The city of poets. Soria
The mountain of souls
Cloister of San Juan del Duero
1955-1977
Madrid Regional Archive
When Bécquer wrote El monte de las ánimas [The mountain of souls] in 1861 for El Contemporáneo newspaper, the photograph had only been recently invented. Until the 19th Century was well underway, photographic images could not be reproduced in the print press. We can therefore imagine how readers would linger over every word, every picture, every description of sound bringing to life the Sorian legend that unfolded throughout a freezing All Souls night.
«Can you hear that? The bells are ringing, prayers have begun in the church of San Juan del Duero, and the souls on the mountain will now be raising their yellowed skulls out of the thickets which cover their graves...»
Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer
El monte de las ánimas [The mountain of souls]
en Obras completas [Complete Works]. Published in Spanish by Cátedra, 2004.
Edition, introduction and notes by Joan Estruch Tobella, p. 129.
General view from the Mountain of Souls
[The monastery of San Juan del Duero is in the foreground]. 1888-1902
AHPSo 6
View of the Douro River from the Mirón
Teodoro Ramírez Rojas. 1888-1902
AHPSo 4
The ray of moonlight
Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer
Arround 1861
The city of Soria and its surroundings presented a perfect backdrop for tales of jealousies, revenge, misencounters and unrequited love. Such was the case of another legend, The ray of moonlight. A legend of love, fantasy, enchantment and reality, in which Manrique pursues the woman of his dreams.
"The ray of moonlight (A legend from Soria)"
El Contemporáneo, 12th & 13th February 1982, p. 154.
[Reading of fragments]
View of the Moon
1852
John G. Wolbach Library. Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
Over the Douro, which licks the crumbling dark city walls of Soria as it flows by, there is a bridge that leads from the city to the ancient monastery of the Templars, whose lands stretched along the opposite bank of the river.
Little girl in the river
1890-1915
AHPSo 3187
A few words
With the moon on his mind, Antonio Machado recalled his first encounter with the city of Soria and the landscape of the adolescent Douro.
«With the full moon casting a purplish light over the leaden mountain range of Santana, one afternoon in September 1907, the small, hilltop city of Soria came to mind. Pure Soria, its coat of arms proclaims, and how well that adjective suits it!»
Antonio Machado
"Discurso pronunciado con motivo de su nombramiento por el Ayuntamiento de Hijo Adoptivo de Soria" ["Speech given on being created an Adoptive Son of Soria by the City Council"]
El Porvenir Castellano, 1st October 1932
Homage to Antonio Machado
October de 1932
AHPSo 23598
View of the Douro River valley
29th September 1913. Journey to Spain series, 1913
© Deutsche Fotothek / Hans Praesent
For five years, the Sevillian poet lived in Soria, employed as the Head of the French department in the old senior school. He wrote Campos de Castilla there and fell in love with Leonor Izquierdo. Twenty years later, the poet returned to Soria to receive the distinction of adoptive son of the city. The homage to Machado took place on 5th October 1932 at 10 o’clock in the morning in the small square opposite the chapel of San Saturio.
«Soria owes me nothing, in my opinion. And if it owes me anything, it would be very little compared to what I owe it: having learnt there to understand Castile, which is the most direct and best way to understand Spain.I can accept such a disproportionate honour only because of this consideration: the adoptive son of your city himself adopted Soria many years ago as his ideal homeland. Forgive me if now I can only say, thank you from the bottom of my heart!»
Antonio Machado
"Discurso pronunciado con motivo de su nombramiento por el Ayuntamiento de Hijo Adoptivo de Soria" ["Speech given on being created an Adoptive Son of Soria by the City Council"]
El Porvenir Castellano, 1st October 1932
View of the Douro. San Saturio and the San Marcos mountain range
29th September 1913. Journey to Spain series, 1913
© Deutsche Fotothek / Hans Praesent
«Soria, in a mineral, planetary, earthy landscape. Soria, the city of circular winds with tiny snowflakes that always flick into your face, together with the adolescent Douro, still childlike, is pure… and nothing else.»
Antonio Machado
"Discurso pronunciado con motivo de su nombramiento por el Ayuntamiento de Hijo Adoptivo de Soria" ["Speech given on being created an Adoptive Son of Soria by the City Council"]
El Porvenir Castellano, 1st October 1932
Lovers lane
San Polo Convent Church
Soria, 1900-1930. Luis Martínez de Toro y Olalla series
AHPSo 5462
These river poplars, that accompany
the sound of water with the rustle
of their dry leaves, when the wind blows
carry on their bark
initials engraved with the names
of lovers, figures that are dates.
Antonio Machado
Campos de Soria [Fields of Soria] (fragment)
La Tribuna, 2nd March 1912
Group of people below the plaque to Machado
Soria, ca. 1950
AHPSo 3423
Leonor and Antonio Machado
Soria, ca. 1909
AHPSo 14191 and 14192
San Saturio hermitage
The hermitage of San Saturio. Bridge over the Douro River
Soria, 1954-1960
AHPSo 927
«Positioned between the rocks on the skirt of a steep mountain range, reflected in the waters of the Douro that flows at its feet and overlooking the course of the river for a long distance, part of the ancient city and the leafy orchards that adorn the Douro’s banks on the San Polo side, the simple lines of its outer building blend in with the craggy backdrop from which it emerges.»
"The hermitage of San Saturio, patron saint of Soria"
El Museo Universal
31st August 1867
Washing clothes near the water mill
Douro River, 1890-1900
AHPSo 3192
Summertime in Soria
Soria by train
When Machado arrived at Soria railway station to take up his position as Head of French in 1907, the Madrid-Soria railway line had been operating for over a decade.
Viaduct at Soria over the Golmayo River
1890
AHPSo255
Torralba-Soria train
[First tranche opened in 1892, making communication possible with Madrid]
Photo: Numantine museum Benito Aceña
AHPSo 14523
Iron bridge over the Douro River (Soria-Calatayud)
Weight test with heavy locomotive. Soria, 1929
AHPSo 241
Opening of the iron bridge over the Douro River
Soria, 21-10-1929.
AHPSo 250
Almazán
Before stopping at San Esteban de Gormaz, where the Douro widens and heads west, let’s make a stop in Almazán. Once again, the writer Julio Llamazares is with us, on his trip along the Douro. It is a peaceful Sunday afternoon, he writes. The villages along the riverbank appear as he walks, and he encounters only a solitary dog.
Almazán.
Almazán. General view from the righthand bank of the Douro
1925-1929
AHPSo 605
«The sun has come out from behind the clouds and bathes the poplar groves, where all the birds in the world are singing now. The river descends slowly, slurping at the boat and the women’s basket. Everything here seems to have stopped …»
Julio Llamazares
Cuaderno del Duero [Douro notebook]
1999
Almazán. Blacksmiths’ Gate
1955-1956
Archivo Regional de la Comunidad de Madrid
«The solitude is so great that the birds and the hares all do as they please. They cross close to the road, surprised by our presence. The river, next to us, is nearly motionless, between two rows of poplars, smooth as a table».
Julio Llamazares
Cuaderno del Duero [Douro notebook]
1999
