Ventosa
La Rioja
Substantivised descriptive appellative: from the Latin ventosa, a feminine adjective agreeing with an elided villa — 'the windy (villa), exposed to the wind'. The toponym commemorates the precise geography of the place, on a hillock of the Najerilla valley through which the wind of the Sierra de la Demanda blows constantly.
Evolution of the name
- ventosa (latín) late Latin 8th — 12th centuries
- Ventosa medieval Castilian from the 12th century
Reflections, to the letter
The village name says exactly what the pilgrim feels on arrival: an unsheltered hill, the constant wind from the range. Ventosa in Latin means 'the wind-exposed (villa)', and the geography has not changed. The northwesterly still sweeps the streets as it did eight centuries ago, when the Christian resettlers founded the hamlet on the road to Nájera.
Glossary
- Repopulation
- A medieval process by which the Christian kingdoms of the northern Iberian peninsula resettled territories reconquered from al-Andalus. Generates a whole layer of repopulation toponyms: Bercianos (those from El Bierzo), Navarrete (little Navarre), Castellanos, Gallegos.
Sources
- Govierno de La Rioja — Inventario de toponimia
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Camino Francés