Alcanadre
La Rioja
Transparent toponymic Arabism. Alcanadre derives from Andalusian Arabic al-qanāṭir (القَنَاطِر, 'the bridges'), plural of classical qanṭara ('bridge, bridge arch'). The toponym refers to the old Roman bridges over the Ebro river ravines at the level of the term, in uninterrupted use since the Roman road between Calagurris and Vareia (Logroño).
Evolution of the name
- qanṭara / al-qanāṭir Andalusi Arabic 8th–11th centuries
- Alcanadre medieval Castilian from the 12th century
Reflections, to the letter
The Roman bridges of Alcanadre, two semicircular bridges over the term's ravines built in the 1st century under Trajan, preserve the original slab pavement and remain in use as local pastoral way. The Gothic 15th-century parish church of Santa María, with Renaissance tower, houses a 17th-century Baroque altarpiece. The Alcanadre salt flats, active since the 14th century as traditional exploitation of salt by solar evaporation of subsoil brine, preserve the original lands, eras and warehouses and are one of the two continental salt flats in traditional production in La Rioja.
Glossary
- Arabism
- A word or place name in Castilian, Portuguese or Catalan borrowed from Andalusian Arabic. The Peninsula preserves thousands: aceite, azúcar, almohada, alcázar, azulejo, Guadalquivir, Atalaia, Azofra, Azambuja.
- Continental salt flats of La Rioja
- Traditional exploitations of common salt (sodium chloride) by solar evaporation of subsoil brine, located in middle and lower La Rioja. Five historical active salt flats (Alcanadre, San Cristóbal, Herrera, El Cortijo, La Olmeda) produce annually about 400 tonnes of table salt by the traditional method: extraction of brine by boreholes, decantation in pools, crystallisation in evaporation lands during summer and manual collection in autumn. The Protected Geographical Indication Salt of La Rioja was recognised in 2018.
- Roman road
- A stone-paved Roman highway, part of the imperial communications network (Via Aquitana, Via Augusta, Iter ab Asturica); many such roads became medieval routes and, later, stretches of the Camino de Santiago.
Sources
- Corriente, F. — Diccionario de arabismos
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Camino del Ebro