Art and Travel Notebooks: for the Burgos Merindades. The Romanesque church of Santa María de Siones

The Burgos Merindades, a truly special region, which treasures, greeds and collects upon itself, numerous artistic historical wonders, as well as an unimaginable number of fascinating mysteries, associated with them.

Names like San Lorenzo de Vallejo, Santa María de Siones, San Pedro de Tejada or San Pantaleón de Losa produce in themselves a curious vibration; a silent and incomprehensible wake-up call, which challenges everyone - regardless of the reasons that lead him around - to find answers to his many and enduring historical riddles.

Any of them, in essence, contains enough subliminal symbols, keys and messages to baffle the most well versed researcher.

As if this were not enough, the legends about the Holy Grail are so abundant - with or without meaning - that a business card would not detract, of course, presenting the region as its ‘Grail Mercies’.

The nomenclature, of course, plays an important role, and it has been through it, among other things, how numerous myths have been brewing.

Perhaps the name of the town in which it sits so magnificent and at the same time disconcerting church of Santa María, Siones, and its proximity to a mountain range of no less suggestive name -of la Magdalena- as well as some symbols of supposed transcendence that are located inside the temple, they have been the ideal triggers to explode a protohistoric bomb that, although it may have been plausible - it is also a matter of discarding anything a priori, however, there is reliable documentation and in sufficient quantity to endorse it.

I refer to the relationship of the Order of the Temple with the place.

On the contrary, there seems to be a certain and revealing veritas, in the hypothesis recently contributed by Laura Alberich and Manuel Gila who, etymologically speaking, observe in the name of Siones, a deformation of the original name of the place, Sant-Ioannis; that is, Saint John: Saint Mary of Saint John.

If I wanted to curl the curl, I could say, happily, that such a relevant discovery would not go against the Templar theory in any way, because hypothetically speaking and independently of referring to one or the other - Baptist or Evangelist - both were an important part of the particular saints. of these Christi militias, because not in vain the two Juanes represent, in a decisive and symbolic way, the two solstices: summer and winter.

It is true, likewise, that few Romanesque churches still have intact interiors so extensive, and at the same time incredible symbology. And few, I have to add, in a personal capacity, capable of keeping so much pagan figure at bay, when not of demonic origin, like the ones I had the opportunity to contemplate last August and that can be seen perfectly in the video that illustrates This entry.

However, and despite the fact that I have left many unknowns - unknowns that, I must confess, are still valid today - what struck me most, in fact, were not the Templars; nor the hospital ones, of more probable presence in Santa Maria, especially after the first ones were suppressed; I didn't even know that I was in a secondary branch of the Way of the Stars.

No, what struck me the most - and in the election I gather Manuel Gila's words - was to meet the pastor of Siones, Don Bernardino. Knowing him, talking with him and observing the concern for his parish and for also unraveling those keys that, after all, are a forgotten inheritance, but that belongs to us all, let me know that, possibly, I was in the presence of the well, very well it could be called, the Last Custodian.

Santa María, fortunately and without subtracting any merit from Don Bernardino, is still there. And, evidently, all its enigmas, its keys, its mysteries and teachings, too.

As with all things in this life, observation is paramount.

So, Walkers, that if you ever pass by there, do not make the mistake of seeing it as a beautiful but old church, but as an open book that waits impatiently to be read again by the more readers better.

And a little tip: Templar and hospitable, deep down, they are irrelevant.

NOTICE: Originally published in my blog ROMÁNICA, ENIGMAS DEL ROMÁNICO ESPAÑOL. Both the text and the accompanying photographs are my exclusive intellectual property. The original entry, where you can verify the authorship of juancar347, can be found at the following address: http://juancar347-romanica.blogspot.com/2010/03/siones-enigmatica-iglesia-de-santa.html

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