Geography
The town of Bolea (584 inhabitants) is the capital of the municipality of La Sotonera (1,096 inhabitants). It belongs to the region of Hoya de Huesca/Plana de Uesca and the “Kingdom of the Mallos”. Located 20 km northwest of the city of Huesca and 12 km from Loarre Castle. Its economy is based on agriculture: cereals, cherries, almonds and olives. Construction, pig farms and rural tourism. A part of its population develops its work activity in the nearby city of Huesca, in the service sector.
Altitudes above sea level: Plaza Mayor (Town Hall): 656 meters, Collegiate Church: 690 meters, Wall (highest hill): 712 meters.
Geographic Coordinates: 0º 33′ 09” W and 42º 15′ 40” N
History
Bolea is a toponym of Iberian origin (elevated site), Calagurris Fibularia in Roman times, it was the last Muslim enclave, called Buluya, located north of the city of Huesca, definitively conquered, after successive attempts, by King Pedro I of Aragon in the year 1101. Its first royal lieutenants were Fortún López, Armengol de Urgell and Jimeno de Artusella. In 1174 Alfonso II grants the town to his wife Doña Sancha as a wedding dowry. At the beginning of the 13th century, Bolea is governed by Pedro de Ahones, although Jaime I pledged it in 1262 to Gonzalo López and Jaime II, in 1295, to Rodrigo Jiménez de Luna, commander of Montalbán. In 1402 the lady of Bolea was María de Luna, niece of Benedict XIII and wife of King Martin I, the Human. Alfonso V in 1418 donated the town to his brother and future king Juan II. In 1486 Fernando II ratifies the status of Bolea as a royal town. Carlos III, already in 1767, exhorts the chapter clergy to take special interest in spiritually attending to the numerous travelers who stayed overnight in Bolea, an important nucleus on the main route from Huesca to Jaca, Navarra and France (Catalan road to Compostela). With rich agricultural production and flourishing commerce, it played a prominent role in the history of Aragon until its decline in the mid-eighteenth century, motivated by the ecclesiastical confiscation, the transfer of the commercial route to the south (current A-132 road) and by the exodus of the population to the industrial areas.
