Logbook · 5 places

What to see and do in Mota del Marqués

What to see and do in Mota del Marqués (Montes Torozos, Valladolid): 5 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 2 Monuments · 1 Historical milestones · 1 Food and drink

How far each place is from the centre of Mota del Marqués

Church of San Martín de Mota del Marqués 300 m
Palace of los Ulloa 400 m

Towns near Mota del Marqués

What to see in Villalbarba 4.4 km · 2 places
What to see in Adalia 5.1 km · 2 places
What to see in San Cebrián de Mazote 5.9 km · 2 places
What to see in Marzales 6 km · 2 places
What to see in Vega de Valdetronco 6.7 km · 2 places
What to see in Gallegos de Hornija 6.9 km · 2 places
What to see in San Salvador 7.4 km · 2 places
What to see in Tiedra 7.9 km · 4 places

Spain › Castile and León › Valladolid › Montes Torozos › Mota del Marqués

What to see and do in Mota del Marqués

Mota del Marqués
Village
Mota del Marqués is a town of about 340 inhabitants of the Montes Torozos, in Valladolid, on the banks of the río Bajoz; resting against the mound crowned by its ruined castle — destroyed by the French, of which only traces of the wall and a tower remain — it owes its name to that hill. Beatriz de Suabia, wife of Fernando III the Saint, ceded it in 1222 to the Teutonic Order; in the 15th century it passed to Rodrigo de Ulloa, chief accountant of the Catholic Monarchs, who called it La Mota de Toro, and at the end of the 16th century Philip II granted it the title of marquisate of la Mota, from which it took its current name. It preserves the church of San Martín, the work of Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón, and the Renaissance palace of the Ulloa family; in 1821 the journalist Pedro Calvo Asensio, founder of La Iberia, was born here.
Church of San Martín de Mota del Marqués
Monument
Church of the 16th century designed by Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón, one of the great architects of the Spanish Renaissance, in which the late Gothic structure and the Renaissance language coexist. It is the greatest piece of the heritage of this town of the Torozos.
Palace of los Ulloa
Monument
The Ulloa palace stands in Mota del Marqués, in the Montes Torozos of Valladolid province, on the banks of the río Bajoz. It was built in the 16th century for Rodrigo de Ulloa, first Marquis of la Mota after receiving the title from Philip II in 1575, head of a lineage that had been lord of the town since buying it in the 15th century. Its design is attributed to Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón, also the architect of the neighbouring church of San Martín, with Alonso del Pando directing the works as master builder. Its most distinctive feature is its U-shaped courtyard, with two storeys of arcades of segmental arches on Tuscan columns and a two-flight cloister staircase. It belonged in the 19th century to the House of Alba and is today occupied by the nuns of the Society of the Savior.
Mota del Marqués and the Teutonic Order
Historical milestone
In 1222 Beatriz de Suabia ceded the town to the Teutonic knights, an unusual episode in Castile. In the 14th century Alfonso XI donated it to Juan Alonso de Benavides and in 1480 the Catholic Monarchs granted it the privilege of a weekly market.
The roast churra suckling lamb
Food and drink
The greatest dish of these moorlands is the lechazo, a lamb fed only on mother's milk. The protected geographical indication Lechazo de Castilla y León, in force since May 1997, requires the churra, castellana or ojalada breeds, less than 12 kilos and 30 to 35 days.