Puntos de Interés
Municipality
San Martín de las Ollas
Very close to the towns of Santelices and Quintanabaldo, in the Merindad de Valdeporres region, is San Martín de las Ollas.
As is the case with other towns in the area, San Martín is mentioned in the work promoted by Pascual Madoz in the 19th century, the Diccionario geográfico-estadístico-histórico de España y sus posesiones de Ultramar (Geographical-statistical-historical dictionary of Spain and its overseas possessions), specifically in volume XI.
The document locates the town on a slope at the foot of the Argoveo hill. The poor construction of the 25 houses that existed there is remarkable in comparison with the richness of the palace of the Marquis of Cilleruelo. It had a school and the parish church of San Vicente, and its fields were mainly used for growing cereals such as maize, barley and wheat. In terms of livestock, there were some cattle and goat farms.
Today, the most outstanding building in this hamlet is undoubtedly its Romanesque church, which belongs to the parish of Pedrosa. Its structure consists of a single nave of modern construction. The only remnant of the original church is its semicircular apse made of masonry. There is also a grooved moulding resting on a group of simple brackets. Inside, the restoration work carried out in the 1959s by Pedro Herrando, with the collaboration of some of the local residents, is quite obvious. This is shown on a commemorative plaque on one of the walls, which reads "Se arregló por Pedro Herrando y Ayuda del Pueblo en el año 1958" ("Restored by Pedro Herrando with the help of local residents in 1958"). The church is usually closed to the public and is opened exceptionally for the celebration of mass.
As for the festivities of San Martín, the most important is St. James' Day, on which various activities take place, and Beato Manuel Ruiz’s Day, which pays homage to the favourite son of the town, a Franciscan who was martyred and died in the city of Damascus. Another good time to visit the town is at the beginning of December, during the celebration of the popular matanza (pig slaughter).