Page 117 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Spain

ASTURIAS AND C ANT ABRIA  115

Surviving Classical columns among the ruins of the Roman town of Julióbriga, near Reinosa
monument is Gaudí’s (see p168) Carmona is an old, unspoil ed t Alto Campoo
El Capricho, now a restaurant. village approximately 20 km Cantabria. * 1,900. £ @ Reinosa.
It was designed from 1883 to (12 miles) to the northwest of n Estacioń de Montaña, 942 77 92
1889 and is a Mudéjar-inspired Bárcena Mayor. Its solid stone 23 (am only); Reinosa, 942 75 52 15.
fantasy with a minaret-like houses, with pantiled roofs and _ San Sebastián (20 Jan, Reinosa).
tower covered in green wooden balconies, are typically
and yellow tiles. Cantabrian (see Sited high in the Cantabrian
Another Mod ern- p30). Woodcarv- mountains, this winter resort lies
ista building is the ing, the traditional below the Pico de Tres Mares
Universidad craft of the region, (2,175 m/7,000 ft), the “Peak of the
Pontificia, on a hill- is still practised in Three Seas”, so called because the
top overlook ing this village, where rivers rising near it flow into the
the sea. It was men work outside Mediterr anean, the Atlantic and
designed by Joan their houses on a the Bay of Biscay. The Río Ebro, one
Martorell to plans variety of artifacts of Spain’s longest rivers, rises in this
by Domènech including bowls, area and its source, at Fontíbre, is a
i Montaner Wall tile on the façade fiddles, albarcas beauty spot. A road and a chair lift
(see p144). of El Capricho (clogs) and chairs. reach the summit of Tres Mares
The 13th-century for a breathtaking panorama of
Environs Palacio de los Mier, a manor the Picos de Europa and other
The fishing port of San Vicente house in the centre of the mountain chains. The resort is
de la Barquera has arcaded village, is being transformed small, with 22 pistes totalling
streets, ramparts and the Gothic into a hotel. 32 km (20 miles) in length, and
Romanesque church of Nuestra The extensive, wild beech has few facilities for après-ski.
Señora de los Ángeles. woods near Saja have been
designated a nature reserve. Environs
r Valle de Reinosa, some 26 km (16 miles)
to the east of Alto Campoo, is a
Cabuérniga handsome market town with old
stone houses. Further southeast
Cantabria. @ Bárcena Mayor.
n Ayuntamiento de Cabuerniga, is Retortillo, a hamlet where
942 70 60 01. the remains of Julióbriga, a
town built by the Romans as a
Two exceptionally picturesque bastion against the wild tribes
towns, notable for their superb of Cantabria, can be seen.
examples of rural architecture, The main road south out
draw visitors to the Cabuérniga of Reinosa leads to Cervatos,
Valley. A good road takes you where the former collegiate
to the once-remote Bárcena church has erotic carvings on
Mayor. Its cobbled streets are its façade. This novel device was
furnished with old lamps and meant to deter the villagers
filled with boutiques, and from pleasures of the flesh.
restaurants serving regional At Arroyuelo and Cadalso, to
dishes. The pretty houses have the southeast, are two churches
flower-covered balconies and Traditional balconied houses in built into rock faces in the 8th
cattle byres. Bárcena Mayor and 9th centuries.

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