C A N T A B R I A   U N I V E R S I T Y
 
 
   
 
  TRASMIERA   Trasmiera
The Ribamontán Junta
The Siete Villas Junta

The Cesto and Voto Juntas
The Cudeyo Junta
Map
 
The Siete Villas Junta.  
    Church of Santa María (St Mary)
(Bareyo)
  The next Junta is that of Siete Villas, incorporating the districts of Bareyo, Arnuero, Noja, Meruelo, Argoños, Escalante and Santoña. The district of Bareyo, situated to the East of Ribamontán al Mar, has the most important religious building in Trasmiera. This is the church of Santa María de Bareyo, one of the most important of Cantabrian Romanesque; whereas the parish churches of Ajo and Güemes and the convent of San Ildefonso, also in Ajo, are Renaissance; of the latter building only the church remains, housing an effigy of Don Alonso Camino at prayer. As for lay architecture there are important casonas with 16th and 17th century coats of arms, also in Ajo.

In the district of Arnuero the churches of Arnuero and Castillo stand out, both of the 16ht century, and retaining a few Gothic features. In the interior of the church of Arnuero there is the best example of a Plateresque altarpiece in cantabria. The church of Isla is a good example of a colonnaded church on a hall plan, built in the second half of the 16th century. There are several medieval towers in this district, some of them in a poor state of preservation; in Isla, for instance, is the tower of Cabrahigo, in Castillo the tower of Venero, etc. One might remark on the palace of the Count of Isla, built in the 17th century.

In the district of Meruelo are the churches of San Mamés, San Miguel and San Bartolomé, all 17th century. Scattered throughout the district is a series of interesting Baroque casonas with coats of arms in stone.

Noja has a 17th century parish church with interesting sepulchral sculptures in its interior. The lay architecture of this town is notable: the Venero casona with five heraldic pieces, the Garnica casona with its chapel, and the palace of Velasco, an ensemble made up by a medieval tower to which a main casona body was added -in the latter, the majestic coats of arms, with warriors as supporters, stand out. Among twentieth-century buildings one would remark on the Regionalist house of the Morales family, by the architect Leonardo Rucabado.

The most interesting building in Argoños is the parish church, which was built in the 16th and 17th centuries.

The district of Escalante has the Romanesque hermitage of san Román, which, with the church at Bareyo, is the only example of the Romanesque on the coast. In spite of its small size it has great value because of its sculpture. The parish church of Escalante is an interesting building of the 16th and 17th centuries. there are two convents in the district, that of Santa Clara, dating from the early 17th century, and that of San Sebastián in the nearby town of Montehano, where lie the remains of Doña Bárbara de Blomberg, mother of Don John of Austria.

 
   
 
Parish church of San Martín
(Ajo)
 
   
 
   
 
Principal Altarpiece
(Arnuero)
   
 
Parish church of Isla
 
   
                             
  A R T I S T I C   R O U T E S