Villar de Mazarife (León) (0)

Did you know that... Villar de Mazarife

It is located in the high moor of Leon and belongs to the municipality of Chozas de Abajo. Where Villar de Mazarife is located there were vestiges of a pre-Roman settlement, ancient Vallarta, later converted into a strategic pass of the Roman road that linked cities as important as Tarraco, Cesaraugusta and Asturica, which centuries later, in the high Middle Ages, would become a pilgrims' way to the recently discovered tomb of the Apostle. Documents from the end of the 9th century to the beginning of the 10th century testify to the repopulation of the area by a Mozarabic family, the Mazaref, who enjoyed privileges granted by the Asturian kings.

A little more history

In the year 1017 King Alfonso V decided that Villar-Mazarefe, together with other villages, would belong to the Alfoz of León and would therefore be under royal authority. Alfonso X the Wise granted him privileges back in the 13th century. In Villar de Mazarife there were two brotherhoods in the 17th century, that of Santiago and that of the Blessed Sacrament.

To discover What to see in Villar de Mazarife?

Villar de Mazarife welcomes the pilgrim with an interesting mural in which the church is surrounded by the apostles. In a beautiful square, which displays a sculpture of Santiago, is the parish church dedicated to the patron saint of the town Santiago Apóstol, the central altarpiece is neoclassical-baroque of the seventeenth century and the tower, which is at the foot of the church, ends in a bulrush with two bells. The locality also offers the opportunity to visit, in an old and beautiful house, a museum dedicated to telecommunications, telegraph and telephone, or to browse in another art gallery-museum, the exhibition of his works made by the painter and sculptor Monseñor.

Festivities

In Villar de Mazarife festivities are held in mid-June, also held on a variable date the Octave of Corpus.

Traditions

In the church of Villar de Mazarife in the altarpiece there is a painting depicting the patron saint of León, San Froilán, having behind him a house and a donkey. Tradition and connoisseurs say that this means that there was a hospital for pilgrims here.

Curiosities

In Villar de Mazarife the name of old ways of communication with the capital León is preserved, such as the Way of Saint James, the old French Way, the Royal Way or the High Way.