Becerril de Campos, Spain: travel guide to a beautiful village of the Tierra de Campos

Becerril de Campos is a village in the province of Palencia, in Castile and León, set on the wide cereal plains of the Tierra de Campos about 15 kilometres north-west of the city of Palencia. Home today to fewer than a thousand people, it was once a far larger and wealthier town, and it preserves a rich artistic heritage that has earned it a place among Spain's prettiest villages.

For travellers searching for Becerril de Campos, the Tierra de Campos, San Pedro Cultural or churches near Palencia, it offers art, history and a touch of astronomy.

Churches and art

In the Middle Ages Becerril was a prosperous place with a great many churches and clergy. Its finest survivor is the church of Santa María la Antigua, a 15th-century Gothic building, now deconsecrated, that houses a museum of sacred art with works including paintings by the master Pedro Berruguete, fronted by a superb two-storey stone portico. Even more original is San Pedro Cultural, a 12th-century Romanesque church transformed into an astronomy-themed cultural space, complete with a Foucault pendulum and a working meridian line that acts as a solar clock and calendar.

Around the village

The arcaded Plaza Mayor, with its stone columns and fountain, is the heart of the village, while the Canal de Castilla passes nearby, recalling the great 18th-century waterway that crosses the region.

Practical information

Becerril de Campos lies about 15 kilometres north-west of Palencia, easily reached by road, and makes a rewarding stop on a tour of the Tierra de Campos and its remarkable churches.