ANTILLANA DEL AR. Santillana and the Awakening of the Senses. And Its Paradores

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1 antillana and the Awakening of the enses ANTILLANA DEL AR And Its Paradores M "In the worlds of reality and fiction, in the world of facts and that of fable, in the splendors of life and of fantasy, lives antillana, the pleasure of two different natures: one real, the other imaginary, but both containing the nature and the control of that vital, enduring energy which cures death and saves one from being forgotten: the Marquis and Gil Blas. Coasts and Mountains. Amós de Escalante antillana is much more; it is as much as one would like, and just as we would each dare to desire. Jean Paul artre defined it as the loveliest town in pain. And Unamuno stated that she is a town enveloped in literary prestige. The truth is that simply describing antillana is a difficult and complicated task. antillana is to be experienced. antillana is to be seen, smelt, felt, tasted, heard. antillana is to be thought, desired, sensed: antillana is to be lived. It lives outside time. For time does not exist in antillana. Perhaps it never has. Perhaps for this reason antillana has never existed. Perhaps for this reason antillana only exists in the traveler s sensory experience, the discreet traveler, capable of hearing the silence, scenting the wind and making out the sea in a mountainous place. It is a place of three lies: It is not santa, holy, llana, flat, nor does it have the mar, the sea". It is the place where aint Iliana came from the sea" and gave her name to the town. The relics of aint Juliana, martyr of Bythnia in the times of Diocletian, possibly led to the raising of a small church at the place then known as Planes. Pottery finds and archeological remains tell us that this area has been inhabited since the 1st century of our era, the time of a Roman settlement. In the 9th century, these lands, ruled by the Asturian monarchy, then battling the Arab armies, felt the need to repopulate the countryside, a countryside favored and protected by the authorities of the time. Politics and religion came together and created monasteries, among them the Monastery of anta Juliana. A century later, with the protection of the Count and Countess of Castile García Fernández and his wife Aba the monastery found fresh impetus. The Ermegildus abbots, Alvaro and onna, appear in the cartulary dated 930. Another abbot, Indulfo, donated his worldly goods to God and the church of anta Juliana fifty years later. These were times of religious expansion and royal protection. In 1045, Fernando I granted vineyards, farmland and mills in the area of Castro Jeriz. The original Asturian or Mozarabic building gave way to the construction of a great Romanesque church. The conversion from monastery to collegiate church in 1107 according to Josué strengthened the abbot s position of power. He even came to draft the Charter of antillana, promulgated and granted by Alfonso VIII, which names the abbot the true lord of the town. The abbot also derived power from the merino wool trade and his role as king s representative, responsible primarily for the task of defending the town. This combination of religious and civil power began to cause tension. The emerging nobility, nobility named by ANTILLANA AND IT PARADOR 1

2 King Alfonso I low-ranking highlanders, came to confront the established administration. Far from bringing a solution, the following centuries saw an increasingly difficult relationship with the factional struggles between the Manriques and the Mendozas. Gonzalo Ruiz de la Vega, first; Leonor de la Vega, next, and Iñigo López de Mendoza poet and author of Las erranillas last, raised the Mendoza family to the marquisate of antillana, granted by King Juan II. Until 1560, antillana and the civil and religious Mendozas, named abbots of the collegiate church, were one and the same. After that time, the emerging force of the nobility finally displaced the power of the ancient monastery. The town came to be governed by the Mayor of the Four Towns of the Court during the centralist government of the Habsburg monarchs until its administration was transferred to Laredo. Prosperity declined, and the nobility became poor. The town, virtually deserted, did not recover until the return of the indianos back from making their fortune in the Americas and the jándalos also returning, this time from Andalusia. The large houses built and maintained by these returning emigrants, the noble coats of arms, the heraldic devices, these have all survived. "antillana del Mar... tone book, which has remained eternally open!" (Manuel González Hoyos) Parador Gil Blas: The rogue who never