Picasso’s Corunnan period remains fairly unexplored, even though he himself considered it important to his development. On occasion, he even rated it above his Blue and Rose Periods. It all began in October 1891, when Pablo Ruiz Picasso was nine years old and, together with his sisters Conchita and Lola and his mother María, left his hometown of Málaga and moved to Galicia where his father, José Ruiz Blasco, took up a teaching post at the Provincial School of Fine Arts in A Coruña. The boy from Andalusia attended both the local secondary school and the aforementioned Fine Arts School for three years, embarking on his art studies at the latter.

During his sojourn in A Coruña, the young boy produced over 200 works, now housed in the world’s leading Picasso museums (Paris, Barcelona and Málaga) or in private collections, as is the case of Portrait of Modesto Castilla,which in 2012 was auctioned for 2.6 million euros, the highest price ever fetched by a painting executed by a boy – Picasso was 12 years old at the time.

So, on any trip to A Coruña, be sure to go on the following itinerary which will take you to the most significant landmarks during Picasso’s Corunnan period.

Picasso House Museum
The Ruiz Picasso family lived in Galicia on the second floor at 14 Calle Payo Gómez for five years. The building, its original structure still intact, features typical Galician architecture, including wooden galleries. The family’s living quarters include a re-creation of a 19th-century home, with a few reproductions of Picasso’s Corunnan work and that of his father, in addition to an engraving by the former which is contemporary with Guernica.

Instituto da Guarda
The Instituto Eusebio da Guarda, located in the Plaza de Pontevedra, is the secondary school and art school attended by Picasso. His school grades were very poor, but he excelled in his art exams. It was on the first floor that he received tuition from such artists as his father, in addition to Román Navarro, Isidoro Brocos and Amorós y Botella.

The Plaza de Pontevedra
This square, which at the time was still sand and stone, was where Picasso played at bulls and bullfighters with his friends, including Antonio Pardo Reguera, Constantino Sardina and Jesús Salgado. A drinking fountain used to stand in the square which the maid employed by the Ruiz Picasso family got drinking water from.

The Beaches of Riazor and Orzán
It is said that Picasso discovered the female nude for the first time in Riazor. This occurred while playing near the bathing boxes that used to be on the beach, which also had boats that Pablo drew. As for Orzán, he executed an oil on panel of that beach.

Chapel of San Andrés
The restored, Neo-Romanesque-style Chapel of San Andrés opened to the public in May 1890. Seven sculptures by Brocos, one of Pablo’s tutors at the School of Fine Arts, were put on display in its interior thereafter. A few metres from the chapel stands the Circo de Artesanos where Picasso attended dance classes.

The Calle Real
In February 1895, Picasso held his first exhibition at 20 Calle Real, in what was then a furniture store, which earned him two excellent press reviews. In March he staged his second exhibition in the same street – purportedly at number 54 – where he showed his Man in Cap, now housed in the Musée Picasso, Paris.

San Carlos Garden
In A Coruña, Picasso heard the story of Lady Hester Stanhope, the lover of Sir John Moore, who died in 1809 and was buried in this garden. He liked it so much that he vowed to travel to England to learn more about her. In fact, the first time he visited Paris, in 1900, he actually intended it to be a stopover on his way to London. Later, however, he changed his mind.

Escola de Artes e Superior de Deseño Pablo Picasso
This school, located at 2 Calle Pelamios, was where Picasso pursued his studies after leaving the Fine Arts School. Several of the chalk drawings he executed during the three years he studied in A Coruña are displayed in the school’s corridors, while photocopies of his school report are exhibited in the foyer.

San Amaro Cemetery
This is where Pablo’s younger sister, Conchita, was buried after her death from diphtheria on 10 January 1895. Costales, Brocos, Navarro and Gumersindo Pardo Reguera are also buried in this graveyard.

The Tower of Hercules
Picasso went on long strolls from his home to the Tower of Hercules, a lighthouse which was designated a World Heritage Site in 2009. Pablo did oil paintings of it and also drew it in both his Corunnan notebooks and one of his news sheets. In the latter he called it the “Tower of Candy”.

Text by Turismo A Coruña

Which are the cheapest days of the week to fly? How do I find cheap flights or even bargains? There isn’t a magical formula, but we do have a few tips that may help you to find the cheapest flights.

Bad-minded gossip says that the city of Apostol is the biggest village in Galicia, which paradoxically is something that true-blood Santiago-dwellers take to be a compliment. And it is, because as a parameter for quality of life, there is greenery and vegetation on every corner of the ancient city, and it makes it special. Green clambers over the seven hills; it invades all of the stony gutters in the streets; it even dares to boldly play with the façade of the cathedral.

In "Huertas", the back garden of Obradoiro, urban and rural mix mimetically, without any kind of ego struggle. The city has lately succumbed to the unstoppable advance of the green element. Compostela has always had a kind of contest between the weight of its history and modernity. The presence of what is old is counteracted by ragingly modern avant-garde architecture, and has turned the great green spaces into a network of world level parks. More than a garden city, it is a garden with districts inside it.

Let's assume that the stone forest has overwhelmed you by its beauty, and you now want to meditate. We suggest taking a green route to see a unique side of Compostela. This would be my list of top Compostela parks.

1.-The Eternal Alameda Park. It is not new. It is the nineteenth-century park par excellence. At the foot of Porta Faxeira, and separating the old and new areas, it has been clothed in the history of the city since last century, when it was turned from a private estate into one of the most beautifully classical parks in the world. It has everything it needs to make you fall in love: hundred-year-old trees with their dry, twisted trunks; the Herradura walkway, also called the Cholesterol walk - for recovering from an excess of Galician food; the most beautiful views of all sides of the town; fountains; churches; wrought-iron benches from the turn of the century; and the bandstand that is essential for any provincial city worth its salt.

