Puntos de Interés
Municipality
San Martín del Río
San Martín del Río is a municipality in the province of Teruel that is 91 km from the provincial capital, near the Zaragoza border, in the area known as the Jiloca District.
Part of its name derives from the presence of the River Jiloca in the municipality, since San Martín del Río runs along its left bank, near its confluence with Valdeparra Stream.
As regards the origins of this village, it is known that ancient Celtiberian peoples were present in the municipality, as evidenced by their two archaeological sites: the Cerro del Zorro and the Cerro Arrastrado, at both of which Bronze Age materials have been found. Besides these ruins, there are traces of an old Arab settlement on what is known as Pila de los Moros.
In the Middle Ages, in 1248, during the reign of Jaime I of Aragon, this village was separated from Daroca to become part of the Comunidad de Aldeas de Daroca, as part of the Campo de Gallocanta Sesma.
The municipality’s architectural monuments notably include the Parish Church of San Martín de Tours, which was built between the 16th and 18th centuries, and which belongs to the Gothic-Renaissance style. This building, which is of great artistic and cultural value, is structured into a single nave, divided into 4 bays and covered with a star-shaped ribbed vault. The most notable feature is the Mudejar-style, five-part, attached tower, contrasting with the Baroque façade of the church. Inside, there are also various reredos from the 16th to 18th centuries, as well as a 12th century Romanesque carving of the Virgen del Buen Reposo.
In this municipality you can also visit various hermitages, such as the San Francisco Hermitage (17th century) or the Virgen del Buen Reposo Hermitage (18th century), both of which are in the Baroque style. Besides various wayside crosses, a type of building, generally in the form of a column, cross or obelisk, devoted to the worship of one or more saints, which are at the entrances or exits of the villages in the Iberian System.
San Martín del Río contains the Virgen del Pilar Wayside Cross, the Santo Cristo Wayside Cross, and the San Antón Wayside Cross, also known as the Del Monte Wayside Cross.
This municipality is in the Jiloca Valley, with two important irrigation channels running through it, the Molinar irrigation channel and the Gabarda irrigation channel, both of which originate in Báguena, giving rise to a fertile plain that explains the prolific wine production which was once a feature of the village. However, today, a portion of the land used to grow vines (Vitis vinifera) has given way to almond trees (Prunus dulcis), cherry trees (Prunus avium) and other fruit trees.
As for festivities, in mid-August the main festival is held in honour of San Roque, and on 11 November the patron saint festivities take place in honour of San Martín.
