La Caridad

Caritas is one of the three pillars of Pauline theology —⁠alongside fides (faith) and spes (hope)⁠—⁠, and its definition as disinterested love of one's neighbour became the conceptual framework of medieval Christian institutional charity. Hospices or hospitals of charity —⁠charitable buildings to freely shelter pilgrims, the sick, widows and orphans⁠— were one of the main works of religious orders, bishoprics and cathedral chapters from the 11th century. The Asturian town of La Caridad owes its name to one of these hospices, founded in the 15th century beside the road between Navia and Ribadeo and maintained until its disentailment dissolution of the 19th century. The toponym, simple and transparent, counts among the few on the Camino that directly commemorates an assistance institution —⁠in the manner of Hospital de Bruma (Camino Inglés) or San Antón (Camino Francés). The town, head of the El Franco council, preserves the parish church of Santiago, Neoclassical of the 18th, with an earlier Baroque altarpiece reused. The Galician-Asturian toponymic variant A Caridá reflects the border linguistic condition of the council, where the local speech —⁠'Galician-Asturian' or eonaviego⁠— combines features of the two neighbouring languages.