knew antillana I t was the beginning of the 18th century, when the town was feeling its decline most deeply, that it came to be known internationally. The cause was the adventures of a neoclassic rogue who leapt from the pen of the French author Lesage. His work, Gil Blas de antillana quickly grew in popularity. The hero was a complete fabrication, to such a degree that neither the character nor the author ever visited the town or pain. We will never know the reason for his choice. But what we do know is that, despite being completely divorced from reality, the antillana of Lesage and his Gil Blas traveled the world. Coincidence or chance, in this town the creative thoughts have always existed, unspoken. "No people are seen. There is nobody. Nobody looks at us, nobody follows us, and the rusty hinge of the centuries-old window does not groan pitifully as it opens to give way to a human countenance. Forty Leagues around Cantabria. Benito Pérez Galdós The reality of the large house which has housed the Parador de Turismo since 1944 is a different one. It is a noble, spacious and harmonious building. Its plain masonry façade dates from the 18th century, with four balconies enclosed in wrought iron where geraniums grow. It is a typical example of the mountain dwellings of the nobility. Until the end of the last century it was owned by the Barreda-Bracho family, of distinguished lineage. On the outside wall sits their mark: the family coat of arms, a lovely carving in the noble stone. This surname is linked to that of Don Blas de Barreda, a cultured man whose home housed a magnificent library of incunabula and rare volumes, and who received many visitors believing him to be the hero Gil Blas. Later, the Marquise María de Barreda surrounded herself with a circle of intellectuals who sang the virtues of the town. Different sensibilities, different means; nobles and artists; a single goal: to protect the town. The town was declared a national monument in 1889, guaranteeing its future and responding to the efforts of many. Along her streets have strolled Pereda, Concha Espina, Unamuno, Ricardo León and the Countess of Pardo Bazán. Her atmosphere inspired the spirit of the Generation of 98. The 1920s saw a new resurgence as a result of the general public s growing knowledge of the town s culture. Its promoter, the Count of Güell, was a true admirer of the beauty of antillana. He restored the palace of the Barreda family and fitted it out as a private hotel. He put on theater plays here, and today it is still possible to admire what is left of some of the sets used by the company headed by Fernando D. de Mendoza. King Alfonso XIII and his host, the Marquis of Benemejís, attended performances, used the bowling alley and took part in the first August courses, the predecessors to today s summer educational opportunities offered in different cities throughout Cantabria. In 1944 the palace continued 2 ANTILLANA AND IT PARADOR

3 operating as a hotel, but became part of the Paradores de Turismo Network. The Parador de antillana, together with Gredos, Granada and a few others, were the first to make up the network. In 1962 an annex was built to increase the number of rooms. At the end of the 1980s, it was enlarged even more, with the addition of another annex located behind the city hall building. Both inside and out, the appearance of the Parador Gil Blas is one of pure harmony. Its décor is based around the use of mountain-style furniture. The ceiling boasts exposed wooden beams and noble stone is all around. ome of the pictorial works which could be admired in the past were transferred to the an Telmo Museum in Toledo, where they are on view. During the 1950s, the Parador was also home to the core of what over the years would become the antillana Foundation, heir to the efforts to protect and promote the town carried out by the Barreda, Güell and Benemijís families. The Foundation now has its headquarters a scant 30 meters away, in the Tower of Don Borja, a 15th- or 16th-century building with two Gothic shields and the coat of arms of the Barreda family on its façade. An addition to Paradores offerings in antillana del Mar stands 500 meters from the Parador Gil Blas: a new hotel occupying a house built entirely in keeping with the vernacular architecture of the region. An integral part of its surroundings, the hotel s comfortable rooms and unhurried atmosphere make this new Parador the perfect setting for a much-desired rest and tranquility. A Walk filled with Contrasts House of the Peredo-Barreda family, or the Marquis of Benemejís. House of the Villa family, with the arms of the Villa, Cos, Bracho and Bustamante families. House of the Águila. House of