ALTARPIECE OF THE INFANCY OF CHRIST

SURROUNDINGS 

The parish church of St. Nicholas has three naves and, with three sections, a central polygonally-shaped apse  and straight walls in lateral apses. On the apse of the epistle nave is the vestry, which is where the Flemish altarpiece currently stands. The building has a slightly raised transept covered with groined vaults supported by sober cruciform pillars. 

Work began on the church towards the end of the XV century when the head was built. A late-Gothic tomb stands in the head today.  Most of the church was built in the XVI century, however, and its main Renaissance altarpiece made by the Cantabrian artist Pedro de Colindres dates from the middle of that century. A stonemason from the same town, Francisco del Pontón, was responsible for building the solid, classist-style belfry. Work was completed on the tower in 1697, coinciding with the end of its structural history. Though the church does contain some interesting Romanesque sculptures, these apparently come from a monastery that used to stand in the town but which has since disappeared.