Redondela

Camino Portugués · Camino Portugués de la Costa

PontevedraGalicia

Here Camino Portugués and Camino Portugués de la Costa converge. It is one of the points where the pilgrim shares the way with those arriving by another route.

From late Latin rotundella, diminutive of rotunda 'round': 'the little round one'. It designates the islands of San Simón and San Antón at the head of the Vigo estuary, in front of the town —⁠two islets whose circular shape Iberian eyes captured in the name.

The evolution is transparent: Latin rotundus, -a, -um 'round' → Galician redondo; the learned diminutive rotundella gave redondela, recorded since the 10th century. The referent, however, is disputed. Three readings coexist: a) the two small islands of the Vigo estuary —⁠San Simón and San Antón⁠—⁠, visible from the old town and cited as 'redondelas' in medieval documents; b) the closed bay at the head of the estuary, of almost circular outline; c) a small hill south of the town, preserved in the name of the parish of Reboreda. The insular hypothesis is the most accepted, reinforced by the fact that the medieval town oriented its church and its coat of arms towards those islands, where the Order of Malta established a pilgrim hospital in the 12th century.

Evolution of the name

  1. rotunda / rotundella late Latin 6th — 9th century
  2. Redondela medieval Galician-Portuguese 10th — 13th century
  3. Redondela modern Galician from the 14th century

Reflections, to the letter

The two large railway viaducts —⁠the Madrid line and the Pontevedra line⁠— cross the centre of the town overhead, above the rooftops, like theatrical sets: few villages in Galicia have so singular a view. From the Praza da Alameda you can see the two redondelas that named the place: the island of San Simón, once a lazaretto and political prison, and the smaller San Antón at its flank. Redondela still looks towards them a thousand years after being christened in their honour.

Languages of origin

Themes

Origin status

confirmed

Glossary

Diminutive
A derived form indicating smaller size or affection, formed with suffixes such as -illo, -ito, -uelo, -ete. Substantivised plural diminutives abound in toponymy: Hornillos, Boadilla, Calzadilla, Comillas, Pradillos.

Sources

  • Filgueira Valverde, X. — Toponimia gallega
  • Coromines, J. — Onomasticon Cataloniae
  • Cabeza Quiles, F. — Os nomes da terra (Vigo: Galaxia, 2008)

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Camino Portugués

  1. ··· toward Santiago
  2. Pontecesures
  3. Padrón
  4. Caldas de Reis
  5. San Amaro
  6. Pontevedra
  7. Arcade
  8. Redondela
  9. Saxamonde
  10. O Porriño
  11. Mos
  12. Tui
  13. Valença
  14. São Pedro da Torre
  15. ··· toward the start