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Bell-gable of San Salvador de Cantamuda

La Pernía, Montaña Palentina, Palencia

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Bell-gable of San Salvador de Cantamuda

Curiosity · La Pernía, Montaña Palentina, Palencia

The collegiate church of San Salvador, in San Salvador de Cantamuda (La Pernía), was founded by Countess María Elvira, niece of Ferdinand I, who was buried in it; it belonged to the royal patronage until Alfonso VII handed it over to the bishops of Palencia in 1123. The present building, from the late 12th or early 13th century, stands free-standing among meadows to the south of the hamlet. Its west façade, the most photogenic part of the complex, ends in the bell-wall: two superimposed tiers, each with a double bell opening, with a triangular top, which many scholars consider the most beautiful in all Spanish Romanesque and which has become an emblem of the comarca. Declared a Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection) in 1993, the church has a Latin-cross plan with a stepped triple-apse chancel.

Photo: Ángel M. Felicísimo from Mérida, España (CC BY 2.0)

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