Vilar de Barrio

Vilar de Barrio is a concello (municipality) in the north of the A Limia district, in the province of Ourense, between the plain of the former Lagoa de Antela and the San Mamede range, where the river Arnoia rises. It is potato country, celebrated every October with a festival now nearly half a century old, and hórreo country (traditional raised granaries), with clusters of them in almost every village ^[5][6][7].

Municipal data

It had 1,963 inhabitants in 2003, 1,394 in 2016 and 1,178 in 2025 ^[4][1].

Landscape

The villages to the south, south-west and west are mountain villages, on the slopes of the San Mamede range around the source of the Arnoia; those to the east lie on the plain ^[6]. In Rebordechao the houses are roofed with slate, unlike the rest of the municipality ^[6]. The Pedra Alta de Antela, a standing stone 3.74 metres tall, marks the boundary between Bóveda, Cortegada (Sarreaus) and A Abeleda (Xunqueira de Ambía) ^[16]. The Zamora–A Coruña railway crosses the municipality, with Vilar de Barrio station, opened on 1 July 1957 ^[13].

History

The Bóveda hillfort

There are hillfort remains at Bóveda and Padreda ^[4][7]. The Bóveda castro (Iron Age hillfort) is one of the largest in A Limia, covering more than ten hectares: in 2021 archaeologists dug six test pits and found part of the original rampart, fragments of Roman amphorae, traces of iron and bronze working and a glass-paste bead that may be Punic ^[9]. From Roman times there are tombstones, the bridge over the Arnoia at Arnuíde and remains of the road from Chaves to Verín ^[7][4].

Lordships

Under the old regime the area was highly fragmented. In As Maus, according to the Ensenada land survey (1753), there were two estates, one inside the other: the outer one belonged to Juan de Puga y Solís, count of Torre Peneda, and the inner to Juan Suárez Noguerol; Porto and Parada belonged to the count of Monterrei ^[11]. The 18th-century manor houses of the marquis of Bóveda in Padreda and of the Gaioso family in Bóveda date from this period ^[7].

Arnuíde and Vilar de Barrio

In 1821 a constitutional municipality of Arnuíde appears in the Maceda judicial district, covering all the parishes of today’s municipality. Vilar de Barrio municipality was created in 1836, in the Allariz district, with the parishes of Vilar de Barrio, As Maus, Arnuíde, Seiró, Padreda, Bóveda, Prado and Rebordechao ^[5]. Riobó was a parish until the 1893 reorganisation, when it became part of Prado ^[5].

Romasanta in Rebordechao

Manuel Blanco Romasanta, the so-called home do unto ("tallow man", later known as the werewolf of Allariz), settled in Rebordechao after fleeing a sentence in Ponferrada. The rumours began there, and some of his victims died in the San Mamede range: Manuela García Blanco was murdered in 1846 between Rebordechao and Santa Cruz de Prado, and Bieita García Blanco and her son Francisco in 1847 at Corgo do Boi ^[12].

The 20th century

Vilar de Barrio’s doctor, Luis Díaz Gallego, a member of Izquierda Republicana, fled after the 1936 coup, was arrested in Tui and ended his days in exile in Argentina ^[15]. On 20 April 1948 five guerrillas turned up at the house of the mayor, Tomás Fernández Llamas, and demanded 40,000 pesetas; his wife collected about 32,000 from the neighbours ^[14].

Heritage highlights

• Bóveda hillfort, beside the viewpoint, with the so-called "buratos dos mouros" (Moors’ holes) ^[9][10].
• Clusters of hórreos at A Edreira, Penouzos, Vilar de Gomareite, San Miguel, Padreda and As Maus, where a stream runs through the village between the granaries; the heritage catalogue protects more than a hundred ethnographic sites in the municipality ^[6][19].
• Paved communal threshing floors, such as those at Penouzos and Rebordechao, and the path of drinking troughs and channels cut into the rock at San Miguel ^[6].
• Arnuíde bridge over the Arnoia ^[7][4].
• The manor houses of the marquis of Bóveda (Padreda) and the Gaioso family (Bóveda) ^[7].
• The chapels of San Lourenzo (Arnuíde), As Dores and Santo Antonio (Padreda), San Martiño and San Mamede ^[7][19].
• The church of San Pedro at As Maus, with a coat of arms at the entrance recalling the old name Maos ^[11].

The heritage catalogue lists 197 sites in the municipality ^[19].

Festivals and fairs

• Festa da Pataca (potato festival), on the first weekend of October, after the harvest. In 2026 it held its 47th edition with a market, traditional games, cooking demonstrations, concerts and a parade, "O rural e a pataca"; that year Vilar de Barrio joined Spain’s National Network of Potato-Growing Towns ^[7][8].
• Santo Antón, 13 June, and San Fiz, 1 August ^[7].
• Vilar de Barrio fair, on the 9th of every month ^[7].

More dates in A Limia festivals month by month.

