The pallozas of Os Ancares Lucenses
Witnesses to a unique way of life
In the Biosphere Reserve Os Ancares Lucenses are still preserved important samples of popular architecture that illustrate unique ways of living. This is the case of the pallozas, traditional dwellings of the Ancares where people and livestock lived together, which, together with the hearth or lareira, contributed to provide warmth, giving the interior of these constructions a constant temperature of about 17º that made the harsh winters more bearable.
Traditionally it has been considered that the pallozas have a pre-Roman origin linked to the castle dwellings. From an architectural point of view, the pallozas are easily recognizable by their circular or elliptical floor plan and their steep pitched roofs, which would prevent the snow from stagnating on the construction and, therefore, its collapse. In addition, the thatch of the roof would allow the filtering of the smoke from the interior, without the need for a chimney for this purpose.
The creativity demonstrated by the ancestors of the Lugo mountains in the design of the pallozas is also evident in their orientation, which seeks to make the most of the daylight hours, as well as in the absence of openings in the construction to prevent heat from escaping.
The interior layout of the pallozas combines living area, barn and straw storage. In the living area, in addition to the hearth or lareira, the oven for baking bread and the bedroom stand out as essential elements. Below the living area is the stable, which would allow the heat generated by the livestock to rise, an ingenious natural heating system.
Inhabited until the 1970s, the pallozas are today an icon of the mountains of Lugo that is preserved in villages such as Piornedo in the municipality of Cervantes, an ethnographic site declared an Asset of Cultural Interest. One of these pallozas is the Palloza Museo Casa do Sesto, an exceptional example of the interior layout of the "pallozas", as well as the everyday objects used by families in this part of the mountain of the Sierra de Os Ancares. In the surroundings of the village is the chapel of San Lorenzo.
The neighbors of Piornedo have designed the interactive route of approximately 2 hours "Discover Piornedo", with 20 points of interest marked with QR codes linked to audio-guides, which allow visitors to learn about the history, culture, traditions, curiosities and memory of a unique place like Piornedo, through the eyes and voices of the people who live here .These audio-guides allow visitors to learn about the history, culture, traditions, curiosities and memory of a unique place like Piornedo, through the eyes and voices of the people who live here.
From Piornedo you can enjoy the hiking route that reaches the summit of O Mustallar, a linear route of 6 kilometers long and high difficulty, on the border between Lugo and León.
- Location:
https://inventrip.com/deputaciondelugo/trip/7393
- Discovering Lugo: As Pallozas de Piornedo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bf82jWnRU2A
- Web Palloza-Museum Casa do Sesto
http://www.pallozamuseocasadosesto.com/
- Discovering Lugo: Palloza-Museum Casa do Sesto
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jFaIiH9NC8&list=PL4pRTNxg7M8onMztBIV2Ap3-ts0MhcNfi&index=64
- Route with audio-guides "Discover Piornedo".
https://www.descubrepiornedo.org/
- Route from Piornedo to Mustallar
https://inventrip.com/deputaciondelugo/object/22557
https://inventrip.com/deputaciondelugo/uploads/recursos/22557/es/Rutas_Cervantes.pdf