Calzadilla de la Cueza

What is there in Calzadilla de la Cueza

Calzadilla de la Cueza is a village in the municipality of Cervatos de la Cueza, in Palencia Province, on the Camino Frances.

Few villages are awaited so eagerly: it is the first thing that appears after about seventeen kilometres from Carrión without services, along a straight track that follows the line of the old Roman road, the Via Aquitania, to which the village owes its name. On top of that, it is hidden in a dip and you do not see it until the last moment. It has about fifty residents and was a municipality in its own right until 1975. Inside the church of San Martín there is a 16th-century Renaissance altarpiece of the Juan de Juni school, and on the way out, beside the Camino, are the remains of Las Tiendas, a former hospital linked to the Order of Santiago. For many it is a stage end; for others, the pause that makes the long straight bearable.

The name

«Calzadilla» is the diminutive of calzada, road, and recalls the Roman road that passed through here, the same one pilgrims follow today. «Cueza» is the river of the valley, although locally the name is also given to the small hollows where water collects.

What to see in Calzadilla de la Cueza?

Heritage

Church of Saint Martin of Tours

The Church of San Martín de Tours, of medieval origin and much rebuilt, is of rammed earth and brick, with a Latin-cross plan, three naves, a dome over the crossing and a bell gable. Inside it keeps a Renaissance altarpiece that is said to come from the old monastery of Las Tiendas.

Santa María de las Tiendas

Near the village are the scant remains of the 12th-century monastery and hospital of Santa María de las Tiendas. It belonged to the Order of Santiago and was one of the great refuges for pilgrims on this empty stretch.

Calzadilla on the Camino

On the Camino Frances, Calzadilla marks the end of the 17 km without services that begin in Carrión. The village lies in a hollow and cannot be seen until you are almost upon it, so its appearance is a real relief.

Country	Spain
Autonomous community	Castilla y León
Province	Palencia Province
Comarca	Tierra de Campos
Judicial district	Carrión de los Condes
Municipality	Cervatos de la Cueza
Location	42°19′59″N 4°48′00″W
Population	50 (INE 2024)
Postal code	34309