Velarde, first built in the 15th century. House of the Valdivieso, today a hotel. Group of buildings leading up to the collegiate church: the Tower of Jesús Otero, house of Doña Leonor de la Vega, house of the Hombrones, houses of Cossío and Quevedo, and house of the Archduchess of Austria. The Collegiate Church, holy symbol of the city. 12th-century Romanesque. House of the Velarde family. Renaissance. Ramón Pelayo quare and Juan Infante treet. Part of the medieval town. Tower of Merino. ite of the Museum of Contemporary Art. Tower of Don Borja. Home to the antillana Foundation. City Hall and Telephone company, the former jail. Convent of Regina Coeli and Museum of the Diocese. Convent of the Dominicas. Revolgo Field, witness to tournaments during the Middle Ages. House of the Tagle family Bears a baroque coat of arms ANTILLANA AND IT PARADOR 3

4 Cuisine of ea and Mountains ince the time of the Middle Ages, savory verses have been dedicated to the fish and seafood of Cantabria, such as those of the Archpriest of Hita. But it is in antillana del Mar, symbiosis of the wealth guarded by the Bay of Biscay, the aja River and the nearby Ucieta Mountains, where Cantabrian gastronomy is at its most varied. Amongst all the products it offers, we find something as simple while so necessary and exquisite at the same time as milk and dairy products. It has been said that antillana smells of milk. And it is true. It smells of fresh milk. Of milk from the cows who quench their thirst at the trough near the collegiate church. Of milk available in the town s many shops at any time of day. And to dip into it, there is Tableta, a thin sponge cake which gives a lovely sound when you press on it, and an even better taste when you try it. obaos Pasiegos are small sponge cakes from the Pas Valley, between the Braguía Pass and Estacas de Trueba Pass, where Cantabria borders on Burgos. Quesada, a cheese pastry, is more solid than the other two, but just as exquisite an accompaniment to a nice glass of milk. But the rainy, hard winters need hearty and nutritious dishes. A typical one-dish meal is Cocido Montañés. This mountain stew is made with legumes and vegetables, together with delicious local beef. At the Parador, it is well made, and it is available all year round in the mountain village of Bárcena Mayor, where the aja becomes a national preserve. The other stew, Cocido Lebaniego, originates in the foothills of the Picos de Europa mountains, in western Cantabria, before reaching the Principate of Asturias. It is as abundant and subtle as the montañés. There are also soups and stews, at the Parador, Juliana and Pucherete. In the region you will find Beans with Chorizo ausage from Guriezo, Meruelo or olórzano and Roast uckling Lamb and Kid. From the coast come fish and seafood, good quality products from the Bay of Biscay: Hake in Green auce or a stew, at the Parador, in Cántabra auce; cod, young sardines, sea bream and small cuttlefish; corpion Fish Pie in hrimp auce; Bonito Tuna oup, in season; and between courses, some Rabas, quid oaked in Milk and Batter Fried. The cheese is there to be enjoyed, up to fourteen varieties in antillana: Pido, Tres Visos, Cóbreces or Bref; goat cheese, sheep s milk cheese, smoked cheese; soft and creamy or strong and blue; as a dessert or in a sauce, the possibilities are endless. Another dessert is rice, with milk, of course, in a delicious rice pudding. There is Fried Custard; Pantortillas de Reinosa, a puff pastry; and at the Parador Gil Blas, Pannecotta with Cream, or the Parador s own cake or the House undae: sweets and more sweets. All of this makes up antillana. The medieval town of tournaments and jousts, religious and noble, family-oriented and artistic. The property of few, but the enjoyment of all. The Barreda, Benemejís and Villa families have given way to the Gilis and Polancos, and more than one banking institution. Perhaps this is the only thing that has changed, because space and time have stopped in antillana, we know not when, we know not how. It may be that they never existed. Gerardo Diego wrote of: antillana without sea. The horizons still dream of bison herds. And the centuries of God go on, unclothed. Where the gods placed man and the other animals L visit to antillana del Mar, interesting in and of itself, can be complemented with a variety of destinations in the immediate area. There is something for every taste. Go back to our origins at Altamira. Enjoy the beach at uances and Cóbreces. Comillas holds a university and some caprices of Gaudí. Nearby artistic destinations include Queveda, Cigüenza, Viveda and Novales. Nature and greenness is there in the nature reserves of Oyambre, Liencres and Cabárceno. antillana