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Autol
«Autol es el mayor productor de champiñones de España.»Autol is the largest producer of mushrooms in Spain.
Autol is in the Cidacos valley, in the eastern part of La Rioja, in the middle of orchards and fruit trees. It is known for two red sandstone spires that remained standing after erosion took away the rest, which the town calls El Picuezo and la Picueza.
Did you know
The rock they call the tooth.
Near the town stands the famous 'Autillo', an enormous isolated rock peak that dominates the valley and which the local people call 'the tooth'.
How they talk in Autol
«Picuezo» and «Picueza» are two proper names that every inhabitant associates with the rocks above the Cidacos. «Champiñón» also appears frequently in the local production lexicon.
golmajería
Confectionery, sweets, or a collection of treats. Used to talk about sweets and pastry preparations from the Riojan tradition.
Everyday life in Autol
The «Picuezo» and the «Picueza»
Two sandstone towers eroded by the wind stand above the town and have a couple's name: they can be seen from every street, and are the symbol with which Autol presents itself.
«Se ven desde toda la calle.» — They can be seen from the whole street.
The «champiñones» grown in the dark
In the area, button mushrooms are grown inside dark and damp sheds, and Autol is one of the sector's hubs: many families work in the harvest, which is done by hand every day.
«Los champiñones crecen a oscuras.» — The mushrooms grow in the dark.
The peach and the pear in summer
The fruit of the Cidacos valley is harvested between July and September, and seasonal workers arrive during those months: the warehouses work at night to ship the produce fresh.
What to eat in Autol
Bacalao a la riojana
Salt cod with dried peppers, tomato and garlic, cooked slowly in a pan.
Pimientos del cristal
Thin peppers roasted and peeled by hand, with oil and garlic.
Menestra riojana
Garden vegetables stewed one by one and then combined.
Festivals in Autol
San Adrián y Santa Natalia
early September
Giants and encierros in a town of six thousand inhabitants, with the Picuezo and the Picueza watching from above.
What to see in Autol
El Picuezo y la Picueza
Two rock spires that remained standing after erosion carried away everything else.
Iglesia de San Adrián
The town church, with its brick tower visible from the valley.
La huerta del Cidacos
The vegetable gardens along the river, with peppers and artichokes that end up in preserves.
Where Autol comes from
Two rock spires with a couple's name
Roman era
The settlement
A settlement on the banks of the Cidacos, in the middle of the vegetable gardens.
8th–11th century
The frontier
Border land between the Christian and Muslim kingdoms.
16th century
The church
The church of San Adrián is built, with its brick tower.
20th century → today
Preserves
The huerta del Cidacos and the canning factories support the town's economy.
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