Soria, Aguilera: the mysterious Romanesque church of San Martín

Close to the environment, although going into the interior, but following the general road that connects two towns of certain importance, such as Almazán and the Burgo de Osma, it is worth stopping in some towns and approaching their parishes. That would be the case, to begin with, of the small town of Aguilera and its curious and interesting church, dedicated to the figure of San Martín de Tours.

Although there seems to be no historical documentation to support it, some sources observe certain templarism in this temple that, by its nature, has been well established, as was customary at the time-the twelfth century, when the region represented part of the so-called frontier of the Duero , which separated Christian Spain from Muslim Spain - an example - abundant, certainly in the province - of what has been called the church-fortress.

Belonging or not, at some point to the templars, what is certain is that the presence of military orders in the vicinity is proven, as evidenced by the proximity of the temple of San Juan Bautista, Hortezuela, which is supposed , it belonged to a convent or an encomienda of the order of St. John of Jerusalem and on whose cover its shield can still be seen, sporting a magnificent Maltese cross

Next to both towns, there is also the important square of Berlanga de Duero -with its magnificent collegiate church dedicated to the figure of Santa María del Mercado or the Azogue, its impressive walled castle and its Cidian legends-, and some insignificant kilometers beyond, in majestic solitude, the inimitable Mozarabic church of San Baudelio de Berlanga.

As in the cases we have seen previously, also in this church of Aguilera, draw attention to the volumetric proportions of its cover, as well as the representations of the capitals that serve as a basis of sustenance to its six archivolts.

Capitals, composed of foliaceous motifs, birds drinking from a fountain and a pair of harpies, on the left side, seconded by another foliaceous motif, a fight between knights and a third, the central, rather unusual, or at least unusual, showing two individuals turning by the feet to a third. Numerous and varied, too, are the cruciferous motifs or pilgrim graffiti, which can be seen on the walls of its colorful porticoed gallery, as well as some brands of stonework and alquerques, or triple Celtic enclosures, which remind us, as well, part of the strategy deployed, for example, by the
Templars in their strengths.

Question of opinions or not, personally I observe a greater skill in the design of the plant motifs of the capitals of the portico, superior - I repeat to repeat, in my opinion - those other anthropomorphic representations that complement it, whose hand, in addition, does not seem be the same as the one that worked the previously described capitals of the main portico of entrance: Mudejar hands, perhaps, specialized in such themes, since any other type of anthropomorphic representation was forbidden ?.

Even, it could be the case, in addition, that this, that is, the main portico, was not originally from this temple and could have been incorporated later, as happened with the tower. Regardless of any type of speculation, it does seem evident, however, the use of filler elements, as shown by those capitals that are located on the upper front of the porticoed gallery, on the outside, which fit in the place where they should there have been the corbels that would complement those that still remain, consisting of human heads and animal heads.

As a colophon, and for information purpose to expand the route, entering berlanguesas lands, add that there is a rural road, which in just half a dozen kilometers, leads to Berlanga de Duero.

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NOTICE: Although originally published on my blog SORIA IS WAY WALKING, this entry is unpublished in Steemit. Both the text, photographs, and video (with the exception of music, reproduced under a YouTube license) are my exclusive intellectual property. The original entry can be found at the following address: https://juancar347.blogspot.com.es/2014/11/aguilera-chlesia-de-san-martin.html

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