Discover Nerva: Mining History, Nature and Culture

Nerva is part of the Zona Minera de Riotinto-Nerva, protected as an Asset of Cultural Interest in the category “Historic Site”.

Culture and History

Southwest of Nerva, the Dolmen de la Lancha belongs to the Tholos culture. The Iglesia de San Bartolomé houses a 15-square-metre oil-on-canvas altarpiece completed by José María Laborado in 1964, depicting the martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew.

The Museo Vázquez Díaz has more than 1,000 square metres of exhibition space for contemporary art. It displays works from various creative periods of Daniel Vázquez Díaz, including the “Poemas del Descubrimiento” collection, and hosts changing exhibitions of painting and photography.

El paseo de Nerva is a pedestrian promenade between the historic town hall and the modern Museo Vázquez Díaz, characterised by a colourful series of painted trees. The Teatro Javier Perianes Granero displays more than one hundred paintings from open-air competitions, as well as the pianos of local composer Manuel Rojas.

Nature

At 695 metres, Pico de Padre Caro is the highest point in the municipality of Nerva. The Río Tinto rises in the Sierra del Padre Caro.

The Montera de Gossan Natural Monument is located in the Río Tinto protected landscape near the Peña de Hierro mine in Nerva and is used to communicate the area’s mining history, as well as the geology and minerals of the mining region.

Peña de Hierro has a viewpoint overlooking an open-pit mine, from which the multicoloured, mineral-rich subsurface landscape is visible. The red water of the Río Tinto has a pH value between 1.7 and 2.7 and contains large quantities of heavy metals.

NASA selected the Río Tinto as a research habitat because its possible similarity to the environmental conditions on Mars is of interest.

Getting Around

Damas S.A. operates two bus routes connecting Nerva by road with Huelva and Seville. In Nerva, free parking spaces for motorhomes are available behind the Pabellón Municipal de Deportes Urbano Ortiz.

The Aguas Rojizas PR-A 493 circular hiking trail is 9 kilometres long and takes approximately 2 hours and 21 minutes. Nerva is located on the fourth stage of the Camino Rociero-Jacobeo; the route can be completed on foot, on horseback or by bicycle. For planning purposes, the two routes can be compared by duration and mode of transport.

At Peña de Hierro, a historic gallery more than 200 metres long has been restored, allowing visitors to experience underground mining.

Calendar

Summer celebrations in Nerva include the La Villa and San Bartolomé festivals, as well as other neighbourhood festivals and the pilgrimage of San Antonio. La Villa is celebrated on 7 August, and San Bartolomé on 24 August.

Other places: El Granado, Aroche, Veredas, El Álamo, Isla Cristina, Lucena Del Puerto, Hinojales, Las Delgadas

To the higher-level travel overview: Huelva.