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Church of Santa
María del Puerto
(Santoña) |
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This route
starts in the seaside village of Santoña. The Gothic
church of Santa
María del Puerto is the most
important monument in this village, probably built around
the 14th century on the remains of the monastery which
carried its name. The altarpiece of San Bartolomé is found in this church. The palace of the
Marquis and Marquise of Chiloeches is of the Baroque
period and the palace of the Marquis and Marquise of
Manzanedo of the 19th century. Taking
the Santander-Bilbao highway from Santoña to Laredo and
Castro Urdiales, one goes through the district of Barcena
de Cicero in Trasmiera,
interesting for its Baroque casonas. If the
estuary of the river Asón is crossed over along the
viaduct, the iron bridge of Treto,
built by the Eiffel company in 1901, may be seen.
Passing the bridge, one reaches Tras
pasar el puente se llega a Colindres, a seaside
village with an interesting architectural set on the high
part of it, Colindres de Arriba (Upper Colindres),
where the parish church of San Juan Bautista is
found, as well as an important ensemble of lay
architecture from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.
Among these buildings it is worth mentioning the
Infantado, at present ruined; and the house where Dña.
Bárbara de Blomberg, mother of Don Juan de Austria,
lived alternating this residence in Colindres with others
in the nearby village of Ambrosero. In Colindres de
Abajo (Lower Colindres), there are good 19th century casonas,
some of indianos and others of a strong French
influence (mansardé, gardens, etc..)
Leaving the Bilbao highway and driving
inland one reaches Limpias, where the church of San Pedro is
found, which houses the Holy Christ of Limpias.
Now southwards, the district of Ampuero
is reached, where very interesting medieval art works can
be found. The oldest religious building is the Gothic
church of Udalla, which presents an original plan with
two naves. In the 16th century, the church of Ampuero was
built, this being a good example of a hall plan church.
Finally, the Baroque sanctuary of La Bien Aparecida, built around 1700, contains a valuable
collection of altarpieces considered the best examples of
the Cantabrian Churrigueresque style. Its main altarpiece
has the image of La Bien Aparecida, a 15th century Gothic
carving.
Lay architecture is also very
significant in this district, with the outstanding
tower-palace of Espina-Velasco in La Bárcena, the
house-palace of La Vega in Hoz de Marrón and a
relevant popular architecture with glassed galleries and
balconies running the breadth of the façade, as well as
good examples of indianos architecture.
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