Exspaining Spain: regions
La Rioja only has one province, La Rioja. The capital city is Logroño.
The traditional architecture of the region characterized by stone or adobe walls, wooden details, and tile roofs. A peculiar type of building is the guardaviña or chozo, a one-story, circular construction made of boulders.
The predominant climate types is the continental one, characterized by hot summers and cold winters. Precipitation is mainly concentrated in the warmer months. The average temperature throughout the year is 13.1 ºC (55.5 ºF).
La Rioja is known for its DOCa (designation of origin) wines, so logically agriculture, especially viticulture, is very important. Other relevant crops include wheat, barley, and asparagus.
The main industries are wine production and conserves, textiles, furniture, and rubber.
Gustavo Bueno - philosopher
Juan José Elhuyar - chemist
Manuel Bretón de los Herreros - dramatist
María de la O Lejárraga - writer
The Riojan diet is generally based on stews, meat, vegetables, cheese, and wine.
Typical dishes include patatas a la riojana (potatoes with chorizo and lamb cutlets), bacalao a la riojana (cod with peppers, tomatoes, and sauce), ahorcaditos (puff pastry, scallop-shaped almond cream sweets), and peras al vino (pears in red wine).
4th century BCE - Berones, Autrigones, Vascones
5th century CE - Visigoth conquest
8th century - Muslim invasion
970-1005 - Kingdom of Viguera
1005-1076 - Kingdom of Pamplona
1076 - Kingdom of Castile
1822 - province of Logroño
1982 - Statute of Autonomy
The only official language is Spanish. The Riojan dialect has some Aragonese, Basque, and Navarrese traits.
It is characterized by the preference of compound tenses over simple ones, the substitution of por by a together with time adverbs (ayer a la mañana vs. ayer por la mañana), and the conservation of Latin -b- in the imperfect tense (mordiba vs. mordía).
(Riojan Spanish vs. Standard Spanish)
There are two UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Route of Santiago de Compostela (shared with other regions of Spain) and San Millán Yuso and Suso Monasteries.
Other landmarks include the Co-Cathedral of Santa María de la Redonda, the Sierra de Cebollera Natural Park.
San Millán Yuso Monastery
Sierra de Cebollera Natural Park
