San Blas Chapel

The Hermitage of San Blas is a small popular hermitage of religious character located in La Alberca, in the province of Salamanca, within the Sierra de Francia, very close to the avenue of Batuecas and the access to Las Batuecas. It is a heritage resource linked to the traditional religious landscape of the town and to its ancient funerary environment, since it was also known as that of the Santos Mártires and was associated for a long time with the cemetery of La Alberca. The sources consulted do not give an exact date of construction, but it does have a clearly traditional typology and simple architecture, typical of the popular construction solutions of the Sierra de Francia. The building has a rectangular floor plan, a single nave, covered entrance porch and belfry, elements that define its current image and its use as a small place of worship. The hermitage is especially linked to one of the best known traditions of La Alberca, the Day of the Banner. According to local tradition, the banner preserved as a symbol of the town is placed on the belfry during the annual pilgrimage, maintaining a historical custom of strong identity value for the town. In the patrimonial context of La Alberca, declared a Historic-Artistic Site in 1940, the San Blas Chapel is part of the group of small rural chapels that preserve the religious and festive memory of the municipality. Its interest is both devotional and ethnographic, due to its relationship with popular celebrations and with the historical configuration of the accesses to the urban center.