Santa Maria del Campo and its Renaissance tower in the Arlanza

So large is the collegiate church of Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion that locals call it a cathedral. It dominates Santa Maria del Campo, a village of around six hundred people in the Arlanza country south-west of Burgos, and its great tower is counted among the jewels of the Spanish Renaissance, the work of the celebrated sculptor Diego de Siloe and his pupil Juan de Salas, begun in 1527.

A church like a cathedral

Built and rebuilt between the 13th and 18th centuries, the church blends Gothic, Renaissance and Plateresque styles. Its tower rises in stages of carved decoration, sheltering the main doorway beneath a triumphal arch; the lantern that once topped it was brought down by the great Lisbon earthquake of 1755 and later rebuilt. Inside hangs a rich collection of art, including panels by Pedro Berruguete, a Gothic processional cross, 16th-century Flemish tapestries and finely carved choir stalls.

Beyond the church

The village was once walled, and three sturdy gateways still stand, among them the Puerta de la Vega, which once housed the archive of the behetrias of Castile. The Casa del Cordon, where Queen Juana of Castile is said to have stayed, recalls the place's former importance.

Getting there

Santa Maria del Campo is about thirty-six kilometres south-west of Burgos, reached from the A-62 motorway by way of Pampliega.