2.-Bonaval. Design and modernity near the old area: From a domesticated park, we go to a magical place that embraces the historical quarter. The old monastic garden of Santo Domingo always had a slightly esoteric side. Abandoned for years, its soft sloping terraces were taken by Siza and turned from a leafy park into a highly modern piece of design work. Meticulously pruned green areas, caves, an ancient graveyard integrated into the park, and magnificent views of the cathedral are all blended with the existing old stone structures and ruins. Water, cave and "strange" shapes make it modern, enigmatic and special.

3.-Banks of the Sarela. An enchanted forest in the centre of the town: two rivers cross Compostela, in the Barrio del Carmen. When eco-hiking became really fashionable, a decision was made to restore their abandoned banks and make the most beautiful urban-rural walk I have seen. The several kilometres of incessant water of the winding Sarela, babbling springs between wooden footbridges, stone bridges, thick forests and even abandoned tanning works make the place a natural, rustic garden - in the heart of the city.

4.-Belvís. Monastic splendour behind the old part of town: Belvis is a watercourse that was always considered a green backbone to the East of the historic quarter. And it was always abandoned. A passageway between Virxen da Cerca and the traditional Belvis, this park highlights the beautiful hills that surround this hollow. It is a real gift for your eyes: the splendid monasteries of Belvis and the Seminary at the top, the stony Santiago that rises up above, and an always silent and scenic park, whose maze is a perfect place to lose yourself.

5.-Vista Alegre Park. The park of surprises. The wealthy Simeón family opens its small palace and magnificent garden. You enter through the two old gates to the property that are always open, and the pink country-house has all the elements of the Galician country-house, such as the chapel, galleries, etc. If the garden were the prototype of any powerful family, special effort was put into dressing each of its corners with the most florid avant-garde architecture. The SGAE headquarters like the Flintstones' house; Casa Europa; Escola de Altos Estudios Musicales; the Natural History Museum. Four avant-garde structures that lend the finishing touch to a classical garden.

By Fran Camino

Christmas means decoration, gifts, ornaments, rituals, celebrations and much more. But, it is also a season when we probably have some extra leisure time. If you use it this year to visit A Coruña, you can get involved in a number of activities scheduled up to the moment the Three Wise Men arrive. Here, then, are our Christmas tips, and an introduction to two restaurants with Michelin stars not far from the city.

Atlantic Christmas

The María Pita Christmas Village opens to the public in early December and offers children’s activities, magic, games, music and gifts. Toddlers and infants will have a whale of a time here with the plethora of activities tailored to their needs. Children, the main focus of Christmas cheer, will be treated to a new edition of Nadaliño, a show featuring games and educational activities hosted in Palexco.

The A Coruña Science Museums have also scheduled a special programme for the season which entails learning while having fun. As ever, the festivities come to a close with the Grand Cavalcade of the Kings (Three Wise Men), a parade through the city’s streets, full of surprises, on the magical night of 5 January.

But, not everything has been devised for children. We adults can also enjoy these festivities. So, if you’re coming to A Coruña, be aware that there are numerous concerts on offer, as well as the premiere of several musicals and an Afro-American Gospel Music Festival.

Lastly, in the afternoon of the 31st, the customary San Silvestre Coruñesa race starts in the Plaza de María Pita and finishes at the Obelisco, for those who want to see the old year out in good shape and shed some of the calories acquired during the long holiday week.

Gastro-Visit

While you’re here, we recommend a getaway to two restaurants in the area with a Michelin star:

As Garzas
O Porto de Barizo, Barizo, 15113 Malpica de Bergantiños, A Coruña
Chef: Fernando Agrasar

Located in the heart of the Costa da Morte (Coast of Death), opposite the Sisargas islands, the restaurant is housed in the hotel of the same name, a building with large windows that seem to lean out over the cliff edge. The dining-room is a relaxing, modern space with a formidable fireplace and just eleven tables set around it. The cuisine at As Garzas bears a sea flavour – that of the Atlantic in pristine state. Their chef, Fernando Agrasar, asserts that the cuisine is not avant-garde but creative. Sans impositions or any pointless elaborateness.

Key to the menu is the Galician fish and seafood, crafted into veritable pleasure bites. While liable to seasonal variation, grouper and  sea bass always take pride of place. The rices, too, especially their lobster rice. Apart from an impressive seasonal menu, As Garzas also offers a carefully curated menu for “those reluctant to make a choice”. There are 12 to 14 dishes in all (bearing in mind that two of them are desserts), which vary in terms of the season and market, with innovation as the restaurant’s hallmark.

Retiro da Costiña
Av. de Santiago, 12. 15840 Santa Comba, A Coruña
Chef: Manuel Costiña

Set in a stately manor halfway between Santiago de Compostela and the Costa da Morte, each area in the Retiro is meticulously designed for enjoying each occasion. For appetizers, a wine cellar with a star-studded ceiling, while lunch and dinner are hosted in a spacious, stone-walled dining-room. And, for after-dinner, an elegant salon with a fireplace.

Retiro offers market cuisine with the most appetising dishes in season. No kidding – Galicia rules! So, it requires no effort to find such marvels as razor clams from Fisterra, grouper from Aguiño, hake from O Celeiro or oysters from O Freixo. Aside from the delicious menu, Manuel offers two tasting menus, one of which is carefully paired by the sommelier. And, there’s more – the wine cellar! In addition to a striking wine list, they have another featuring liqueurs, each with over 800 items. Enological gems such as 40- or 50-year-old Macallan whisky.

There you have it – what’s in store for you if you visit A Coruña over Christmas. Check out our flights here.

Text by Turismo de A Coruña

Images by Turismo de A Coruña, Retiro, As Garzas