History and popular culture

We have often described ours as an eternal territory. By this we want to highlight its aspects of permanence and stability, a perfect breeding ground for oral transmission, for the maintenance of traditions and cultures. Let’s take a look at some examples that certify this.

A prominent place in the craftsmanship of the area corresponds to basketry and, especially, to the straw hats known as sancosmeiros, although they are traditionally made in the parish of Santo Ourente. This craft allowed that, in addition to hats, baskets, bags and many other objects that are nowadays in museums could be made.

Sancosmeiros are made from clean, wet and well-dried wheat straw, which is carefully plaited to form circular hats of great strength and waterproofing. They are in great demand not only among the peasant women of the region but also among those from other Galician villages, as they are perfectly suited to agricultural work in both summer and winter, and are even bought by visitors as souvenirs. They are also the main attraction of the Outes Town Council’s stalls at the various promotional events it attends.

Ours is a product-based gastronomy, mainly dedicated to keeping the flavour of exceptional raw materials pure, but there is also room for some peculiar and surprising traditions, such as a curious Muradan dessert called “tortilla romana”, or the corn pie with cockles, which in Noia you will have to chew carefully, because the cockles are put in the dough with a shell, so that they release all their juice inside the pie, can you imagine?

Another striking example of tradition and culture can be found in Outes, in the pilgrimage of San Campio de Ourente, a saint who will take the devil out of your body (you can see an extensive entry on this subject in our blog: https://riademurosnoia.com/el-demonio-nunca-estuvo-tan-guapo-11/).

Popular festivals, patron saints with a wide gastronomic content or museums dedicated to safeguarding the memory of the villages (you have them in the EXPERIENCES section), performances such as Muros mira ao mar, the carrilanas competition in Esteiro, celebrations such as the Semana santa de Muros or the Feria Medieval de Noia will give rise to a final result: you will never get bored in the #RíadeMurosNoia.