Puntos de Interés
Culture
Chapel of Nuestra Señora de la Peña and bullring
In the region of Campo de Salamanca, belonging to the municipality of Calvarrasa de Arriba, is the chapel of Nuestra Señora de la Peña. This Baroque style chapel was built in an area of steep cliffs formed by the passage of the river that has eroded the hill on which it stands, near Teso de la Peña (de la Peña Hill).
The locals say that the statue of the Virgin was stolen and was missing for a long time, until it was found in the area where one of the most famous battles of the Peninsular War took place: the Battle of Arapiles. In the place where the statue appeared, a chapel was built and it was named after the hill on which it was built on (Nuestra Señora de la Peña).
The residents of Calvarrasa celebrate the festivities of the Virgin on the Monday following Pentecost Sunday, with a procession to the chapel, where a mass in honour of the Virgin is celebrated. The next day, the neighbours take the Virgin back to the village church. While in the chapel, the statue of the virgin is never left alone, to protect her from being stolen again.
Very close to this small temple, just 100 meters away, there is a peculiar construction. It is a quadrangular bullring built in the first century. Although it does not have stands, it is still used today to celebrate popular bullfights during the patron saint festivities of the town. The complex is completed with a fountain built around the same time.