Ribeira is the capital of the

comarca A ''comarca'' (, , , ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain, and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, mark ...

of Barbanza, in the province of

A Coruña A Coruña (; ; also informally called just Coruña; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality in Galicia, Spain. It is Galicia's second largest city, behind Vigo. The city is the provincial capital of the province ...

in the

autonomous community The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Sp ...

of Galicia in northwestern

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. The capital and most populous urban center is Santa Uxía de Ribeira. Another of its major points is the center of San Martin de Oleiros. The municipality is administratively divided into nine civil parishes: Aguiño, Artes, Carreira, Castiñeiras, Corrubedo, Oleiros, Olveira, Palmeira and Ribeira. It is one of the most southerly municipalities of the province. It borders the municipalities of Pobra do Caramiñal and Porto do Son. It has one of the most important inshore fishing ports in the province. Also within the municipality, tuna that is destined for canning is unloaded for manufacturing companies. It has important administrative services provided to the population that nourishes the municipality, such as the local delegation of the Treasury and three Courts of First Instance and Instruction.

Toponymy

''Ribeira'' is a Galician word, from Latin ''ripariam'', meaning 'bank' or 'shore'. This form was first attested in 1387: ''Santa Ougea de Ribeira''. On the other hand, ''Uxía'', Old Galician ''Ougia'', is the local evolution of the name

Eugenia ''Eugenia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the myrtle family Myrtaceae. It has a worldwide, although highly uneven, distribution in tropical and subtropical regions. The bulk of the approximately 1,100 species occur in the New World tropics, ...

; hence ''Santa Uxía'' means ''Saint Eugenia''. The local church of Saint Eugenia is first recorded in a document dated in 1200, as ''Sancte Eugenie de Carraria''.

History

Traces of the Atlantic megalithic culture in Riberia can be found at the Dolmen de Axeitos and the Pedra das Cabras petroglyph. Until the 17th century, Ribeira's port was of little importance on the region, partly due to several incursions of

vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

and

pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

from the 11th to 18th centuries. Nevertheless, it grew constantly to become one of Galicia's most important fishing ports towards the late 18th century. At that time businessmen of

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

arrived in Ribeira and created a successful salting fish industry. King

Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Alfonso León Fernando María Jaime Isidro Pascual Antonio de Borbón y Habsburgo-Lorena''; French language, French: ''Alphonse Léon Ferdinand Marie Jacques Isidore Pascal Antoine de Bourbon''; 17 May ...

granted Ribeira the title of City in 1906.

Economy

Economically, Ribeira is very dependent on the sea and it constitutes one of the most important shallow-water fishing ports in Spain. Cultivation of

mussels Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, whic ...

and

turbot The turbot ( ) ''Scophthalmus maximus'' is a relatively large species of flatfish in the family Scophthalmidae. It is a demersal fish native to marine or brackish waters of the Northeast Atlantic, Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. It is a ...

represents an important source of income. The town also has splendid expectations facing the increase of tourism.

Demographics

The population totals 28,000, nearly 14,000 in Santa Uxía, main urban nucleus and parish. There is a significant number of people settled abroad, mainly in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

Harrison, New Jersey Harrison is a town in the western part of Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark, and is located from New York City. Once considered "the bee ...

Carteret, New Jersey Carteret is a borough in northeastern Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population reached 25,326, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 2,482 (+10.9%) from the ...

, and Lyndhurst, New Jersey.

Tourism

In recent years the tourism industry has set their sights on the Barbanzana capital. Traces of the past can be cherished by visiting the Dolmen de Axeitos or "The Parthenon of Megalithic" as described by the late official chronicler of the municipality, Carlos Garcia Bayon. The remains of Celtic culture and forts are dotted throughout the Riveira territory along with petroglyphs for cultural tourists seeking a peek into the past. The natural park of the Dunes and lagoons Carregal Corrubedo and Vixán (Dune Corrubedo) offer visitors, among other peculiarities, 1000 hectares of park and 5 kilometers of coastline. It should be mentioned that the largest moving dune in the northwest peninsular is here that is 1.2 kilometers in length and no less than 15 meters in height. Another main tourist attraction in Ribeira is 'Festa da Dorna', a major event taking place one week prior to the 24th of July (which is a local holiday and the biggest day of the event). It has been taking place since 1948 and it was declared a Galician Festival of Tourist Interest in 2005. There are several fun activities taking place during the days that it is celebrate. People organize themselves in groups called "peñas", identified by colorful t-shirts and fun names related to the sea life.

Gastronomy

The municipality is located at the mouth of the Ria de Arousa, which boasts of being the most productive shellfish area in Spain. Ribeira is one of the first inshore fishing ports so it can be said that its cuisine is intimately linked to the sea.

Notable people

Ana Peleteiro Ana Peleteiro-Compaoré Brión (Birth name, née Peleteiro Brión; born 2 December 1995 in A Coruña, Spain) is a Spanish triple jumper and the current national record holder. She won the gold medal in the 2019 European Athletics Indoor Champio ...

, athlete *

Andrés Torres Queiruga Andrés Torres Queiruga (born 1940 in Aguiño, Ribeira, Galicia) is a Galician theologian, writer and translator. He is known for some of heterodox beliefs, including the denial in the physical resurrection of Jesus. He studied in Santiago de ...

, theologian and writer

References

External links

Ribeira Council Official Webpage

Parish of Carreira Official Webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Uxia de Ribeira Municipalities in the Province of A Coruña