Columnist Vicente Araguas discovers on his summer route the legacy of Rodolfo Ucha Piñeiro, the architect who transformed Ferrol with over 30 unique buildings. An invitation to explore the Galician city through the eyes of a resident of Majadahonda.
Summer is a time for travel, and from Majadahonda, writer and journalist Vicente Araguas has headed north to delve into the architecture of Ferrol, a city that shares more than one parallel with the urban planning of Edinburgh. In his chronicle, Araguas unveils the secrets of a city that, despite its cyclical crises linked to the shipbuilding industry, treasures a first-rate rationalist heritage.
Three Key Moments in the Structure of Ferrol
According to the author, the city is structured around three fundamental cores. The first is Ferrol Vello, the medieval fishing district, with evocative street names like Castro, Merced, or Socorro. There, students from the Logos school in Majadahonda begin each year the Camino Inglés, a fact that directly connects with the local educational community.
The second moment is represented by the Barrio de la Magdalena, an enlightened grid layout that fascinated Miguel de Unamuno. In its Jardines de Herrera stands the statue of Jorge Juan, the Alicante engineer who spied on British shipyards for Spain and who lends his name to an important street in Madrid. Araguas recalls that Ferrol was, along with Cartagena and San Fernando, one of the three maritime departments of the country.
Rodolfo Ucha, the Architect of Modern Ferrol
The third landmark is modern Ferrol, the work of architect Rodolfo Ucha Piñeiro (Vigo, 1882 - Ferrol, 1981). Ucha left in the city more than 30 unique buildings that give its urban anatomy an aesthetic and rationalist air. Araguas, who once saw Ucha in his sports car smoking a pipe, highlights his theory that a good orchard must be well stocked with lemon trees. The journalist confirms he was proven right when visiting the island of Poros in the Saronic archipelago.
Among the architect's works, the article mentions the Hotel Ideal Room (now the headquarters of CaixaBank), commissioned by Benito Rodríguez del Villar, known as “Benito de Cidre”; the Casa Romero, former headquarters of the newspaper El Correo Gallego; and the Casa Sixto, in the heights of Canido. All of these are must-see stops for visitors wanting to understand the architectural evolution of the city.
“Ferrol is such a peculiar and exportable city that without its rationalist design, we could hardly understand the new town of Edinburgh,” writes Araguas, establishing a direct link with the Scottish capital. The author also notes that Ferrol Vello is undergoing a renewal process that distances it from the image that programs like Callejeros Viajeros portrayed, and that the former bars of ill-repute have given way to a more tourist-friendly atmosphere.
A Legacy That Transcends Crises
The city has suffered declines linked to Trafalgar, the 98, or the dismantling of shipyards, but Araguas points out that “now favourable signs seem to be beginning to appear.” For the residents of Majadahonda planning their holidays on the Galician coast, Ferrol offers a journey that combines naval history, modernist architecture, and the opportunity to start the Camino Inglés from its original port.
The columnist promises another piece on postmodern Ferrol for another day, leaving the door open for new routes from Majadahonda to the north. In the meantime, those interested can check train or bus schedules from Madrid to Ferrol, with an approximate duration of six hours, and plan a getaway that, as Araguas suggests, is well worth it.
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