Santoyo


Santoyo is a municipality located in the province of Palencia, Castile and León, Spain.

History

The lands within the borders of the current municipality of Santoyo were populated since, at least, classical antiquity. In the Sarnallano moor some material remains of a vaccaean fort can be found. The "Las Quintanas" Roman villa was built in the Late_Roman_Empire, probably in the 4th century - in the 1990s archaeologists discovered amongst its ruins an oven, a hypocaustum, some pottery and a well full of debris.
All settlements were abandoned as a consequence of the downfall of the Visigothic Kingdom. The current Santoyo is the result of a resettlement carried out in September 988 under Fernán de Armentales, a vassal of count García Fernández of Castile. The name of the town itself is most probably derived from the latin Sanctus Ioannes. In the 11th century it was a fortified town, but very scarce remains of the wall have survived.

Church of St. John the Baptist

Built as a romanesque church in the late 12th century, only some windows in the central nave display this initial style. The bell tower transitions to Gothic. The transept, presbytery and apse are built in late, Flamboyant Gothic similar in style to the contemporary parts of Burgos cathedral, by Juan de Arce and Martín de Solórzano. The church's main, southern entrance is covered by a plateresque portico, known as the patriarch's portico, having been funded by Antonio de Rojas Manrique, Patriarch of the West Indies in the 16th century.
Inside the church, the most relevant element is the renaissance reredos, funded by Sebastián Cordero de Nevares. Additionally, a visigothic baptismal font and a plateresque walnut wood pulpit can be found. The choir features a baroque organ, built in 1738 by Pedro Merino de la Rosa, carved walnut choir stalls finished in 1750 and a sixteenth-century mudéjar wooden ceiling.
The church has been listed as a Bien de Interés Cultural.

Organ

The organ is a baroque instrument built in 1738 by Pedro Merino de la Rosa. It features a single 45-note manual with a shorter first octave. The stoplist is as follows:

Other landmarks

1900191019201930194019501960197019811991201220132014
1.012997789717628618579494381295241235230