal mining. Its inhabitants worked in the coal mine until its decline. Today the Mining Path or Mining Train Route traces the route used to transport coal from Tolivia to Puente de Arco, passing through Entralgo.
Palacio Valdés was born amid this expansion and is celebrated today by the town. Palacio Valdés was born and lived in Entralgo when he could afford it. The house where he was born, called Casa Palacio, can be visited. It dates back to the 18th century and has been preserved and converted into a museum. The Armando Palacio Valdés Interpretation Centre commemorates his life and work. It consists of two floors: on the first floor there is a documentation room and a multi-purpose room; and the second floor is divided into five spaces designed to introduce visitors to the author's fascinating world.
There is a bust in his honour in the Plaza de la Casa Palacio, erected to pay homage to this illustrious individual.
Southeast of the museum, on the Texera hill, stands Entralgo's church and cemetery. This beautiful traditional style church was built in the 18th century and is dedicated to St. John the Baptist. It is a single-story building with a striking three-opening belfry and two bells. The inside was recently restored, however, the old baptismal font in which Armando Palacio Valdés was baptized is well preserved. There is also a sophisticatedly restored baroque altarpiece that is part of the most important baroque ensemble in the area.
Another reason this town is particularly interesting to visit is its picturesque location near the Nalón and Villoria rivers, right at the gates of the Redes Natural Park and also part of the Protected Landscape of the Cuencas Mineras (Mineral Basins region). All of this makes it a wonderful place to visit.
Entralgo holds its festivities of Our Lady of el Carmen on August 16 with a solemn mass in the parish church.