Santillana del Mar Travel Guide

Is this Spain’s prettiest village? We would certainly argue that it is, despite the old amusing saying that Santillana del Mar is “The Town of Three Lies” since it is set just inland and isn’t flat or named after a saint. But what is undeniable is Santillana del Mar’s considerable charm – its ensemble of 15th -17th-century golden stone houses have survived mostly intact. In addition, the enchanting Plaza Major is as impressive and awe-inspiring as any in Spain.

Santillana del Mar grew up around a monastery and, subsequently, the 12th-century Church of the Colegiata, probably one of Cantabria’s most beautiful. Once a famous pilgrimage center, this magnificent piece of Romanesque architecture houses the tomb of the local early-medieval martyr St Juliana or Santa Llana, from which the village takes its name.

Therefore, the history of Santillana de Mar before this point is unclear, although a settlement may have existed before the monks founded their monastery. As far back as 800,000 BC, hunter-gatherers inhabited Cantabria and then Neolithic farming communities. Remnants of this fascinating past can be seen today – the nearby cave of Altamira is filled with drawings and handprints dating back over 20,000 years.

The Phoenicians were the first foreign settlers to arrive in Spain, landing in approximately 1100 BC, followed by the Greeks and Carthaginians. Invading Celts mixed with native Cantabrian tribes, providing a formidable force against the Romans, the next Conquerors of Spain. Controlling the Iberian Peninsula for centuries, they divided it into three provinces: Tarraconensis, Lusitania, and Baetica. In time, cities with Roman infrastructure developed into essential outposts of the Empire. However, it was not to last – after the collapse of the Western Empire in the 5th Century AD, the Visigoths invaded Spain and made Toledo their capital. They, in turn, were supplanted by the Moors, who arrived in 711.

But if there was a settlement at Santillana de Mar during this period, it is unlikely to have been significantly affected by the Moors’ conquest of Spain. The Berber armies never managed to subdue Cantabria, and the Christian reconquest of Spain is said to have begun in 718 when a Moorish force was defeated in the Picos de Europa.

In the 9th century, a monastery was mainly on the site of modern-day Santillana del Mar, which historians believe was constructed in 870. During the 11th century, it was transformed into a collegiate church, and Santillana del Mar became an increasingly important religious center in Cantabria. However, the buildings visible today date back to the 12th century, when the Moors controlled Al Andalus (southern Spain) and Christian kingdoms in the north were fighting a fierce war against militant North African Muslims – Almoravids and Almohads. As they pushed further south, soon, only Granada remained under Muslim control. That city was retaken by the Catholic Monarchs Fernando and Isabel in 1492.

Meanwhile, Santillana de Mar benefited greatly from Columbus’ discovery of the Americas and the subsequent trade with Central and South America. Today, a stroll through the village’s cobbled streets reveals magnificent houses built by noblemen. These have fine wooden galleries, iron balconies, and coats of arms inlaid into their brilliant stone facades. This period was rightly known as Spain’s golden age, where literary and artistic achievement flourished.

Sadly, though, it was not to last. Carlos I and his son Felipe II spent much of Spain’s newfound wealth on battles to halt the spread of Protestantism in Europe; the 17th century was a time of economic deterioration and ruinous wars with the Low Countries.

Nevertheless, Santillana de Mar was largely unaffected by the political and social turbulence of the 18th and 19th centuries. The power of the Bourbon Monarchs in the 1700s was at its height during the reign of the enlightened despot Carlos III; by 1873, Spain had embraced democracy and declared its first Republic. However, it lasted only a year and consumed four presidents. The late 19th century was a time of national decline, with anarchism developing due to rampant political corruption. The loss of Cuba in 1898 was a low point for Spain, although there was a flurry of literary and artistic activity in the following years. Spanish politics was becoming polarized, and in 1931, Alfonso XIII was forced to abdicate, and the ill-fated Second Republic was declared in 1931.

Nationalist Generals rose against the government in 1936, starting the Spanish Civil War. The Nationalists, under General Franco, were halted by the Republicans outside Madrid, but with support from Hitler and Mussolini, they inched their way to victory in the north and east. Cantabria stood with the Republic, but it was to no avail. On April 1, 1939, Franco declared the war’s end and demanded unconditional surrender from the Republicans. Many people were executed in reprisals, although Franco is credited with keeping Spain out of the Second World War II. After he died in 1975, Spain enjoyed a swift and painless transition to democracy.

Yet despite this considerable social and political change, a visitor to the village today could scarcely tell which century they were inhabiting. Modernity, perhaps even history, has bypassed the picturesque medieval town of Santillana del Mar. Instead, it is a historical masterpiece, a perfectly preserved piece of antiquity handed down through the generations and still governed by town-planning laws created in 1575. The cobblestone streets, flower-filled balconies, and inviting cafes – this village demands to be explored at a languid pace.