Santillana del Mar () is a historic town situated in
Cantabria
Cantabria (, also , , Cantabrian: ) is an autonomous community in northern Spain with Santander as its capital city. It is called a ''comunidad histórica'', a historic community, in its current Statute of Autonomy. It is bordered on the east ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
. Its many historic buildings attract thousands of holidaymakers every year.
There is an old saying that Santillana del Mar is ''The Town of Three Lies'', since it is neither a Saint (''Santo''), nor flat (''llana''), nor is it by the sea (''Mar'') as implied by its name. However, the name actually derives from Santa Juliana (or Santa Illana) whose remains are kept in the Colegiata, a Romanesque church and former Benedictine monastery. The UNESCO World Heritage site
Cave of Altamira
The Cave of Altamira (; es, Cueva de Altamira ) is a cave complex, located near the historic town of Santillana del Mar in Cantabria, Spain. It is renowned for prehistoric cave art featuring charcoal drawings and polychrome paintings of contem ...
is nearby.
[http://en.museodealtamira.mcu.es/PreparaLaVisita/index.html]
Localities
The 3,983 inhabitants (
INE, 2006) are distributed as follows:
*
Arroyo, 43 pop.
*
Camplengo, 201 pop.
*
Herrán
Herrán is a Colombian municipality and town located in the department of North Santander
North Santander (Spanish: Norte de Santander) () is a department of Northeastern Colombia. It is in the north of the country, bordering Venezuela. Its ...
, 204 pop.
*
Mijares
Mijares is a municipality located in the province of Ávila, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE
INE, Ine or ine may refer to:
Institutions
* Institut für Nukleare Entsorgung, a German nuclear research center
* In ...
, 124 pop.
*
Queveda, 586 pop.
* Santillana del Mar (capital), 1.108 pop.
*
Ubiarco, 246 pop.
*
Vispieres, 337 hab.
*
Viveda, 1.069 pop.
*
Yuso, 65 pop.
Notable people
Santillana (born 1952), footballer
Gallery
Image:Santilla del Mar.JPG
Image:SantillanaM2.jpg
Image:SantillanaM1.jpg, View of the typical architecture of this town.
Image:ColegiataSantillana-4.jpg, Colegiata de Santillana del Mar.
Image:Rues de Santillana del Mar (Cantabria).jpg, One of the streets in Santillana del Mar.
In literature
The protagonist of the novel ''
Gil Blas
''Gil Blas'' (french: L'Histoire de Gil Blas de Santillane ) is a picaresque novel by Alain-René Lesage published between 1715 and 1735. It was highly popular, and was translated several times into English, most notably as The Adventures of G ...
'' was born in Santillana.
In his philosophical novel ''
La Nausée'',
Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and lite ...
described Santillana as the prettiest village in Spain ("le plus joli village d'Espagne").
References
External links
*
Santillana travel guidea
HitchHikers Handbook
Municipalities in Cantabria
{{Cantabria-geo-stub