Campillo de Aranda: underground wine cellars in the Ribera del Duero

Surrounded by the vineyards of the Ribera del Duero in the south of Burgos province, the village of Campillo de Aranda sits at the foot of a low ridge that serves as a balcony over the wine country. Like its neighbours, it lives by the vine, and the most surprising part of the village lies hidden beneath the streets.

Wine beneath the streets

Dug deep into the subsoil, the old underground cellars, or bodegas, kept the wine of generations at a steady cool temperature in the traditional way. No longer needed for great harvests, they now serve as snug places where neighbours gather to eat, drink and celebrate, a living piece of rural architecture typical of the Ribera.

Church and festivals

The parish church of Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion, built between the late Middle Ages and the 16th century, presides over the village square along with a town hall of similar age. The village's liveliest moment, though, comes with its summer festival in honour of the Virgin, which ends with the burning of a home-made paper whale, a custom born of an old local tale about a tipsy villager who mistook a saddle in a pond for a whale.

Getting there

Campillo de Aranda is about eighty-eight kilometres south of Burgos, a short drive from Aranda de Duero and the A-1 motorway.