offers this and much more. It is a traditional land of art and artists: prehistoric, medieval and present-day. It is a land of painting, sculpture and architecture, the land of pottery, copper, leather and antiques. It is the land of our human ancestors. At the beginning of time, in the ephemeral infiniteness of antillana, there was Altamira. At the beginning of space, with the planet still taking form, Altamira. Today it is two kilometers from antillana, a stone s throw away, an age-old stone, 14,000 years away. The Caves of Altamira. Entry to see the paintings is restricted, and permission must be requested in advance at the Altamira Research Center (Centro de Investigación de Altamira). However, it is possible to visit the Cave of the talactites, the Man of Morín and the Educational Hall, free of charge. 4 ANTILLANA AND IT PARADOR

5 These caves were discovered by Modesto Cubillas, a hunter from the nearby town of Puente de an Miguel, in He told another man from the same town, a recognized scholar of the prehistoric world, Marcelino anz de autuola, who first entered the cave in He saw some paintings, but did not assign them any value, "repeated black lines", he even wrote. A visit to the Universal Exhibition in Paris, three years later, reopened the researcher s eyes. In 1879, Marcelino and his young daughter, María, returned to the interior of the cave. While the father focused his attention on the floor, in search of remains and human objects, the daughter, awed by the newness of the place, looked up at the ceiling. he was the first person in some 14,000 years to gaze upon the mysterious red figures of different animals. Years would pass, autuola having passed form this world, before there was scientific recognition. At the beginning of the 20th century, Altamira and its champions became a required reference for human beings, their history and their artistic sensibilities. The cave measures 270 meters, and the route through it begins in the Hall of Paintings the istine Chapel of quaternary art an 18 by 9 meter space. This is followed by another six halls. Thanks to the technique of carbon 14 dating, we know that these paintings were made during the Magdalenian Period III-IV, which lasted between approximately 15,000 and 12,000 bc. Cóbreces, uances and Comillas. antillana is 10 kilometers from the first two, and 18 kilometers from Comillas. The sea is nearby, the coast of antillana. The neo-gothic Cistercian Abbey of Cóbreces. The Dance of the Picayos in Ruiloba. The seaside ambiance of uances. The nobility of the town of Comillas: the Palace of obrellanos, the Pontifical University and Gaudí s caprice. In the area around antillana. The Tower of Don Beltrán de la Cueva 16th-century in Queveda; the baroque church of Cigüenza, with its twin towers much like the architecture of 18thcentury Peru; the Tower of Calderón de la Barca in Viveda, cradle of the forebears of the panish playwright, where it is said that aint Francis of Assisi spent the night on his pilgrimage to antiago; and the church of Novales, with a 17th-century altarpiece attributed to the school of the sculptor Gregorio Fernández. The Nature Reserves of Oyambre, Dunas de Liencres and Parque de la Naturaleza de Cabárceno. omething more than a third of the province of Cantabria has been declared either a nature reserve or hunting and fishing reserve. The land is scattered with forests and woods oaks, beeches, chestnuts, hazelnuts and walnuts and eucalyptus. Meadows and mountains. Flora and fauna, native and imported. Wild nature, breaking sea. Peaks, valleys, ravines and gorges. Hiking, horseback riding routes and scenery, always scenery, this is guaranteed. The antillana Zoo is a private enterprise with deep roots and a long tradition in the town. With more than two kilometers of animal territory on view, it is something more than just a zoo. antander. 25 kilometers away by highway. The city grew up around the shores of a bay. It was the main port for exports from Castile during the 18th and 19th centuries. Thirteen beaches lie in the surrounding area, including El ardinero and La Magdalena. The International Music Festival, Menéndez Pelayo University, the museums the city of the north. It offers viewpoints and promenades, gardens and monuments, culture and leisure time, drinks and fashion. Parador de antillana Pza. Ramón Pelayo, s/n antillana del Mar (antander) Tel.: Fax: santillana@parador.es Parador de antillana Gil Blas Pza. Ramón Pelayo, 11. antillana del Mar (Cantabria) Tel.: Fax: santillanagb@parador.es Reservation Center Requena, Madrid (España) Tel.: Fax: / reservas@parador.es wap.parador.es/wap/ Text: Miguel García ánchez Design: Fernando Aznar ANTILLANA AND IT PARADOR 5