Alfolí de renta
Alfolí de renta
Address
Lugar Factoria, 8, 36640 Pontecesures, Pontevedra
GPS coordinates
Longitude: 42.72222608264947
Latitude: -8.652024279353604
This is a sturdy, baroque construction that was built in 1795. Its façade features a large Bourbon coat of arms and the inscription “Tobacco warehouse built in the year MDCCVC during the reign of Don Carlos IV.”
“Alfolí de Renta” was the name given to tobacconist’s and was used as an official warehouse and checkpoint for products requiring royal authorisation for their sale and exploitation, such as salt, tobacco, sulphur or cereals. Its existence is proof of the port of Cesures’ importance as the entry point of products heading for Compostela, since it was the only port authorised to trade in salt in the entire Ría de Arousa, starting in 1467.
Since the Ulla is a shallow river, the boats used to transport salt anchored in the “ría” (estuary) and transported this product in sailboats of around twenty tons or in galleons. From the port, the salt was transported in batches of around 25 kg, which women carried on their heads and took to the “Alfolí.”
They unloaded the salt and repeated the process until the entire load was emptied, which could take 40 or 50 women, many of whom were girls, two or three days.
