Most visitors to Spain stick to the provinces south and east of Madrid. The south has gypsies, oranges, and Moorish architecture. The north has factories.
But there's a lot of attractions in the north. Two distinct languages: Galician (close to Portuguese), and Basque, unique among the languages of the world.
Some of the world's best beaches.
Some of the world's best beefcake.
And a surprising amount of nudity in male art.
1. Avila, about an hour's drive north of Madrid, is a beautiful walled city, famous for the Medieval mystic Teresa de Avila and for a naked limestone monster just outside the city wall.
2. Zamora, about an hour and a half north of Avila, on the Duero River, boasts more Romanesque-style churches than any other city in Spain. Plus this modernist Homenaje a Leon Felipe, featureless except for his penis.
Everyone thinks he's a soccer star raising his hands in victory. Actually, Leon Felipe was a poet.
3. Viriato isn't exactly nude, but he's buffed. He was the leader of the Lusitanian people who fought off the invading Romans between 147 and 139 BC.
4.
Pontevedra is in the northeast corner of Spain, about three hours from Zamora (the best way to get there is through Portugal). It's the heart of Galicia. with lots of beefcake art, such as the
Fiel Contraste, a bodybuilder holding a scale.
5. Oviedo, about four hours east on the Bay of Biscay, is the capital of Asturias. It has a nice Archaeological Museum, the Boys-Sauna (don't worry, the clientele is all adult), and the Cathedral of San Salvador. In the Plaza de Espana, across from the Cathedral, you can see this neoclassical boy and dolphin.
6. Plus t
he Monumento a la Concordia, in the Plaza del Carbayon, depicting three very muscular naked men and three naked women (
not romantic couples).
More after the break.
7. Burgos, 2 1/2 hours southeast by car, was once the capital of Castille and the heartland of Spanish civilization. There are life-sized statues throughout the city, some humorous, some realistic, some nude. Like this muscular father and his son.
8. And a Visigoth on a park bench.
9. Back to the coast, about two hours from Burgos by car, is
Santader, a resort town for the upper classes since the 19th century. It's got one of the most vibrant gay communities in the north, with bars, restaurants, retail establishments, and saunas.
The Monumento a Los Raqueros (Beachcombers) shows some nude youths jumping into the ocean.
10. Just an hour east to
Bilbao, in Basque Country, with great museums, like the Guggenheim and the Museo de Bellas Artes; plus a huge influx of gay tourists from Spain, France, Germany, and Britain. There's a gay adult entertainment complex with a sex shop and a very nice sauna, Ego. And men speaking Basque. For public art, some nude statues at the Maritime Museum.
11.The suburb of
Barakaldo, just north of Bilbao, features the Monumento a la Industria, by Lucas Alcalde.
12. Basque men are renowned not only for their gigantic penises, but for their massive physiques. A common feat of strength, and a competitive sport practiced at Basque festivals, is
harri-jasotzea, "Stone Lifting." Some of the stones weigh more than 250 pounds.
Just outside
Leitza, up in the mountains about an hour and a half east of Bilbao, the Peru Harri is a museum and sculpture garden dedicated to the most beefy of the stone lifters.
See also:
Yuri and I Find the World's Biggest Penis; and
The Top 10 Public Penises of Spain, Part 1.
