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little village of Baró is enclaved by surroundings
of enormous natural richness. The singular and cosy beauty of the
landscape constitutes a paradise for people interested in photography
and paintings. Besides resting, one can contemplate the extraordinary
an unique scenery of the Liébana valley.
There are quite a lot of
activities for travellers, such as: trecking, mountain routes, climbing,
descent canyons and canoeing, parapente, ala delta, horseback riding,
routes with quads, 4 x 4, cycletourist, paintball, etc. Due to this,
there are companies in the area which organize all types of outdoor
activities.
It is essential to highlight,
for the trecking lovers, that Liébana is the ideal place
for those who wish to make excursions in the multiple routes that
offers the area, enjoying the nature and beauty of the valley. The
Valley of Liébana has a wide cultural legacy,
artistic and monumental, this Nacional Park of the Europe
Mountains, is the culmination of its turbulent and beautiful
orography.
These are some of the places
of interest in the valley:
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The village of Potes is the capital of Liebanas`
valley and is located with 5 km. from La Casona de Baró.
It is an important tourism
nucleus, comercial and administrative center for the area. The Tower
of Infantryman (XV Century) is the current head office
of the council, which is the most representative of the civil architecture
of Potes.
On Mondays, there is a market
in the main square town. At the bottom of the same square, near
the river, there are different pubs where people from Potes and
surrounding areas go to enjoy their evenings.
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| Monasterio
de Santo Toribio de Liébana |
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In the municipality of Camaleño
and on top of the fold of the Viorna mountain, rises this
monastery, which is considered a compulsory visit for travellers.
The first edifications of the monastery
were pre-romanesque. In the XIII Century, the actual church
was built with gothic monastic style. The cloister is from
the XVII Century and the baroque chapel, where the Lignun
Crucis is exposed (the greatest piece preserved
from the Cross of Christ)-XVIII Century. The last restoration
was finished in 1961.
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| This sacred spot shares
with Rome, Jerusalem and Santiago de Compostela the privilege of the
jubilation-joy year, the holy festival on the 16 of April. The forgiveness
door opens and starts the Lebaniego holy year, admitting
the jubililation to all the people who makes the pilgrimage to the
monastery and carry out premises (such as prayers, confessions and
taking communion, which is done 15 days before or after crossing through
the door). |
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This small church is one of the most beautiful testimony of the
pre-romanesque art, and, without a doubt, the best preserved and
out-standing of the mozarabic style of Cantabria.
A foundation was established
in 925 as a tribute to Don Alfonso and his wife, Doña Justa,
counts of Liébana. The side door on the
south faÇade was added in 1794 (XVIII Century), and in the
exterior encloser area, which is separated from the church, a tower
was built in 1896 (XIX Century), during the restoration.The
ground floor is rectangular and has three naves. The cover of the
different spaces is done independently, by a cañon vault,
longitudinal on the central nave and apses, which are transversal
on the lateral naves.
At the exterior, the cover
is of two waters, holding the eaves and lobes of plain mozarabic
style. Inside it is important to point out the different heights
of which the central section obtains a notable elevation. The baroque
altar of the XVIII Century, has a carving of the virgin in the middle,
(XV Century)-. The front of the altar is decorated with circles
and radial engravings.
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The actual church of Saint María is the
only thing left of the old monastery, dating back to 930, as testimony
of the documentation that was kept. Possibly its was used in the
earlier years, probably in the VIII or IX Century, when the population
in the Liébana`s mountains was iniciated.
We have to emphasize from
the romanic construction the arch above the main door, with pictures
of St. Peter and St. Paul. This is a romanesque
church, with transitional phases, with three naves, three apses
(the mayor central and highest) and four sections. The apses are
polygonals (it has dissapeared the initial left factory), covered
with vault ribs, already gotic.
The most interesting and
valuable thing of Saint María de Piasca is the sculptoral
decoration. Without a doubt, this is a masterpiece of wood carvings
of the romanic highlands. This works of art also includes the beautiful
iconography and the rich vegetation of the Palestinian monasterys
of Santa María de Aguilar de Campo and San Andrés
de Arroyo.
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This is one of the main tourist
attractions because it has a cable-car over the 755 meters of unevenness
from the departure station of Fuente Dè
(to 1094 meters high) and the Mirador del Cable
(over 1847 meters). This view is a balcony which falls on deaf ears
and the panoramic view is quite impressive. The cable-car runs approximately
from 9.00h. a.m. to 21.00h. p.m. during summer and from 10.00h.
a.m. to 18.00h. p.m. the rest of the year.
There are excursions to Peña Vieja or to el Pico Tesorero
(2570 meters) and because of the easy access facilities, they are
the most frequently visited. These are only a few of the excursions
you can carry out in this splendid spot. Also, for travelling long
distances, land-rovers are appropriate.
Cable-car characteristics: Capacity: 28 passengers; distance: 3`40";
cable length: 1640m (the third cable-car longest in the world);
speed: 10m/s.
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addition to these places, there are many other worthy sites, such
as the surroundings of Liébana with villages covered with
history and beauty. For example Cahecho, Mogrovejo, Camaleón,
etc.
More places
of interest near Cantabria are the provinces of Santander, Santillana
del Mar, Comillas, Unquera, Covadonga, Llanes, etc. The sea and
beaches are located less than one hour by car.
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