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The pilgrimage of the Virgen de Chilla

Candeleda, Arenas de San Pedro, Ávila

1 Villages · 1 Monuments · 1 Activities · 1 Curiosities · 1 Historical milestones · 1 Food and drink

Spain › Castile and León › Ávila › Arenas de San Pedro › Candeleda › The pilgrimage of the Virgen de Chilla

The pilgrimage of the Virgen de Chilla

Activity · Candeleda, Arenas de San Pedro, Ávila

Image of Candeleda, not of the place itself.

On the second Sunday of September, the people of Candeleda climb seven kilometres to the sanctuary of the Virgin of Chilla, the village's patron saint, located halfway between the town and El Raso de Candeleda. Legend has it that the Virgin appeared to the shepherd Finardo while he was tending his flock, and that when the news spread through the village it was decided to build the hermitage on the site of the apparition. At midday the image is carried in procession to an esplanade shaded by chestnut trees. Both the pilgrimage and the hermitage have been declared a Fiesta de Interés Turístico Nacional (Spain's official national tourist-interest designation) since 1980.

Photo: Dr. Savage from London, UK (CC BY 2.5)

What to see and do in Candeleda