A pleasant town
flanked by Loarre and Bolea town.
Place of Sotonera, in the county of Huesca,
with around 200 inhabitants. Its altitude is of 761 meters on the sea
level. It's 26 kilometers from Huesca. The gentile name is aniesino.
To arrive, we leave from the great plain
of the Valley of Huesca (Hoya de Huesca -Huesca Hole-),
from the highway of Ayerbe, to look for the mount, there where
the mountain will be divided in two (although it continues fused to
each other) to generate the mountains of Loarre and Gratal.
The route can be carried out taking the deviation in Esquedas,
for Bolea, or from Ayerbe, by Loarre. The secondary
highway will be curved to the base of the mountains; then we will continue
for the deviation that leads directly to Aniés. They can be contemplated
to a side and another of that highway the extensive work fields. Of
the earth rocky place emerge, that appear its stability in view of the
traveler. The holm oaks are advance of the pines. It is smelled of ontina
and rosemary.
Aniés belongs to the municipality
of Sotonera that has its capitalidad in Bolea. The census
has gone descending with the years. In 1978 it ended up counting two
hundred thirty six inhabitants.
The urban central area of Aniés
leans back in the river bed. Its layout is regular, with prevalence
of the direct line in the streets that it is impossible, as it leaves
reaching height, in direction to the sanctuary of Peña's Virgin
that is located "among the old and noble villages of Ayerbe and
Bolea, as a result of the mountains of Jaca -the Father
Faci wrote in 1739-, on a rock or towering crag that the nature
prepared there for throne of our Queen: looked the elevation and how
cut that is, it is represented before being experienced, as impossible
the ascent to its summit, and experienced, it is always difficult and
naturally dangerous, because there is not, neither it can have another
ascent that the made by devotion, more than the art, forming in the
same alive rock, some tiers that go surrounding it ...".
The cross of term of Aniés has
presided over always the way to the cemetery. The urban nucleus stretches
out contained, as if it was about connecting the mount and the plain.
The earth goes losing the layer ocher to get dressed of green that in
the height will be more intense.
The parochial church is of plant of Latin
cross, of a ship and polygonal apse. It's covered with lunettes vault,
and the cruise with blind dome. The origin was romanesque, as the facade,
with six archivolts; it is also romanesque all old construction. Then
the rising amplification works arrived that modified the primitive structure.
These reformations date of the XVIII century. The steeple-tower rises
slender, and it is also of later time.
When the mountain is next, the hermitages
make an exhibition. The invocations looked for their seat in the most
inaccessible places, maybe because they were more safe of the infidels.
The reconquest always planted its flags and its devotions in the maximum
heights. In Aniés, they are counted till four hermitages.
They are constructions that belong together
with the same time; in general the XVII-XVIII centuries, except in those
cases where the rock served from refuge to the corresponding invocation.
The hermitage of San Cosme, of the XVII century, is composed
of a ship with two tracts, and that of Santa Bárbara, of a rectangular
ship, with a small atrium preceding it. The devotion was stayed, although
the buildings ended up threatening ruin. It has not happened similar
with San Cristóbal's hermitage, located in the cavity of a rock,
with three tracts, exercising the central one as a hermit place.
The hermitage of Our Mrs. of Peña,
to three kilometers from Aniés, was able to maintain its old
excellence. "It is amid the boulders of its mountain that it is necessary
to take advantage of the stairway practiced in the same rocks to ascend
to it, and then, once in the summit, to descend for some steps of same
class, until arriving at a small square..." At a side it is the hermitage
and to the other one the hostelry. The place is excessively picturesque.
In the center of the square there's a small cave, guardian of the
Virgin's image, according to the tradition.
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The father Roque Alberto Faci
makes this story of the miraculous discovery: "There being a military
gentleman of those that garnished the neighboring castle of Loarre,
gone out to hunt by those mounts and mountains with a hawk, released
it against a distant partridge, the one which, escaping from its cruel
enemy, hurtled inside the mentioned depth, to where, in pursuit of the
partridge, the hawk continued its flight. It made this there so long
mansion without returning to its owner's hands who fearful of losing
the hawk began to make the diligences to recover it. He wanted to go
down to that depth, but being for then impossible (without the stone
tiers that today has), he prepared that goes down a servant bundle to
a long rope; the servant arrived to the deep thing and there as a mysterious,
upon marvelous altarpiece composed of a magnificent bramble, in whose
right side was the image of Our Lady and in the sinister one the partridge
alive, like under the sacred of that Sovereign Queen; and this way,
although leaned of the hawk, free of its cruelty, because this, as forgotten
of its bloody instinct seemed to be as absent and admired of seeing
in so hidden place a so beautiful show. But more the devote Christian
admired it, seeing there united the shade and the light (I'm saying),
to Sacred Mary and the bramble, to carry out in term of Aniés,
the Moses' great mission in the mount Oreb. The gentleman returned,
as newsy already of that treasure, happier to his house, and communicating
to the Christian so happy news they went in procession to the place,
and taking out of it the image transferred it to the very old church
of San Pedro Apostle that for then there was in the root of this
boulder; today there are only vestiges of it and of some neighboring
constructions that in Aniés understand to have been of Templars;
that it is not small conjecture to be today Aniés commend of
gentlemen of San Juan that followed to those of the Temper in
many goods and places. The same tradition affirms that was restored
the image, an or more times from this temple of San Pedro, to
the concave of that boulder where it was found by the servant and gentleman,
reason why, worshipping those of Aniés the expressed will of
Our Mrs., they erected devote in that concave the church in that today
She is worshipped; for these last circumstances should call hereself
appeared this sacred image, no matter how much the first ones only insinuate
miraculous discovery. It is conserved in this church a written memory,
although with letter not very old (but without a doubt transferred of
other, or another very old ones) in that one says: "This appearance
happened in the years of 903...".
Aniés worships Peña's Virgin
like patron saint and celebrates its party September 8.
The traditional pilgrimage takes place
May 8 and also join to it the towns of Rasal and Bentué.
Once up - what represents a great effort for the pilgrims - it is necessary
to descend forty two steps to arrive at the hermitage, located in the
bottom of the cavity, and later ascend to reach the hostelry again.
A source that are named "of miraculous
water", satiates the thirst of the pilgrim.
Aniés is all landscape, causing
of surprising sensations, as much from the town as from the hermitage.
In the same urban area, near the parochial church, there is a viewpoint
that shows a beautiful and very wide panorama, in which is, at the end,
the majestic castle of Loarre. That view is able to evoke distant
times.
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