Today I would like to invite you on a walk through one of the little villages lost in the foothills of the mountains of Cantabria, distant a little over a hundred kilometers from the spectacular cliffs that make up the rugged Cantabrian coast, but looking towards another accident, natural and legendary, such as the so-called Montaña Palentina (Palentian Mountain), which is not, if not, another way of referring to Picos de Europa (Europe Peaks), shared, mainly, by the Communities of Palencia, Cantabria, the Principality of Asturias and to a lesser extent, by León.

In other words, I invite you to get lost in the dark lands of the North, which were not only a refuge for many of the soldiers of that defeated Visigothic army that collapsed and succumbed definitively to the overwhelming thrust of the Muslim armies commanded by Muza and Tariq, but also also, part of that so-called Cradle of Spain, which resulted in the formation of the first royal monarchies and the origin of what, from the 7th century to the 15th century, with the capture of Granada by the Catholic Monarchs, was considered the Reconquest.

Once this is done, I hope that a brief and not too tiresome introduction, I tell you that the man from the small mountain village that I invite you to accompany me, Yermo, does not do him true justice, because you will not see in his surroundings swamps or deserts that could suggest this amazing denomination, but quite the opposite: shady forests and fresh meadows, where it is possible that the wolf still roams, howling at the moon, as in the famous Major Arcana of the deck of Tarot cards and where the bear, practically extinct, also obtains respite and shelter from their brutal persecution.

It may be that Yermo is not, moreover, the most beautiful mountain town that I have had the opportunity to visit during my tours of Cantabria, nor does it have the prominence -quite adulterated today, by the way- of the neighboring and famous villages of Pasiega (cantabrian traditional people), but it is a place, without a doubt, peaceful, where one of the best and most esteemed temples of Spanish Romanesque Art shines, with that mysterious light that all Art that goes back to the Middle Ages gives off: that of Santa María.

It is true that on this occasion I was not able to visit it inside - a detail that is irrelevant to me, since I already knew it many years ago - but on the outside it still maintains that majestic aspect, which always invites reflection, to let oneself be carried away by the charm of the traditional and to participate, to the extent that the imagination of each one allows it, in the message of those subliminal sculptures, whose theme, as I have said many times, was directed towards the unconscious of some people, who in times in which it was built, around the twelfth century, were still able to perceive the meaning of the most universal language of all: that of the symbol.

It is no less true, on the other hand, that its originality has been altered over the centuries and not only because of subsequent additions, which, in my opinion, have been deteriorating it, but also because, at a certain unknown time, Ornaments were added, visible, above all, on the south side of the nave, above its main portal, from another temple that was located in the surroundings and of which there is no trace, not even references.

One of the most surprising features is the motif on the tympanum of its main portal: the fight of a knight with a monstrous serpent or dragon; theme that I already warn you that is repeated inside, although changing the scene and changing the dragon or the snake for a fierce lion.

The rest of the sculptures, understood from their location, either on the capitals of the entrance portico or scattered throughout the nave, in the form of corbels, reproduce, as in the four Collegiate Churches of Cantabria, including that of San Pedro de Cervatos, the typical allusions to lust and sin, in some explicit sex scenes, about which much has been discussed between professional and amateur circles and in which I, in this post and walk, will leave it to the judgment of the viewer.

The rest of the representations are typical of any temple of these centuries and features: a great knowledge of the foliaceous environment and the symbolism of certain plants, such as the immortality of the acanthus or the sanctification of the palm leaf, minstrel scenes of musicians and dancers, mythological allusions and by default, associated with sin and what we could call a whole glossary of uses and customs of the time.

Of the town as a whole, the traditional architecture shines, where stone continues to be the undisputed queen of the homely solitudes of the North, although there is a certain openness to newly built houses, which in a certain way distort a set in which in many of Its facades can still be seen the old noble coats of arms that speak of times of war and lordship, of meritorious deeds and of extinct lineages, emerged in a time when the timid lights of the first Christian monasteries were the beacons that safeguarded the Culture of what we now call the West.

And of all this that I have related to you, I would not be faithful to this walk, if I did not refer to those strange friends that one always finds on the roads -whether they go to Santiago de Compostela or not- and that in this case and in this precise place, gave me a special satisfaction: a tabby kitten, which he adopted as soon as I set foot in the vicinity of the church and did not move away from my feet during all the time that I remained in the place.

So that later they say that cats are not affable, so that if one day they pass through this idyllic place and remember, I would appreciate it if they gave him many memories from me.

NOTICE: Both the text and the accompanying photographs are my exclusive intellectual property and therefore are subject to my Copyright.