A 'temple devoted to health'
Everything in La Toja is legendary, from the stories of discovering the healing virtues of its thermal waters to the hygiene revolution brought about by its soap factory. Designed by architect Daniel Vázquez-Gulías, the island and its Gran Hotel have been the summer retreat for important personalities for over a century.
In 1841, chemist and pharmacist Antonio Casares found calcium, iron, magnesium and sodium in its thermal waters, ideal for curing certain diseases. Years later, the Marquis of Riestra, the island’s owner, recognised the business opportunity in spas.
After staging an international competition to construct a grand hotel-spa, the Gran Hotel was inaugurated in 1907, a creation of the Ourense architect Daniel Vázquez-Gulías. The two-part building followed the structure of the great spas of the time: the French Vichy and the German Baden-Baden.
In 1989, the Bilderberg Club chose this location for one of its annual meetings. Its members, including the kings of Belgium, tycoon David Rockefeller and Henry Kissinger, selected it for its absolute tranquillity. During those years, personalities like Gabriel García Márquez and Severo Ochoa also stayed there. The Nobel Prize in Medicine hailed the Gran Hotel as “a genuine temple devoted to health”.
A map of the 18th century
This is one of the most important European-made maps of the 18th century, and the first printed map of South America to be produced in Spain. Created by Juan de la Cruz Cano in 1775, this chart — measuring 180 cm in width and 227 cm in height — depicts the overseas dominions of Spain and Portugal between 1752 and 1760. Paradoxically, far from earning its author the recognition he deserved, its precision nearly condemned it to oblivion.
The Treaty of Tordesillas, signed in 1494, set the boundaries of the two crowns' territories, establishing that the Portuguese would not interfere in the Antilles, and the Spanish would refrain from using the Cape of Good Hope route. Nevertheless, disputes between the two powers continued for centuries; so much so that even the Treaty of Madrid of 1750, signed by Ferdinand VI and his father-in-law João V, failed to calm the waters.
Commissioned by Charles III
In 1765, at the behest of Charles III, the Secretary of State, the Marquis of Grimaldi, ordered the engraving of a large map of South America depicting all Spanish crown territories. The task was entrusted to Juan de la Cruz Cano y Olmedilla (1734–1790), one of the finest Spanish cartographers in history, who spent over ten years drafting it.
He presented the map in 1775 to a warm reception. However, at the time, boundary negotiations with Portugal were underway, and the map was so accurate that it revealed information unfavourable to Spain’s interests. As a result, following the initial printings, the government banned its reproduction, citing alleged errors; and in 1789, the Count of Floridablanca ordered the recall of distributed copies.
A unique map
The colonial debate was settled in 1777 with the Treaty of San Ildefonso, under which the Portuguese ceded Sacramento (Uruguay) and the West African islands of Annobón and Fernando Poo, in exchange for Spain’s withdrawal from the Brazilian island of Santa Catarina.
The Geographical Map of South America was relegated to obscurity until 1802, after the death of Juan de la Cruz, when its importance was finally acknowledged. Today, only a few copies are preserved in private collections and prestigious institutions such as the National Library of Spain. Eurostars Gran Hotel La Toja 5* has the honour of housing one of them and celebrating its historical legacy.
Description of the map
The map is crowned by the royal monogram of Charles III, flanked by the coats of arms of Castile and León. Above the title, a column bearing the bust of Christopher Columbus is accompanied by the inscription: “To Castile and León, Columbus gave a New World”. Higher still, the coats of arms of the main American cities appear, alongside that of Brazil, joined with Portugal’s.
The map features detailed representations of all the territories of the Kingdom of Granada, New Andalusia, the Viceroyalty of Peru, the Kingdom of Chile and the Viceroyalty of Buenos Aires, with a wealth of place names. Finally, at the bottom edge, a section titled “Notices for the Understanding of this Map” explains the reference meridians and the calculations used to draw the demarcation lines between the Spanish and Portuguese dominions.