Villabona
Encyclopedia
Villabona is a village of over 5500 inhabitants in the comarca
of Tolosaldea
, Gipuzkoa province, Basque Country
, Spain
. It has a urban area, close to the Oria River
, and a rural area, Amasa, around which the village originally formed. Villabona is located in the Oria Valley, in the foothills of Mount Gazume and Mount Uzturre. It is about 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) from the provincial capital, San Sebastián
.
The village originally grew around the Amasa Quarter, in Villabona's highest area. In 1619, both settlements set up a joint town council.
The Parish Church of San Martín de Tours stands in Amasa. This church, built between the 16th and 18th centuries, has an interesting high altarpiece. Close by is the Hermitage of Santa Cruz, the first parish of the area.
There are a great number of agrotourism lodgings offering endless activities. The main tourist appeal is in its rural and mountain setting. There are two competitions of rebote, celebrated in July and September. Rebote is a style of the Basque sport pelota
that is only played in Villabona and Zubieta. During the San Martín Festivities in November, Amasa celebrates the traditional Oilasko Jokua. Boys, with their eyes covered, move forward to the sound of a music that tries to mislead them. They have to find a chicken, hit it with a sickle, and cut its head off.
Comarca
A comarca is a traditional region or local administrative division found in parts of Spain, Portugal, Panama, Nicaragua, and Brazil. The term is derived from the term marca, meaning a "march, mark", plus the prefix co- meaning "together, jointly".The comarca is known in Aragonese as redolada and...
of Tolosaldea
Tolosaldea
One of the eight comarcas in Gipuzkoa, formed by 28 municipalities, being Tolosa the main town.About 45,000 people live in the area.-External links:* ....
, Gipuzkoa province, Basque Country
Basque Country (autonomous community)
The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. It has a urban area, close to the Oria River
Oria River
The Oria is a river in the Basque Country at the north of the Iberian Peninsula. It's one of a series of Basque rivers flowing into the Bay of Biscay and the main river of the province Gipuzkoa in volume , length and basin , the main feature of these rivers aligned south to north being their...
, and a rural area, Amasa, around which the village originally formed. Villabona is located in the Oria Valley, in the foothills of Mount Gazume and Mount Uzturre. It is about 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) from the provincial capital, San Sebastián
San Sebastián
Donostia-San Sebastián is a city and municipality located in the north of Spain, in the coast of the Bay of Biscay and 20 km away from the French border. The city is the capital of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. The municipality’s population is 186,122 , and its...
.
The village originally grew around the Amasa Quarter, in Villabona's highest area. In 1619, both settlements set up a joint town council.
The Parish Church of San Martín de Tours stands in Amasa. This church, built between the 16th and 18th centuries, has an interesting high altarpiece. Close by is the Hermitage of Santa Cruz, the first parish of the area.
There are a great number of agrotourism lodgings offering endless activities. The main tourist appeal is in its rural and mountain setting. There are two competitions of rebote, celebrated in July and September. Rebote is a style of the Basque sport pelota
Pelota
Pelota can refer to the popular and shortened names for a number of ball games:* Baseball* Basque pelota* Bocce* Jai alai* Valencian pilota...
that is only played in Villabona and Zubieta. During the San Martín Festivities in November, Amasa celebrates the traditional Oilasko Jokua. Boys, with their eyes covered, move forward to the sound of a music that tries to mislead them. They have to find a chicken, hit it with a sickle, and cut its head off.
External links
- Official Website Information available in SpanishSpanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and BasqueBasque languageBasque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories...
. - VILLABONA in the Bernardo Estornés Lasa - Auñamendi Encyclopedia (Euskomedia Fundazioa) Information available in SpanishSpanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...