Puntos de Interés
Municipality
Sotiello
The village of Sotiello is located in the parish of Lena. At an altitude of 425 m it sits in the Huerna valley between the villages of Campomanes and Espineo.
The name Sotiello comes from the Latin saltum, which means 'forest or forest region' and perfectly describes the wooded area of chestnut trees and bushes that surrounds the village. The suffix -ellum refers to the small size of this forest.
Of note in this village is La Casona or Palacio de Galcerán, a stone mansion located on the banks of the river, and whose structure remains intact having been renovated as a rural hotel, maintaining its bay windows, wrought iron balustrades, etc.
Also of note is the church of San Antolín de Sotiello, a Romanesque church with a rectangular floor plan and single nave, which possibly formed part of the Monastery of San Antolín, of which there are documented records from the 11th century when Count Fruela Muñoz bestowed it to his wife.
On the southwest side of this church is the walled Puerta del Perdón (Forgiveness gate), which preserves an inscription that reads 'Iglesia del Asilo (Church of the Asylum). Year of 1773'. It is known that this door was used by repentant wrongdoers, until the beginning of the 20th century, who crossed through the door seeking to be accepted by the church and to turn over a new leaf.
The Sotiello festivities are usually held on the first weekend of September in honour of its patron saint, San Antolin. They are accompanied by musical entertainment, raffles and the Asturian tradition of "puya’l ramu", which consists of making a bread pyramid, decorated with flowers and ribbons, which is used as an offering to the saint on the day of the procession. At the end of the procession, the puya’l ramu is auctioned off, raising money to finance the celebration.