Villamuriel de Cerrato

Villamuriel de Cerrato, at the foot of the moor and between the Canal de Castilla and the Carrión River, combines a deep historical identity with a marked urban and industrial dynamism.

The town originated in the 10th century, but its great impetus came from 1141 onwards, when Alfonso VII granted it to the Bishop of Palencia. This event decisively marked its development, which was further boosted by charters and the construction of the Church of Santa María and a palace-fortress, now lost after the Revolt of the Comuneros in 1520.

Santa María la Mayor, a proto-Gothic jewel from the 13th century, stands out for its fortified character and its elegant Renaissance tower, and the eleven-arched Gothic bridge has crossed the Carrión River since the 14th century, historically articulating the territory.

In the nearby village of Calabazanos, the Santa Clara monastery, known as the adobe Escorial, has for centuries safeguarded the tradition of performing the Auto Sacramental of the Birth of Our Lord.

The Canal de Castilla also runs through Villamuriel, an infrastructure that decisively boosted local economic activity, as would later be the case, in 1978, with the installation of the FASA Renault automobile factory.

The town also preserves excavated wine cellars and spectacular gypsum quarries, silent witnesses to one of the most traditional cultural heritages of the Cerrato region.