Goya, Wine and Ceramics

Statue of Francisco de Goya in front of his birthplace in Fuendetodos

A classical route in Zaragoza is the one that goes from the N330 road, running through the lands where the illustrious Francisco de Goya was born, among a sea of vineyards and colourful manifestations of Mudéjar art.

Muel ceramics have played an important role in local life for many centuries. Artisan techniques are taught in its Workshop-School, recuperating the old pottery-making tradition. The town has other attractions such as the hermitage of the Virgen de la Fuente, built on a Roman dam and decorated with paintings by a young Goya.

Longares

A few kilometres further on, Longares surprises us with its impressive Mudéjar tower. A walk through its town centre is a pleasure, which is reached through the Puerta de Valencia (Valencia Gateway). Still on the N330, we reach Cariñena, the goveming centre of wines of the area. Its greatest acclaim are its wineries, some of which can be visited, as well as an interesting Wine Museum. The church of the Asunción is also appealing, as well as the Town Hall and the Torreta (Tower). Its prize-winning gastronomy and its grape harvest festivals, enlivened with fountains that brim over with the fruit of the grape are also of great interest. To reach Fuendetodos, the birthplace of the brilliant Francisco de Goya, we must turn down the A220 road. The painter’s family home and the Etchings Museum are housed in a well¬cared for stone house, which has an extensive sample of his work. A network of paths, which leads us to singular spots in the area, with its fountains and traditional neveras (places where ice used to be stored), are witnesses of a long-lost activity.

To return, we can continue along the A220 road towards Belchite and Mediana, crossing a stepped landscape scattered with brackish ponds, an ornithological reserve and refuge for wild fauna. Here we can see the ruins of the old Belchite, razed to the ground during the Civil War, with its spectacular and photogenic sunsets.