"La Villa de las Tres Mentiras" Top 5 Page for this destination Santillana by andal13

Santillana Travel Guide: 70 reviews and 184 photos

The village of three lies

Santillana del Mar is known as "The village of three lies": it is not a holy city ("santa"), is not flat ("llana") and has no sea ("mar"). It is a little jewel hidden by the hills near Santander.
It was originally a pilgrimage's place; La Colegiata, a Romanesque monastery, has the tomb of Saint Juliana, a christian martyr of 3rd century, during Diocleciano's persecution. Her relics were brought by some monks to this place at 9th century, and founded a little monastery. During 12th century, the present monastery was built; the village grew up around La Colegiata.

Santillana del Mar es conocida como "la villa de las tres mentiras": no es santa, no es llana y no tiene mar. Es una joyita escondida por las colinas cercanas a Santander. Fue originalmente un lugar de peregrinación; La Colegiata, un monasterio románico, guarda la tumba de Santa Juliana, una mártir cristiana del siglo III, durante las persecuciones de Dioclesiano. Sus reliquias fueron traídas por unos monjes a este lugar en el siglo IX, y fundaron un pequeño monasterio. Durante el siglo XII fue construido el actual monasterio; la villa creció en torno a La Colegiata.

Pros and Cons

In a nutshell:A charming ancient town around a Romanesque architectural jewel ~ Un encantador pueblo antiguo en torno a una joya arquitectónica románica

Last visit to Santillana: Jan 2002
Intro Updated Jul 13, 2003
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Reviews (16)

Narrow streets Things to Do (11)

Santillana has narrow and short streets of cobblestones, that end at surrounding fields and hills. The way that the... more travel advice

Architecture Things to Do (11)

Most constructions date from 15th century, and were untouched until now. Some of them belonged to important families,... more travel advice

Countryside Things to Do (11)

Do not miss the countryside: green hills surround the village, and it a pleasure to get lost over there... Take a deep... more travel advice

Balconies Things to Do (11)

The balconies of ancient houses have all kind of stuff: plant pots, lamps, cages, agricultural implements... I guess... more travel advice

Off The Beaten Path (5)
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Comments (20)

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pepples46 May 28, 2005 at 10:34 PM

I misses this fine page, but did not miss la villa del tres mentiras, great title of yours Andrea, tks for sharing
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micas_pt Nov 23, 2004 at 3:28 PM

Interesting village to visit while in Cantabria.
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salinhopt Mar 21, 2004 at 1:43 AM

I love those animals ... orchids lolll :) Another great page Andrea. Fantastic historical city.
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deecat Feb 16, 2004 at 7:31 PM

Very well done. Enjoy reading and viewing.
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Geoff_Wright Jan 30, 2004 at 9:15 AM

Very nice page, Andrea. Enjoyed your photos. Some great views. Thanks
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Johnny_CA Dec 6, 2003 at 7:49 PM

I don't live in the zoo and I've been called an animal before too? What's up with that?
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Pangea Nov 30, 2003 at 3:20 PM

Preciosa página de un sitio que todavía no he tenido el placer de conocer. ¡Enhorabuena y gracias! ... Muy buena idea lo de los tips bilingües -así nos enteramos mejor los que no tenemos mucha idea de inglés- :P
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manuelEB Nov 27, 2003 at 6:54 PM

Colegiata!!!!! Cola e' gata!!! Diem algo mas...
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Hexepatty Sep 24, 2003 at 11:17 AM

WOW... imagine, Caterpillars in a BUTTERFLY garden. I hope they called PEST control to get rid of those ucky crawly bugs! What a mess! ; )
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Ken_Weaver Sep 2, 2003 at 10:16 AM

Again, another page with beautiful pics and outstanding commentary---bi-lingual no less!