An interesting route through the sculptures of the ferreiros of Los Oscos

Redacción Oscos-Eo 07.04.2025

• Ferreiros
  

The sculptures of the ferreiros of Los Oscos will give you an idea of the great tradition of blacksmiths in the area, and also allow you to enjoy a peaceful and artistic walk through Santalla.

There was once a land in Asturias – Los Oscos – where iron craftsmanship was the “modus vivendi” of its peaceful inhabitants. Those who have a memory of history say that in 1975 there were 104 forges in Santalla alone, which gives an idea of the vitality and strength of the iron craft in the area at that time.

The historical evolution made that little by little the forges were closing, but the passage of time did not erase the spirit of those ferreiros of Santalla. On the contrary, this small, charming and remote village in the west of Asturias became in the first decades of the 21st century a beautiful open-air iron art gallery. Santalla is the town of Asturias with the highest density of iron sculptures in the whole Principality.

The story of the revitalization of the activity of the ironworkers of Santalla is endearing and romantic, because each piece of sculpture that is placed in the village has a rich intrahistory, worthy of being known and appreciated.

Santalla (Santa Eulalia de Oscos) ©Manuel Rico

A walk through Santalla is not only an artistic and scenic delight, but the meaning of each sculpture gives an idea of the culture, lifestyle and characters that have been weaving the life and customs in this corner of western Asturias.

Sculptures and other pieces of forge, up to a total of 9 for the moment, that from the first years of this century XXI have been increasing little by little a singular museum of the iron outdoors, on the occasion of the meetings of ferreiros and other notable events in the life of Los Oscos.

So we invite you to a route through the sculptures of the ferreiros of Los Oscos!

The spirit of the ferreiro

It was the year 2007 and a team of 14 blacksmiths and blacksmiths decided to make a tribute to the ironworkers of Santalla de Oscos, because of the great historical link of this town with the world of iron.

The spirit of the ferreiro ©Manuel Rico

The work, made of wrought iron and slate, is entitled The Spirit of the ferreiro, was made in Mazonovo, and is a design by José Ortiz. A curiosity is that the piece, on one side of the stock, has carved the wedges with which the traditional “navalleiros” marked their pieces.

The location of this sculpture has its charm and significance, since it is right in front of one of Santalla’s most famous bar-shops, La Palma, also known as Casa Perez.

Asturian warrior

The year 2010 arrives and Santalla hosts the VI Ferreiros Meeting. More than 80 participants, coming from all over Spain and some foreign countries such as France, Germany, Holland and Austria, gather and forge during a whole weekend a sculpture in homage to José Naveiras Escanlar, popularly known as “Pepe el Ferreiro”, in recognition of his work in defense of the traditional culture and the recovery of the rural and ethnographic memory of the Asturias of yesteryear. A lifetime of research work that would inspire Pepe el Ferreiro to create the Ethnographic Museum of Grandas de Salime.

Asturian warrior ©Turismo Asturias

This work, whose design is by José Ortíz, is entitled Guerrero astur, and the work to make it was coordinated by Miquel Xirau.

As an endearing anecdote it is necessary to count that Pepe el Ferreiro donated it to Santalla, and today it is located in the Sargadelos square, in front of the town hall, remembering the life and work of this great character.

Nail

Years go by and in 2013, Santalla is again the place where the VII Ferreiros Meeting is held. This time more than 50 participants gather in this event, eminently creative and supportive.

Clove ©Manuel Rico

Then, again under the baton of José Ortiz, a piece entitled Clavo (nail) is made, which becomes a tribute to Avelino Navia Osorio, the last ferreiro and traditional blacksmith of the council. A nail is chosen because these pieces were already being made in these lands since the sixteenth century, but it will be in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries when its development rises to the rank of cottage industry, becoming the activity that generated more labor in Los Oscos.

This nail is made of iron, Corten steel plate and slate, and is located at the traffic circle at the entrance to Santalla, which will give you an idea that you are in the land of ferreiros.

Sculptural railing

In 2015, Santalla is once again the venue of the VIII Meeting of Ferreiros, attended by 60 participants from Spain, France and Austria. At this event they were commissioned by the mayor of the time, Antonio Riveras, to make several pieces for the town hall and its surroundings: the entrance railing, the balcony railing, and a sign that reads “Ayuntamiento” and is located on the front of the building. The raw materials used were forged stainless steel, iron and granite.

Santa Eulalia de Oscos Town Hall ©Turismo Asturias

Both the balcony railing and the sign are made of forged stainless steel. And among the vegetable ornaments on the balcony, you will find a vine, which represents the joy and enjoyment of living, and on the right side, a liver plant as a symbol of passion and good humor. Virtues and attitudes all of them very necessary for humans, and that the ferreiros of that meeting also wished for the rulers of Santalla.

Santa Eulalia de Oscos Town Hall ©Turismo Asturias

As always, the design was by José Ortiz.

And thanks to these works, today the town hall of Santalla contains artistic elements of great beauty, which are rooted in the tradition of the ferreiro trade. So it will be essential that you come to see it.

Exemplary Town

The year 2016 was very special for Los Oscos, because Santa Eulalia, San Martín and Villanueva received a unique and historic award. They were Exemplary Town of Asturias the distinction awarded annually by the Princess of Asturias Foundation.

Exemplary Town ©Jesús Alfaro

The celebrations followed one after another and Los Oscos made the news halfway around the world, for having been able to preserve its memory, and its tangible and intangible heritage. They were weeks of nerves, excitement and illusions, which were forever imprinted in the hearts of the people and in the landscapes.

