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Quijas´s tower |
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The casona
montañesa originated inthe late Middle Ages with the
construction of towers, typical of medieval
art and Architecture in Cantabria and symbolising noble power. Among the total
fifty houses spread throughout Cantabria, there are
different types; some of defensive character (thick
walls, scarcity of bay windows...) such as Quijas Tower, and others of the house-tower type, more open
to the outside and tending to the horizontal. Examples of
the latter are the Merino and Don Borja towers in Santillana del Mar. Late in the 15th century, the noble towers had
to be changed, by a royal decision, into houses with no
military function, i.e. into palaces. This is when the
house-palace appears, arranged on a rectangular plan with
a two or three-floor elevation and gabled roof, using
dressed stone on the main façade and coats of arms. An
excellent example of this is the house of Leonor de la
Vega in Santillana. However,
this change is slow, as there were still many buildings
with a tower-like style and with military features.
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