El Club · Santillana del Mar

These two historic buildings of traditional civil architecture of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries are attached to the main square of the town. They are currently used as an exhibition hall by the Government of Cantabria, where visitors can admire the classic mountain architecture on the outside and tour inside different temporary exhibitions of high quality focused on art, ethnography or regional culture.

This 12th century temple is the most representative monument of the town and one of the jewels of Romanesque art in Cantabria, giving rise to the very name of the town. During the visit highlights its impressive Romanesque cloister, famous for the extraordinary beauty of its finely carved capitals, in addition to the interior of the church that houses the tomb of the martyr Santa Juliana and a valuable Gothic-Flemish altarpiece.

This permanent exhibition is dedicated to the history of torture and physical punishment in Europe from the Middle Ages to the industrial era. During the tour you can see an extensive collection of original instruments used for punishment and public humiliation, such as torture rack, clubs or guillotines, accompanied by explanatory panels on their use and historical context.

Located in a former convent of Dominican monks from the 16th century, this important museum of sacred art houses and exhibits more than a thousand religious pieces from churches all over Cantabria. Visitors can stroll through its beautiful Renaissance cloister and admire a rich collection that includes polychrome wood carvings, gold and silver work and enamels, offering a tour of great historical and artistic value.

This state institution is dedicated to the conservation and dissemination of the famous Altamira Cave and regional prehistory. The great attraction of the visit is the Neocueva, an exact three-dimensional reproduction that allows to contemplate the replicas of the spectacular ceiling of the polychrome bison, complemented by a permanent exhibition on the daily life, hunting and art of the Upper Paleolithic.

The Jesús Otero Museum and Foundation is a municipal museum of contemporary art dedicated to the Cantabrian sculptor Jesús Otero, located in the Plaza del Abad Francisco Navarro, in the historic center of Santillana del Mar, next to the Collegiate Church of Santa Juliana. The center gathers the work donated by the artist to his native town and is organized in the old house-workshop, with exhibition halls and an outdoor garden where sculptures are also displayed. The institution was created in 1994, from the donation made by the author in 1993, and was linked to the municipal management through a board of trustees. The museum conserves more than fifty sculptures, as well as drawings, sketches, utensils and work tools, which allows us to learn about the artist's production and creative process. Its patrimonial interest lies in the preservation of the original creation space and in the representation of an author closely linked to tradition and the Cantabrian rural landscape, with works in stone and wood of strong formal sobriety and expressiveness. It is, therefore, a cultural resource of reference in Santillana del Mar to understand contemporary Cantabrian sculpture from the local context in which it was conceived.

The Velarde Palace, also called Palacio de las Arenas, is a palatial manor house located in the Plaza de las Arenas in Santillana del Mar, next to the Collegiate Church, in Cantabria. It currently serves as a museum space and heritage tourist resource of the town, associated with the history of the Velarde family and the historic center of Santillana del Mar. It was built between the 15th and mid-16th centuries, with later alterations in the 17th century according to the sources consulted. It is a building of transition from Gothic to Renaissance, although the most reiterated characterization for its facade and composition is that of Renaissance or early Renaissance. The traditional attribution links the work to Alonso de Velarde. Among its most outstanding elements are the main façade, the stepped gable, the decorative pinnacles, the balconies, the supports and the coats of arms. Plateresque decoration is also mentioned in the main room, which reinforces its value as an example of noble architecture in the historic town. The palace is part of the monumental complex of Santillana del Mar, one of the most important heritage sites in Cantabria. Its interest lies both in its architecture and in its conservation and cultural reuse, which allow us to understand the social and artistic evolution of the town from the late Middle Ages to the Modern Age.

Santa Justa Beach is a small coastal spot in Santillana del Mar, in the town of Ubiarco, on the coast of Cantabria. It is a beach open to the north, about 100 meters long according to several tourist cards, with golden or toasted sand and occasional mixture of sand and stone; appears sheltered by a low cliff that forms a very characteristic frame of the Cantabrian coast. Its main singularity is the hermitage of Santa Justa, embedded under the rock and next to the edge of the beach, an element that turns this corner into one of the most recognizable images of the municipality. The place is interesting for the contrast between the sandy beach, the sea of moderate waves and the coastal relief, as well as for its quiet and uncrowded atmosphere, especially outside the high season. In the sources consulted it is described as a natural beach, isolated or rustic urbanization, with pedestrian and vehicular access and without great urban pressure. There is no specific figure of environmental protection for the sandy area, but it does have a notable landscape and heritage value due to the presence of the chapel and its integration into the cliff. Due to its small size, its windy nature and the changing state of the sea, it is an enclave more appreciated for the contemplation of the landscape and photography than for mass leisure bathing. Its tourist interest is based on that combination of abrupt coast, small inlet and traditional religious architecture, very representative of the coast of Santillana del Mar.

The Tower of Don Borja is a medieval tower-house located in the historic center of Santillana del Mar, in Cantabria, integrated in the old market square and very close to other noble buildings of the town. It is a heritage resource of civilian character, not a church or a castle, linked to the lineage of the Barreda and the mountain stately architecture. The current construction dates from the 15th century and presents a mixture of medieval tower and baroque mansion, with a later extension and organization around an inner courtyard of the 16th century. Its main volume is completed with another body separated by that courtyard, an unusual feature in this type of buildings and highlighted in the heritage descriptions consulted. Among its most recognizable elements are the square floor plan, the three stories, the linteled openings and the heraldic coats of arms of the Barreda family on the façade. The sources consulted also indicate that it was linked to different noble families and that it was later used for residential and cultural purposes, which explains its conservation and rehabilitation as a place to visit. It currently functions as a cultural center with exhibitions and guided tours, and is part of the historical-artistic heritage of Santillana del Mar, declared a historic-artistic site in 1943.

The Santillana del Mar Zoo is a private zoo and wildlife park located in Santillana del Mar, Cantabria, at the coordinates indicated, within an enclosure of about six hectares and 60,000 m² accessible. It is not a historical monument, but a natural and educational tourist resource linked to the observation and conservation of animals. Its opening dates back to 1977, in the context of the project promoted by José Ignacio Pardo de Santayana, and since then it has been focused on nature conservation and environmental education. The official sources of the center itself present it as a member of AIZA and EAZA, and as a participating space in more than 40 programs for the conservation of endangered species. Among its most outstanding elements is its approach as a Biodiversity Reserve, with open-air trails and zoological collections aimed at dissemination. Several sources also describe it as a Quaternary Zoo and Park, a name that alludes to its focus on current fauna and species linked to the evolution of life in the Quaternary. Therefore, in the heritage file it should be classified as a zoological park / natural space for tourist and educational use, with a modern foundation in the 20th century and no applicable historical architectural style.