Puerto de Vega

Puerto de Vega is a seafaring village in the municipality of Navia, in north-western Asturias, on the shores of the Cantabrian Sea. Its history is tied to the sea: according to Wikipedia, the dynamism of its merchants’ guild and whale hunting, practised until the late 17th century, shaped its development. The Enlightenment figure Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos died here in 1811, at the house of Trelles Osorio, and in 1995 the village was recognised as “Pueblo ejemplar de Asturias”.

Its heritage includes the Baroque church, completed in 1749, and the harbour fish market (lonja), a building from 1928. Its ethnographic museum, housed in a former cannery, is devoted to the sea and fishing, rural life and emigration. The main fiestas are Las Telayas, held from 7 to 10 September in honour of the Virgen de la Atalaya, the village’s patron saint.