The historian Lafuente Ferrari came to define Santillana del Mar as an architectural museum, a label that shows its magnetism. The harmony of its medieval streets and ancestral houses, surrounded by a peaceful environment with meadows, hills and wooded areas, has earned it popular recognition as one of the most beautiful villages in Cantabria.
It offers authentic historical and artistic value. It is the home of the Collegiate Church of Santa Juliana, a recognized Romanesque monument; of the Jesús Otero Museum and Foundation, in honor of the sculptor, and the famous Altamira Cave, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985.
A coincidence, a controversy and a lot of art
Today they call it the Sistine Chapel of rock art, but the discovery of Altamira Cave was unusual and controversial. It was discovered by chance by an Asturian weaver, Modesto Cubillas, around 1868. The response from the scientific community was controversial: they refused to admit that the real age of the paintings was 14,000 years. And the most famous part of the cave was still missing. It was 11 years later that Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola, accompanied by his daughter María, discovered the Polychrome Room. There he was able to observe the impressive features of horses and bison, measuring between 125 and 170 centimeters long, as well as a deer measuring more than two meters.
Altamira Cave, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985, is considered “the Sistine Chapel of rock art”.
A century later, a massive influx of visitors arrived in the cave and the first doubts turned into suspicion and concern about the deterioration of the paintings. The cave ended up closing in 1977, in 1982 it opened with limited attendance and the final solution was to design an almost identical and very detailed replica of the original cave, the Neocueva, which is the one that has been open to the public since 2001. Its 290 meters are available for the greatest pleasure of those who wish to know prehistoric artistic expressions. And, from the outside, you can see the original cave entrance, a fascinating testimony to prehistoric life.
An exhibition of relics
A big attraction of Santillana del Mar is its prestigious collegiate church. Santa Juliana became, from the 12th century, a great representative of Romanesque art in Cantabria. It comes from the monastery of Santa Juliana in the 9th century, built by a group of monks to help repopulate the area and create a small hermitage in which to display the relics of the martyr Juliana.
No remains of this early monastery remain, but it is believed to have been a simple stone construction with a rectangular apse and a wooden roof, similar to other Visigothic or Mozarabic buildings. In its current structure, a church stands with a main facade facing south and preceded by a large atrium. It also has a semicircular arch surrounded by archivolts with a frieze representing the Pantocrator and a niche with the image of Saint Julienne on the frieze. The traveler can enter the cloister, on the north facade of the complex. In its capitals you will see the main decorative elements used at the time; floral, geometric and figurative.
The majesty of civil constructions
Around this collegiate church and its cloister, a town developed around the beginning of the 13th century. The inhabitants lived through an era of great economic splendor. As a result, you can still visit the many mansions and palaces that make up this city.
The monumental routes run throughout the city and invite you to stroll through the cobbled streets. Civil constructions also deserve special attention. Among the oldest are the Merino and Don Borja towers (now the headquarters of the Santillana Foundation). Other must-see buildings are the Águila and La Parra houses (where the regional government has installed an exhibition hall), the Velarde palace and tower, the Leonor de la Vega house or the Barreda, Tagle and Villa palaces.
Buildings such as the Merino and Don Borja towers or the Águila and La Parra houses illustrate the importance of civil architecture in Santillana del Mar.
The cultural activity of Santillana del Mar takes place throughout the year in exhibition halls. One of the driving forces behind this wealth was the sculptor Jesús Otero Oreña, who left his legacy to his hometown in a museum and foundation. Inaugurated in 1994, it is powered by private funds donated by the author to the city in 1993. It is a tribute to the scholar of the Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando, who was strongly influenced by sculptors like Emiliano Barral and Victorio Macho and was the architect of Bullwith which he won the Medal of the National Exhibition of Fine Arts of 1957. You will be able to admire around fifty of his works, as well as the utensils, tools and drawings used in their creation.
An international appeal
Santillana del Mar is attractive to domestic visitors who are familiar with the area and to international travelers who want to learn more. It has three world heritage sites recognized by UNESCO. The first is the aforementioned Altamira Cave; the second, the Camino de Santiago to the north; finally, its Costa Quebrada geopark. It is a territory with clearly defined boundaries, which is home to a geological heritage of international importance. It covers 345 square kilometers of coastal plains, hills and river valleys full of uniqueness; 270 correspond to land areas and 75 to surrounding marine areas. Cliffs, arches, islets, coves, beaches, tombolos, dunes, coastal spits and estuaries bear witness to the constant and relentless evolution of nature.
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