Fuendetodos

Fuendetodos
Municipality
Fuendetodos Location in Spain
Coordinates:
Country	Spain
Autonomous community	Aragon
Province	Zaragoza
Comarca	Campo de Belchite
Judicial district	Zaragoza
Government
• Mayor	Joaquín Gimeno Salueña (PSOE)
Area
• Total	62.20 km2 (24.02 sq mi)
Elevation	750 m (2,460 ft)
Population (2009)
• Total	169
• Density	2.7/km2 (7.0/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Fuendetodinos
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Website	Official website

Fuendetodos is a town in the Campo de Belchite comarca, Aragon, Spain, located about 44 kilometers south-east of Zaragoza. It has a population of approximately 170.

The painter Francisco de Goya was born in Fuendetodos in 1746, and the village contains a museum dedicated to his work. The town has nearly 25,000 visitors each year.

Geography

Fuendetodos is located in the Aragonese comarca of Campo de Belchite, 44 km to the South of Zaragoza.

It has a population of 174 inhabitants (INE 2008).

History

The town was originally called Fuentedetodos meaning "source of all." Before its foundation, in the 12th century, as a recolonization village associated to a castle, the place was known for its quarries of "caracoleña" stone, exploited already by Romans, who used it in many construction works in Caesaraugusta. From the 14th century, the village was part of the domain of the family Fernandez de Heredia, known as the Count of Fuentes. During the Little Ice Age, the traditional industry of ice production flourished. In 1724, the stones of the ruined castle were used to construct the new church of Nuestra Sra. de la Asunción. Goya was baptised there. He was born in Fuendetodos almost by chance, since his parents were living in Saragossa by that time. His mother was from Fuendetodos and his father was entrusted the work of gilding the main altarpiece of the new church. He brought his pregnant wife and they stayed for several months in the town,so the painter was born there. When Goya was born, the Pignatelly family held the title of Count of Fuentes. They provided support to the young artist who made one of his first paintworks in Fuendetodos, in the sacristy cupboard. Goya also came to take refuge in Fuendetodos during the second siege of Saragossa, in 1809, since he was there making sketches to paint the destruction caused by Napoleonic troops. In the 1920s, another Spanish painter, Ignacio Zuloaga y Zabaleta, came to know his idol's birthplace. He found Goya's birth house, bought it and transformed it into a museum. He came back repeatedly, also helping the town with the donation of a new school. During the Spanish Civil War, Fuendetodos passed from rebel hands to those of the republicans with the arrival of an anarchist column. The church, being a resistance stronghold, was burnt by the troops, and so, the altarpiece and Goya's other paintwork there was destroyed. Also Goya's birth house was looted, losing many pieces of the original furniture. Goya's birth house remained a humble tourist place until its renovation in late '80s, with the arrival of the still mayor of the town, Joaquín Gimeno. From the '90s to present, promotion of the place has turned it into a destination of significant cultural and environmental tourism.

Economy

The population was traditionally engaged in rainfed agriculture and rearing sheep and goats. For centuries, the stone quarries caracoleña, exclusive Fuendetodos and ice industry (he had 22 neverones or ice refrigerators sold mainly to markets Zaragoza) provided significant revenues to the people. Today its wind power production and all services associated with tourism (there are 20,000 visitors annually) have become more important.

Vegetation

Much of the town is covered with natural pine Pinus halepensis Aleppo, preserved for centuries belong to the Counts of Fuentes, later moving to municipal property. Holm oaks and dotted with hills testify prior presence of holm. Romeral the Mediterranean scrub, with plenty of black juniper, juniper of juniper, lavender, sage and other sclerophyllous shrubs, the territory is shared with kermes oak. Highlight the sickles, hooked rods and hooked rods, deep gorges carved into the hard limestone of the Jurassic and runoff, in which flora harbors a very surprising Fuendetodos dry environment, with deciduous forests hackberry, maple montpellier, turpentine and Choke, which can be found in five species of ferns.

Points of interest

Goya's birthplace and the Museum of Engraving

The birthplace of the great Spanish painter was built in the early 18th century. A few meters away,is the Engraving Museum, opened in 1989, which displays the graphic work of Goya and everything connected with recording techniques.

Fuendeverde

The Space of Nature Fuendeverde, inaugurated in June 2010, shows the surprisingly high biodiversity of Fuendetodos environment in a different and stimulating way. There's a nature centre with a permanent exhibition and a Nature school for workshops in a restored former farm constructed over the remains of the Castle. There's a varied offer of guided tours to natural hot spots of the surroundings and nature workshops that complement the cultural tourist offer.

Neveras

They are called locally neverones or neveras. Stone constructions for snow storage along winter and its transformation in ice blocks to be sold. This ice production industry flourished along the Little Ice Age, reaching its best moment along 18th century. In that period there were 22 working "neveras" producing ice for the markets in Saragossa. Its construction style is pretty particular of this area, with a 6 m deep and wide pit over which a false cupule was constructed and topped with a specially shaped big stone. The remains are scattered all around Fuendetodos, being the Nevera de la Culroya the only one preserved complete.

• See Ice house (building)

Church of Our Lady of the Assumption

It was built in the 18th century, but had to be rebuilt in the 20th century after the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), period in which it was destroyed. The baptismal font, where Goya was baptized, is still preserved nowadays. Before the war, there were youth paintings of Goya in the Sacristy cupboard and a baroque altarpiece gilded by Goya's father. Situated on the high part of the town, in the moment of its construction was the church for the wealthy families, since there was another smaller church in "El Calvario" neighbourhood, of which only some remnants are present now.

Busts of Goya

In Fuendetodos you can find two sculptures dedicated to the painter. The first is a bronze bust of Goya on a base of three feet in height, blue jasper rough, extracted from quarries in Codo. This monument was designed in 1920 by Julio Antonio and paid by Ignacio Zuloaga and his friends in Saragossa. Below the inscription: AGOYA can read these words: For the spirit of the immortal artist, that the glory spread around the world, live in the town that gave birth. And below you can read: This monument was erected Ignacio Zuloaga and his friends. October 19, 1920. The other bust sculpture was placed in front of his birthplace in 1978 (designed by José Gonzalvo Vives).

Moorish artwork

With this name are known the remains of the medieval castle' of Fuendetodos. Despite its popular name, was built after the reconquest by the Christians in the 12th century, built in masonry and located in the western part of the town. Since its abandonment and reutilization as a source of stone for the construction of the church of Our Lady of the Assumption in the 18th century, its towers and walls were used by villagers as barns and stables. A farm built in the 1979 over part of the castle is nowadays Fuendeverde Space of Nature.

ARTEfuendetodos Gallery

Meeting point for artists and lovers of the art and their four exhibition rooms one can see works of great masters of modern art.

Fuente Vieja

The Old Source or Source of everybody of the legend is still providing some water, but It was restored for its historical interest, since there is a regular water supply nowadays. It has a Gothic arch door that allow visitors to see the artificial cave where the source comes from. Inside the cave there is a Romanic older arch.