Berlanga de Duero, monumental historical city

There is no doubt that Berlanga de Duero is one of the oldest and most historic villas in the entire community and land of Soria.

From their primitive Celtiberian origins, the exorbitant amount of archeological remains found is good testimony, although, as is well said, poorly studied and cataloged.

There are also testimonies of the period of Roman domination, to the point that not a few historians see in the Berlanga term a modification of the ancient Latin word Valeránica, used, as was also customary, in honor of the Roman emperors of the time of the conquest

It is striking, as soon as the traveler stops at a sufficient distance to see a complete panorama of this fascinating and ancient city, the good state of conservation of its imposing castle and the novelty that it implies finding, also in an acceptable conservation also , the formidable walled enclosure that surrounded it in the Middle Ages.

Seated on an immemorial cliff, carved with patience throughout the millennia by the Escalote River, tributary of the great father Duero, the medieval chronicles say that one of its lords was nothing less than Mr. Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, the Cid Campeador.

Below the castle, and forming part of the square, where you can also see a magnificent sculpture of Fray Tomás de Berlanga, the former Renaissance palace of the Condestable or the Marquises of Berlanga, semi-ruined, conveys, however, interesting sensations.

Its interesting facade, together with the nakedness of the window frames that once housed one of the most powerful families in the region, are a clear allegory to what the great poet Gabriel Celaya, called at the time as' the syndrome of Byzantium ': the inexorable passage of time.

It could be said, however and in spite of its beauty, that this, time, little or nothing has passed for the old arcades and for the old constructions, that of doors inside the wall that formerly protected the city and its inhabitants , they still offer the interesting perspective of the clustered neighborhoods, with narrow alleys and mysteries that are now part of the memories forgotten by history.

It should be noted, the elegance of some of the period mansions, which survive in the important Calle Real, a few meters from the Plaza Mayor and which flows into the medieval Puerta de Aguilera, nowadays converted, either in schools, or in foundations cultural, but whose facades preserve, to the visitor's intrigue, the mystery of the most stale baroque and Renaissance symbolism.

In this regard, it should be noted that when you enter the historic center of Berlanga, you have the feeling that all of its streets look stealthily towards the old fortress, in Caliphate times and dependent on the neighboring city of Medinaceli or Ciudad del Cielo and Solomon City, as it is also recognized, and perhaps from there derives its association with the famous King Solomon's Table or Table, lost, it is assumed, when the Muslim invasion of the Peninsula.

Undoubtedly, the Plaza Mayor is the ideal meeting place for the Berlangueses and by default, the one that offers the most hospitality and catering attractions to the visitor, whose establishments and terraces can taste the formidable culinary richness typical of Soria, genuinely watered With excellent wines, whose designation of origin, Ribera del Duero, offer a more than enough guarantee of excellence and quality.

It also has Berlanga, with a magnificent Gothic Collegiate Church, dedicated to Santa María del Mercado.

It is worth noting, in this sense, that they were frequent, in the squares, villas and medieval Spanish cities, this dedication to the figure of the Virgin, adding the addition of the Market or the Azogue, its name in Arabic, to highlight the place to whose vera were installed the stalls and markets, which constituted themselves, part of their commercial wealth.

In this regard, it is known that in the Neolithic times, cultures from that distant period acted in a similar way, proceeding to exchange their products in the vicinity of those other religious elements known as dolmens, being the most relevant pieces and those that determined the social position, the oxen. Hence, possibly, and within the numerous symbology associated with this animal, the custom was maintained until relatively recent times.

Of the Collegiate Church, it is worth mentioning the numerous works of Art that it contains in its interior, where a gothic figure of Santa María del Mercado is venerated, enthroned and with the Child on her knees and also - focus of numerous legends about imposing snakes and dragons- the spectacular specimen of the crocodile that Fray Tomás de Berlanga brought from the Indies, with an associated Marian legend, because the tradition says that by his mediation, a marriage of Spanish nobles was saved from being eaten by such a dreadful beast.

Recently, and since it is located a few kilometers from its municipal district, in Berlanga has created an Interpretation Center of the interesting and recommended Mozarabic hermitage of San Baudelio de Berlanga, whose original paintings were sold miserably, in the twenties of the century past, and today constitute a stellar piece of the famous American museum of Los Claustros.

It also has Berlanga, with an excellent variety of catering and catering establishments, capable of satisfying the needs of the most demanding travelers.

As for adventure and cultural routes, it could be said that it is also a key point, since it is located about thirty kilometers, approximately from Soria capital, about thirty also from the stately city of El Burgo de Osma and the confluence of the Canyon of the Río Lobos, about ten of the impressive Mozarabic hermitage of San Baudelio de Berlanga, and a short distance from the border with another land that also has many attractions to offer: Guadalajara.

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