Village
Nonaspe is a municipality of the comarca of the Bajo Aragón-Caspe, in the province of Zaragoza, situated at 172 metres of altitude next to the river Matarraña, in the Franja de Aragón, where Catalan is also spoken. Its territory preserves Neolithic sites, rock carvings and Iberian and Roman settlements. The Arabs settled there in 713-714, and the medieval population gathered around a castle, which after the Christian conquest of 1133 belonged to the Order of the Temple and later to the Hospitallers. In 1409 the commander friar Salvador Luna transformed the castle-fortress into a manor house, of which two twin Gothic windows survive. The hermitage of Nuestra Señora de Dos Aguas, 400 metres east of the village, and the festivities of San Bartolomé and the Virgen de Dos Aguas complete its heritage.
Monument
The old town of Nonaspe preserves the castle, converted into the town hall since 1988, the parish church, from the 13th and 14th centuries, remains of the ashlar façade of a convent with a round-arched doorway, and large houses with old doorways dotting its streets with vaulted passageways.
Nature
The characteristic plateau landscape around Nonaspe, in the Matarraña basin.
Activity
Patron saint festivities of Nonaspe in honour of San Bartolomé, on 24 August, and of the Virgen de Dos Aguas, on the first Sunday of September. The local festive calendar also includes the Castañada at the end of October and the pig-slaughter feast in December.
Monument
Hermitage located at the confluence of the Matarraña and Algars rivers, in a landscaped setting planted with poplars, 400 metres east of the village of Nonaspe. The Virgen de Dos Aguas is the patron saint of the municipality, and in her honour the Festival of the Virgen de Dos Aguas is celebrated every first Sunday of September.
Nature
Meeting point of the Matarraña and Algars rivers in the municipal district of Nonaspe, in the Bajo Aragón-Caspe area of Zaragoza province. The Algars rises in the Puertos de Tortosa-Beceite and runs some 50 kilometres through Beceite, Arnes, Cretas, Horta de San Juan, Lledó, Arens de Lledó, Calaceite, Batea, Maella and Fabara before flowing into the Matarraña precisely at Nonaspe, where the two watercourses meet.
Activity
Feast of Saint Anthony in Nonaspe, a village that also closes out autumn with the Castañada in late October and opens December with the pig-slaughtering festival. Saint Anthony's day is celebrated on 17 January, the Castañada on the night of 31 October, and the pig-slaughtering festival in early December.
Monument
The town hall of Nonaspe, in the comarca of Bajo Aragón-Caspe (Zaragoza), occupies the old Castillo de la Encomienda (Commandery Castle), the administrative seat of the Order of Saint John of the Hospital during the Middle Ages. In 1409 the commander fray Salvador Luna transformed the fortress into a palace-house, and the building still preserves Gothic elements from that period, such as two twin arched windows, each decorated with a head representing Antonio Fluvià and Salvador Luna himself. Since 1988 the castle has housed the municipality's town hall.
Activity
Nonaspe sees off autumn with the Castañada at the end of October, in which chestnuts are roasted in the street, before opening December with the fiesta de la matanza.
Nature
Stretch of the Ribarroja reservoir close to Nonaspe, at the confluence of the Matarraña and the Algars.
Historical milestone
Alfonso I conquered in 1133 the lands lying between the Algars and the Matarraña. After passing through different hands, Nonaspe came in 1312 under the Order of the Hospital of Saint John, which administered the place until the abolition of the lordships.
Historical milestone
During the 19th-century Carlist Wars, optical telegraph and watch towers were built along the Ebro and the Matarraña, allowing warnings to be relayed between detachments. Several of these structures are preserved within the municipal area of Nonaspe.
Food and drink
Nonaspe closes the autumn with the Castañada at the end of October, at which chestnuts are roasted in the street, and opens December with the pig-slaughter festival, where longaniza, black pudding and other pork products are made and tasted in the traditional way.