what's an horreo?

I thought you'd never ask. An horreo (pronounced similar to the cookie but roll your "r"!) looks like this and you will find it in Northern Spain:

To explain what it is let me directly quote wikipedia:
Quote: An hórreo is a granary built in wood or stone, raised from the ground by pillars ("pegollos") ending in flat stones or "tornarratas", to avoid the access of rodents. Ventilation is allowed by the grooves in its walls.

Hórreos are mainly found in Northwest Spain (though there are also in other Northern villages). There are two main types of hórreo, rectangular-shaped, typical from Galicia (*my addition: this is the kind pictured) and square-shaped from Asturias.The longest hórreo in Galicia is located in Carnota, La Coruña and is 35 m long.

There are several types of Asturian hórreo, according to the characteristics of the roof (thatched, tiled, slate, pitched or double pitched...), the materials used for the pillars or the decoration. The oldest still standing date from the 15th century, and even nowadays they are built ex novo. There are an estimated 18,000 hórreos and paneras in Asturias, some are poorly preserved but there is a growing awareness from owners and authorities to maintain them in good shape. Unquote

Mr. Mar was willing to pose for you to give you an idea of the size of the horreo we saw in Baiona . I was told the cross is meant to protect the grains. I assume this particular horreo is an old one placed in an open area for exhibition purposes, but I saw private countryhomes with smaller horreos in their front/backyard.

If you were able to read this, blogger was kind to me this friday... Hope it is kind to you too allowing you to publish your post and to leave many comments !!