Exemplary Town ©Turismo Asturias

And as it could not be otherwise in the capital of iron, Santalla was chosen to have in its promenade-viewpoint a very special work of art: Three sculptures designed on the occasion of the appointment of Exemplary Village. Three women for Santalla, three men for Villanueva and three children for San Martín de Oscos. The philosophical thought of this piece is based on the collaboration between people and peoples. For this reason the head of each person is in the hand of his neighbor. .

Romanesque sphere

That same year 2016 is a milestone in solidarity and coexistence among the ferreiros. And is that José Ortiz was marked as purpose to consolidate the brotherhood between Alpens, in Catalonia, and Santalla, since they are the two places that take turns for the celebration of the Encuentros de Ferreiros.

Sphere ©Turismo Asturias

The project consisted of each town hall receiving a sphere with the same appearance. Both spheres are composed of pentagons and hexagons with Romanesque-style latticework. These spheres symbolically united both towns, and remained as a symbol of gratitude of the ferreiros for the hospitality and support of the people of the two venues of the Meetings.

Specifically, the Santalla sphere was assembled during the IX Ferreiros Meeting in 2017, joining pieces created by volunteer ferreiros participating in the project.

Sphere ©Javier Quintana

When you go to Santalla, you can see it in the Sargadelos square, and it is especially impressive at night, when it projects its forms with the night lighting.

Marela, the biker cow

The IX Encuentro de Ferreiros, held in Santalla in 2017, gave as artistic fruit a biker cow. Marela, which is the cow’s name, was commissioned by another mayor, Marcos Niño, who once again relied on the creative genius of José Ortiz.

So 58 participants from Spain, Italy, France and Austria got down to work, using iron, Corten steel plate, stainless steel, brass and slate.

Vaca Motera ©Ana Fernández-Villasuso

Marela is an invitation to the many bikers who visit the area to make a stop in Santalla, to enjoy this peaceful place, where they will find beautiful landscapes, friendly people, home cooking, charming accommodations and all the authenticity of rural life.

This is how Marela was born, a cow that combines the adventurous and explorer spirit of the bikers with the cattle tradition of the area. That’s why Marela carries familiar elements of traditional life on her unique motorcycle.

Vaca Motera ©Jesús Alfaro

Locals say that Marela is a real star of selfies and social networks, because everyone is fascinated by her. You will find her just below the town hall square.

Tribute statue to the Marquis of Sargadelos

A character like the Marquis of Sargadelos could not be missing in this sculptural journey through his homeland. It was precisely in 2019, in the framework of the X Meeting of Ferreiros, and at the request of the Association Friends of the Marquis of Sargadelos, when this work materialized, made with a variety of materials such as forged and embossed stainless steel, ceramics, brass and enameled copper.

Statue in homage to the Marquis of Sargadelos ©Turismo Asturias

The 42 participants in the Encounters worked on a design by José Ortiz, and thus arose this impressive sculptural bust, for the memory and dissemination of a figure like Antonio Raimundo Ibáñez, born in Santalla and who founded in the eighteenth century in Sargadelos (Lugo) one of the first factories of cast iron and earthenware in Spain. An intense biography and a link with his hometown through this sculpture, located in the square that bears his name, and also through the Museo Casa Natal del Marqués de Sargadelos, an initiative that has its headquarters in the house where he was born and is a focus of attraction for tourists and visitors.

La Servanda

In 2023, Santa Eulalia de Oscos witnessed the XI Ferreiros Meeting, an initiative organized by the Ferreiros de Mazonovo and the City Council, supported by the Association Friends of Raimundo Ibañez, Marqués de Sargadelos, the Leader plan and with the collaboration of the neighbors of Santa Eulalia de Oscos.

La Servanda ©Turismo Asturias

This event will remain engraved in the memory of the people due to the emotion that surrounded the creation of a unique piece forged by more than 40 blacksmiths and blacksmiths from Spain and Europe. A sculpture was erected in honor of the Rural Woman, represented with the typical attire of the filandeiras of Santalla, symbolizing the female labor of weaving warps, creating life. Known as “Servanda” (the one who serves and protects), the statue is located in the playground of Santalla. The railing that surrounds it is designed as a weft of threads that evoke a fuse and a shuttle, tools of weaving. At its base, there are metal representations of drawings and words written by the children of the school in homage to the women of their families. Designed by Paz Prieto and Olga Buson, this sculpture was acclaimed by the entire community as a sincere tribute to all the women who, throughout history, contributed with love and life, even if their voice was never heard.

And thus contemplating La Servanda will end your artistic and historical journey through Santalla.

You will havelearned a little more about the life and importance of the ferreiros, their values, their history and their techniques. You will have met people who have been key to rural memory, ethnographic research and ultimately to the evolution of knowledge. You will have realized the value of a people united in their traditions and their destiny.

And all through iron art, and in a simple walk.

Undoubtedly, Santalla will remain forged in your memory as that corner that with the spirit of the ironworkers is shaping and increasing step by step and year by year what is already one of the most striking outdoor sculptural spaces of the Natural Paradise. A space of art, exchange, coexistence, knowledge and wisdom, promoted by the Iron Council, a state association created in Santalla in 2007, which brings together blacksmiths from all over Spain.

Mazonovo ©Mampiris

In addition, if you want to know much more about traditional forging in the XXI century, in Los Oscos, a group of active blacksmiths -the Ferreiros de Mazonovo- work to keep alive their trade and their history in a forge workshop with hydraulic mallet from the XVIII century located in Mazonovo, in Santa Eulalia de Oscos. And even, if you want to buy any piece, the workshop has an online store.