Legends

• The Moors’ holes at Bóveda: a hen with twelve chicks went in, and the chicks came out in places as far away as the Torre de Sandiás, Antioquía and Allariz ^[10].
• The xianas of Arnuíde, water fairies who appear at springs and rivers around St John’s Eve and guard treasures ^[17].
• A man from Vilar de Barrio, called up during the war, saw the sea at Bilbao for the first time and told his frightened comrades: "Isto non é nada! Máis grande é a Lagoa de Antela!" ("This is nothing! The Lagoa de Antela is bigger!") ^[17].

See Legends of A Limia.

Notable people

• Xabier Domínguez Pérez (Vilar de Barrio, 1984), children’s and young adult author and publisher ^[18].
• Luis Díaz Gallego, Republican doctor in Vilar de Barrio, exiled in Argentina ^[15].

Parishes

The concello has 9 parroquias (parishes, local territorial units) ^[3]:

A Albergaría · Arnuíde · As Maus · Bóveda · Padreda · Prado · Rebordechao · Seiró · Vilar de Barrio

More about A Limia

• The A Limia district
• Sarreaus
• Lagoa de Antela
• History of A Limia

FAQ

Sources

1. INE, Padrón municipal. Cifras oficiales de población (table 2885), 2016–2025. https://www.ine.es/jaxiT3/Tabla.htm?t=2885
2. Wikidata, "Vilar de Barrio" (Q515061). https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q515061 (CC0)
3. Xunta de Galicia / RAG, Nomenclátor de Galicia – Galicia Nomeada. https://galicianomeada.xunta.gal/sixtop/inicio
4. "Vilar de Barrio", Galipedia (in Galician). https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilar_de_Barrio (CC BY-SA 4.0)
5. Concello de Vilar de Barrio, "Historia". http://www.vilardebarrio.com/cultura/historia.php — Wayback: https://web.archive.org/web/20071012093727/http://www.vilardebarrio.com/cultura/historia.php
6. Concello de Vilar de Barrio, "Edificacións". http://www.vilardebarrio.com/cultura/edificacions.php — Wayback: https://web.archive.org/web/20071012094414/http://www.vilardebarrio.com/cultura/edificacions.php
7. Concello de Vilar de Barrio, "Lugares e festas". http://www.vilardebarrio.com/turismo/lugares.php — Wayback: https://web.archive.org/web/20071012094037/http://www.vilardebarrio.com/turismo/lugares.php
8. Concello de Vilar de Barrio, "Vilar de Barrio inaugura hoxe a 47ª Festa da Pataca con tres días de gastronomía, música e tradición rural", 09/10/2026. https://vilardebarrio.gal/vilar-de-barrio-inaugura-hoxe-a-47a-festa-da-pataca-con-tres-dias-de-gastronomia-musica-e-tradicion-rural/
9. Fronteira Esquecida, test excavations at the Bóveda hillfort, 04/10/2021. https://fronteiraesquecida.eu/?p=3549
10. Fronteira Esquecida, "Miradoiro de Bóveda". https://fronteiraesquecida.eu/gl/fichas/miradoiro-de-boveda-area-recreativa/
11. "As Maus, Vilar de Barrio", Galipedia (in Galician). https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/As_Maus,_Vilar_de_Barrio (CC BY-SA 4.0)
12. "Manuel Blanco Romasanta", Galipedia (in Galician). https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Blanco_Romasanta (CC BY-SA 4.0)
13. "Estación de Vilar de Barrio", Galipedia (in Galician). https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estación_de_Vilar_de_Barrio (CC BY-SA 4.0)
14. "Historia e memoria (1948). A guerrilla actúa en Vilar de Barrio e Folgoso (Sarreaus)", historiadexinzo.wordpress.com, 18/05/2014. https://historiadexinzo.wordpress.com/2014/05/18/historia-e-memoria-1948-a-guerrilla-actua-en-vilar-de-barrio-e-folgoso-sarreaus/
15. "Luis Díaz Gallego", Galipedia (in Galician). https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Díaz_Gallego (CC BY-SA 4.0)
16. "Pedra Alta de Antela", Galipedia (in Galician). https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedra_Alta_de_Antela (CC BY-SA 4.0)
17. Rafael José Adalid Rodríguez, "Contos, lendas e mitos da auga na Limia e pequenas achegas", Revista Galicia Encantada 16, 2020, pp. 6 and 9–10. https://galiciaencantada.com/lenda.asp?cat=11&id=2886
18. "Xabier Domínguez Pérez", Galipedia (in Galician). https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xabier_Domínguez_Pérez (CC BY-SA 4.0)
19. Xunta de Galicia, Catálogo de patrimonio cultural do Plan Básico Autonómico (Vilar de Barrio planning catalogue). https://ideg.xunta.gal/servizos/rest/services/PBA/Afeccions_PatrimonioCultural/MapServer
20. Universidade de Vigo, Xentilicios de Galicia. https://www.uvigo.gal/sites/uvigo.gal/files/contents/paragraph-file/2018-10/Xentilicios_0.pdf