Aguilar de Campoo, Spain: travel guide to the capital of Palencia Romanesque, its monastery and the town that smells of biscuits

Aguilar de Campoo is a historic town in the north of the province of Palencia, in Castilla y León, set on the edge of the Castilian plateau where it borders Cantabria and crossed by the Pisuerga river. Widely considered the capital of the Palencia Romanesque, it sits at the gateway to the Montaña Palentina and combines a remarkable medieval heritage with one of Spain's strongest food industries.

For travellers searching for Aguilar de Campoo Palencia, Romanesque art in Castilla y León, the Montaña Palentina or the Spanish town that smells of biscuits, Aguilar is one of the most rewarding stops in northern Castile. Its old quarter was declared a Historic-Artistic Site in 1966, and its surroundings hold one of the greatest concentrations of Romanesque churches in Europe.

History

Inhabited successively by Cantabrians, Romans and Visigoths, Aguilar grew in importance during the Middle Ages on the frontier of the Reconquest. In 1255 King Alfonso X the Wise declared it a royal town (villa realenga), and in 1480 the Catholic Monarchs created the Marquisate of Aguilar in favour of Garci Fernández Manrique. The Manrique marquises governed the town until the 17th century, and their palaces still shape the porticoed Plaza Mayor.

Romanesque heritage and main sights

The Monastery of Santa María la Real, founded in the 11th century, is the town's emblem. Rescued from near-total ruin in the 20th century, it now houses a centre dedicated to the study and conservation of Romanesque art and the Romanesque Museum. Within the medieval walls, the Collegiate Church of San Miguel blends styles across centuries, while the hilltop church of Santa Cecilia offers one of the most recognisable Romanesque silhouettes in the area. The ruins of the castle and the elegant noble architecture of the Plaza Mayor complete the route.

The town of biscuits

Aguilar is famously known as the town that smells of biscuits. In the 1960s it had up to five biscuit factories, and at one point the great majority of the biscuits eaten in Spain came from Aguilar. The Gullón brand, founded in 1892, remains one of the largest biscuit makers in Europe and keeps the aroma of baking alive in the streets.

Practical information

Aguilar de Campoo lies roughly 100 km from Palencia, 80 km from Burgos and 100 km from Santander, with direct access from the A-67 motorway. It is a stage on the Besaya branch of the Way of Saint James and an ideal base for exploring the Romanesque circuits of the Montaña Palentina.