Julio Camba Route
We invite you to discover Julio Camba’s Vilanova. Here is a most unique itinerary through which you can discover the places of interest in the case of this great journalist from the early 20th century. In his writings there was no lack of allusions to his native town, to which he returned in search of refuge. Follow in the footsteps of this great columnist on a route that will take you through a Vilanova full of contrasts and fundamentally marked by the sea:
Itinerary
The tour begins at the origin of Julio Camba’s own story, with a stop at the house where he was born. Converted into a House-Museum, the building features an extensive exhibition centred on the life and work of Julio and Francisco Camba. It is made up of information panels, old documentation and a collection from the library that this building once housed, made up of around a hundred publications.
Located in the old neighbourhood of Vilamaior, this small Romanesque-style church has two sections. Although Julio Camba was baptized in the parish church of Santa María de Caleiro, this was probably the chapel he attended during his childhood. It is located near his house and, at that time, the presbyter Don Ángel Nodar and the parish priest Don Jerónimo García Rosende said mass.
The Vilanova reporter, Benito Leiro, winner of the Julio Camba prize in 1999, features in his article Julio Camba, a nudist in Vilanova, the journalist’s fondness for practicing nudism on the beaches of O Terrón, something that was most surprising at that time. His anecdotes include the time when his clothes were stolen while he was sunbathing. Julio Camba had to return lying down in a gamela (small fishing boat) so that passers-by would not see him and his boatman friend, Ventura Portas, had to run to the house of Dr Camba –the author’s father– to bring clothes to the embarrassed nudist in retreat.
This stop is made in a symbolic way, as it represents the moment when Julio Camba interceded with the authorities of that time, at the request of his friend Pastor Pombo, to prevent Vilagarcía de Arousa from absorbing Vilanova, as it had previously done with Vilaxoán and Carril. Thanks to his work, he managed to keep the Town Council independent.
Continuing the itinerary, you will visit the promenade de O Cabo, where Julio Camba and Pastor Pombo went to see the construction of the port and contemplate the Ría de Arousa. In his book, Playas, Ciudades y Montañas, Camba describes the Ría de Arousa as “a wonder.” In the present-day Paseo de O Cabo you can find a sculpture in honour of the man considered to be Spain’s first foreign correspondent.
The Casino, which no longer exists, used to be located (in the 1950s) on the street called Calle del Cabo, being the venue of Vilanova’s literary gathering. Here Julio Camba met influential salters of that time such as Ricardo Llauger, Juan Pérez Lafuente, Ricardo González or Francisco Lafuente (the latter also participated in Don Ramón María del Valle-Inclán’s childhood escapades). The diplomat Pepe Che Rivero, Francisco el Sastre and Ventura Portas, as well as Juanito Pacheco, caretaker of the Casino in the 1940s, were also members of this literary gathering. There they spent their leisure time playing cards and discussing current affairs, such as World War II.
One of Camba’s great friends was the pharmacist Pepe Roig, who prepared exquisite sardines. A skill that he reflected in his book La Casa de Lúculo. There is now a pharmacy on the site of the old apothecary.
UUnveiled in 2008, on the occasion of the 14th Mussel and Cockle Festival, it is the work of the sculptor Lucas Míguez, who depicts the Vilanova author looking at his beloved sea.
The tour of Julio Camba’s most beloved places ends in what was the house of one of his best friends. Pastor Pombo was the town’s schoolteacher and possibly also taught both brothers. Very close to the Casa del Cuadrante, this old stone house was frequented often by Julio Camba in the early 20th
The teacher’s daughters (Carmela and Lourdes) remembered with emotion the experiences they shared with a “simple and affectionate” man, a sybarite dandy who dressed elegantly. Both pointed out that Camba always brought them small gifts from the countries he visited, about which he also told them stories, which would later be reflected in his writings.
