San Xoan de Alba

San Xoán de Alba is a civil parish in the province of Lugo, Galicia, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, whose Galician name Xoán gives this locality its identity. The parish occupies the green valley terrain of the Lugo interior on the Camino del Norte inland stage between Villalba and Baamonde.

The dedication to Saint John is common throughout Galicia, where the Feast of San Xoán on midsummer night is one of the most celebrated events of the Galician calendar, with bonfires and the ritual of jumping over the flames. The surrounding agricultural landscape has the humid pastoral character of the Lugo interior.