PRIMAVERA 2013
cantabriatour CANTABRIA 23
three apsidioles. It is important to note how it responds to a range of different architectural styles and how it was built in a succession of different designs. The main features to be seen inside are the naves and side chapels, the groined vaulting, the classical three-level Gothic elevation: with an arcade on the lower one, a triforium and blind arches in the middle and large windows at the top. Its wealth of ornament includes woodcarvings such as the life-size Christ Crucified, with a serene expression and showing no signs of suffering, being held by three nails. It dates from the 14th century and reveals the influence of the Burgos school. A St. Mary with the Infant Jesus (Santa María con el Niño) is said to be the finest image of the Hagia Theotokos
type, which despite its solemnity has a humane expression. It preserves its original polychromy and also dates from the 14th century. The reclining Christ is extremely popular and is linked to the model disseminated by Gregorio Fernández in the 17th century, and may well be the work of a studio close to the sculptor. The altarpiece El Cristo de la Agonía, in one of the chapels off the ambulatory is another item of interest. The 1666 altarpiece is considered to be pre-Churrigueresque, with columns of undulating shafts and prominent ornamental carvings. A contract was arranged with a sculptor and joiner from Liendo called Francisco Martínez de Arce to undertake the alcove, niche and stained
glass window of Our Lady of the Assumption, although alterations have been made to its middle section, where there is now an oil-painting that has been attributed to Zurbarán. It could have been painted in the 1730s. The Castle was probably built for defensive purposes around the end of the 12th century and beginning of the 13th. It is small in size with a quadrilateral layout, with a pair of parallel sides, round corner towers and a triangular projection that also culminates in a cylindrical section. The outer walls run to a height of 15 metres. Inside there is a vast hall with a half-barrel vault. The premises are used today for events and exhibitions. An original feature is the lighthouse housed on the roof.