Omaña

The Castro culture is associated with the astures,[11] although many were used during the Roman occupation as bases to organize the intense mining exploitation of the area that took place at this time.

As testimony of gold exploitation, there are traces of canals in Valdesamario and Valle Gordo, land clearings and removed sands in la Garandilla, Guisatecha, and Barrio de la Puente and remains of two branches of the Asturian Rodera, one that passed through Ponjos and Rosales and another that passed through Garandilla, Home, Castro, and Riello.

It was not until the declaration as a "Special Action Region" in Royal Decree 3418 of December 29, 1978, that an effort was made to improve the infrastructure, measures that however arrived late to stop the depopulation process.

To the south it borders la Cepeda and Boeza, highlighting the peaks of Pozo Fierro, el Suspiron and Arcos del Agua.

To the west and northwest, the Fasgarón, the Nevadín, the Tambarón and Piedra Negra separate it from Laciana and the region of the High Sil.

The transition between the western elevations and the river valleys that extend towards the southeast is produced by a set of medium-altitude reliefs, formed by ancient erosion processes and called "panda mountain ranges";[14] The Cueto Rosales lies in one of these chordals, near the geographical center of Oman, and from its summit most of the county and its boundaries can be seen.

[19] The mountainous character of Omaña largely determines its climate, classified as continentalized Mediterranean, with winters cold and frequent frosts, and summers warm and dry.

precipitation is distributed irregularly throughout the year, being scarcer in summer and concentrating at the end of autumn, in the winter months and at the beginning of spring.

At the end of the 20th century, Riello became the municipality with greater number of towns, 31 in total, when Campo de la Lomba and Vegarienza merged with it.

In these meetings, the ordinancess and the uses and customs of the town were applied: issues concerning the herding of livestock, the use of communal lands and irrigation water were decided; facenderas or "hacenderas" were called to repair roads, fountains and bridges; Contraventions of the ordinances were judged and fines were imposed.

[13] During the 20th century, the peculiar social organization of the region was lost along with the traditional ways of subsistence, in decline due to the low profitability of minifundistas farms in a modern economy , and the subsequent depopulation of the area, which accelerates from the 60s onwards.

From then on, the population began to emigrate, mostly to Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela at the beginning, and to Europe and other regions of Spain and the province of León as the century progressed.

[14] The southern limit between Precambrian and Cambrian rocks runs along the imaginary line that joins the towns of Posada de Omaña and Inicio; in this strip, the formation of Vegadeo limestone can be seen, with a high participation of carbonates.

This type of vegetation tends to occupy abandoned ancient lands.u[15] High mountain meadows (brañas) traditionally dedicated to pastures are also characteristic of the area.

[15] The uncultivated lands, located in the mountain areas, provided stones and wood for the construction of homes and objects for daily use and also pasture for major and minor livestock.

Livestock farming has traditionally been the main source of income for the inhabitants of the region, who sold butter, wool and fattened animals for the market.

Commercial activities took place mainly in the markets of Riello and el Castillo and Murias de Paredes, although the inhabitants also traveled to San Emiliano and Villablino, outside the region.

In the second half of the 20th century, the exploitation of the coal mines of Laciana, Luna and Valdesamario also It became an important activity, if not enough to stop the process of emigration, at least to improve the economy of the remaining inhabitants.

The cultivation of rye has disappeared and the most fertile lands are usually dedicated to the production of grass for the livestock herd, which, even diminished by depopulation, continues to be an important part of economic activity in the area.

[15] In the first decade of the 21st century the rural tourism sector has begun to take off, benefiting from the designation of Omaña as Biosphere Reserve.

Another positive factor for tourism was the abandonment of a plan to dam the Omaña River in 1993; This has cleared up uncertainties about the future of Riello and other surrounding towns that would have been flooded, and which until then had represented a brake on investments in this area.

[41][42] Among the most recent efforts to preserve traditional speech, it is worth highlighting that of Margarita Álvarez Rodríguez who in 2010 published a complete study of phonetic, morphological and Valdesamario's own vocabulary.

Thatch roofing (teito) constitutes a good thermal insulator, although it deteriorates over time and must be repaired regularly, lasting a maximum of up to 20 years.

The abandonment of rye cultivation and depopulation have gradually led to the disappearance of huelmo roofs, which have been replaced by tile or slate or, in auxiliary buildings simply covered with uralite.

Although the style of the homes and other buildings is functional and often rustic, many examples of decorative elements can be seen, especially in the window frames and openings and the whitewashing of the walls.

The haystack was located on the upper floor, although a separate construction from the house was often dedicated to this purpose, to reduce the risk of fires.

Many of them are religious in nature: they celebrate Christmas, the day of the Three Wise Men, Holy Week and Corpus Christi, in addition to the festivals of the saints and virgins patrons of each town.