Discover Fontiveros: Churches, Natural Landscapes and the Ruta Teresiana

Culture

In Fontiveros, the Parroquia de San Cipriano was declared a site of cultural interest of particular significance, a Bien de Interés Cultural, in 1943. The church was built in the Romanesque-Mudéjar style in the 12th and 13th centuries. It includes a Late Gothic apse from the late 16th century by Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón and a Baroque tower from the early 18th century.

San Juan de la Cruz was baptised in the Parroquia de San Cipriano in 1542. The Casa Natal de San Juan de la Cruz is a church and monastery built on the site of his birthplace; the monastery was inaugurated in 1723. The Academia de Juglares de Fontiveros adds a literary dimension. Founded in 1980, it includes writers and poets of national and international renown. It consists of 45 members, who are appointed annually on 14 December, the feast day of San Juan de la Cruz.

The Espacio San Juan de la Cruz “Llama de amor viva” was inaugurated in 2011 and established in the former flour mill. Fuente Dos was renovated in 1575 with a semicircular granite arch. The Ermita Santa Ana is a Renaissance building with a square floor plan and a semicircular dome, built around 1570. The Ermita Santa Ana is also known as “De la Bandera”. A French banner was kept there, having been captured by D. Jerónimo Gómez de Sandoval, Lord of the Villa Fontiveros, in the Bay of Gibraltar on 22 July 1641.

Historical traces also include the washhouses known as “Los Chorrillos”. They were built in 1907 to supply the population of Fontiveros and consist of three outlets fed by various springs. In the past, they were a meeting place and venue for social exchange for the women of the surrounding area. The former cemetery of the Iglesia de San Juan de la Cruz has been preserved.

Nature

Laguna Grande o de los Arenales is a natural area for birdwatching and recreation. It is considered the town’s most important natural area and was redesigned in 2005. Among others, mallards, moorhens, geese and grey herons can be observed at Laguna Grande o de los Arenales. Cultural sites and a clearly designated natural area thus provide different focal points for planning a stay.

Pilgrimage route

Fontiveros is part of the Ruta Teresiana from Ávila to Alba de Tormes, which allows pilgrims to discover the cultural and religious wealth of the route. The Ruta Teresiana includes a northern route of approximately 117 kilometres and a southern route of approximately 107 kilometres. The two approximate route lengths offer different ways of incorporating the route into one’s own plans.

Getting there

The motorhome parking area in Fontiveros can be reached from the A-50 motorway between Ávila and Salamanca via exit 46 and then the AV-800 road.

Other places

Pozanco, San Bartolomé de Pinares, Peguerinos, Mingorría, Lanzahíta, Gil-García, Fresnedilla, San Juan de la Encinilla

For the higher-level travel overview: Avila.