the artistic scene

• Monastery of Santa Maria de Valbuena
• The Parish Church of Olivares de Duero
• Castle of Peñafiel “Wine Museum”
• Monastery of Palazuelo
• Ribera House- House of Ribera
• Noble House (Olivares de Duero)

Monastery of Santa Maria de Valbuena

On the 15th of February, 1143, Estefanía de Armegol, granddaughter of Count Ansurez, founder of the city of Valladolid, founded the Monastery according to the order of San Benito. In 1151 Cistercian Monks from the French abbey of Berdona repopulated the house and would go on living there until the sale of Church lands.

The XII century meant prosperity for the Monastery thanks to a number of papal, royal and noble privileges but also because of the hard work of the monks. A slow decline started in the XII century, being completed in the following century. On march, 4th in 1430, Francisco Martín de Vargas initiated, in this very monastery, the reform of the Congregation of Castile to return to the old Sanctity of the Cister. From that moment, it stopped being accountable to Berdona and started being accountable to Poble, being the house of the Congregation of Castile until 1555 under the name of the Monastery of San Bernardo de Valbuena.

This revival would go on throughout the XVII century, leading to its decline the following century and disappearance with the sale of Church Lands of Mendizabal

In 1950, after changing hands a few times, the property was purchased, after being declared as an expropriation ‘of social interest’, by the National Colonization Institute. Its purpose was to design a settlement to provide accommodation for 84 colonists whose village had been flooded by the water of a reservoir in the province of Guadalajara. The place, which had been answerable to the Diocese of Palencia until that moment, started to be accountable to the Diocese of Valladolid in 1954. The church was the owner and in 1957 the Archbishop acquired the rest of the monastery land and property. With the aim of promoting its restoration and housing its administrative headquarters and new activities, the Archbishopric of Valladolid transferred the full rights of ownership over the property to the ‘Ages of Man’ foundation.

The monastery is situated in the middle of the Ribera de Duero. You have to go across the river or via Quintanilla de Onésimo or Peñafiel, and the village of San Bernardo, with the Monastery of Santa María de Valbuena is located between the villages of Valbuena de Duero and Pesquera in Valladolid.

Its touristic location is not bad, as a visit can be complemented by visiting Peñafiel and its wine museum, as well as its religious local museum, on the one hand, and the marvellous altarpiece by Juan de Soreda, the crowning moment of the Renaissance in Castile, which is kept in the parish church in Olivares de Duero, on the other. You can also visit some wineries in the area of Valbuena de Duero

The Parish Church of Olivares de Duero

The altarpiece of Olivares de Duero is one of the most spectacular among the existing altarpieces in the province of Valladolid and a crowning moment of the Spanish pictorial renaissance.

It is revered because great masters took part in the painting of the altarpiece (Master of Olivares, Juan Soreda) as well as in the architecture (Pedro de Guadalupe) and sculpture (Schools of ‘San Pelayo y de la Asunción’ by Proginie Vigarnista and The Calvary by Alonso de Berruguete). This way painting, assembly and sculpture are at their highest level.

The style of its decorative elements allows to date it in the third decade of the 16th century (circa 1526).

The altarpiece takes the form of a triptych, bending the three canvases to adapt them to the polygonal shape of the gothic apse of the church. It has one pew with a line of paintings above it; three sections and a spectacular attic formed by three arches that crown the three canvases.

Vertically there are seven sections. The central one, allocated to sculpture, contains the image of the main Saint- San Pelayo, The Asunción and a group of the Calvary and it is organized in a different and independent way from the others, occupied by painted panels. The panels situated at both ends are projecting. It also has some dust covers on both sides which work as festoons for fruit and weapons.

The paintings are placed in the ‘Predella’, three sections and the attic, adding up to fifty-one exhibits. You can see them throughout all these different parts of the church.

The design of the altarpiece features typical plateresque architecture due to its decoration and division into numerous niches, where all the paintings are shown separated by thin columns. The architectural plan is harmonious and geometric.

Castle of Peñafiel “Wine Museum”

The wine museum has a very singular character due to its content and its location, which turns it into a very interesting museum, very important in its genre. It is also a centre for all kinds of activities related to wine culture, for instance temporary exhibitions, conferences, tasting courses, centre for research and study, etc. In the central part of the wine museum we find a permanent exhibition, in a room which allows visitors to be introduced to the world of wine through the different sections it has: the vine plant, vine growing, fermentation, craftsmen, measuring tools, crianza and reserve (ageing), practical advice, wine-tasting, consumption, quality and marketing, the wine in history, art and local festivals and gastronomy.

In order to achieve a very high didactic efficiency, the latest techniques and systems have been taken into account to show the contents. The sequence of contents has been ordered, so as to keep the visitors’ attention throughout the whole visit, having, at the same time, some resting points along the way.

The contents exhibited with different techniques will make the visit very pleasant, maintaining the visitor’s interest constantly. The village of Peñafiel is the main capital of a number of municipalities, and it is situated at a crossing of roads and cultures, 56 km away from the city of Valladolid to the East, just 40 minutes away by car.

From Madrid, it is a just little over 175 km., one hour and forty-five minutes by car. You can get there via the N-1 and then take CN-122 in Aranda de Duero (25 minutes) or alternatively you can take the Segovia road (1 hour) and then go via Cuellar (20 minutes)

Monastery of Palazuelo

In the 12th century, the Cistercian Monks arrived at the Monastery of Palazuelos and introduced the vine in the zones of Cubillas, Cigales, Mucientes, etc., always around the great Monastic Centre. All through recent years, vineyards have been farmed and wines have been made in Cubillas according to the tastes of each era.

Ribera House- House of Ribera

This is a house built with traditional materials from Ribera de Duero, situated in ‘Calle Concejillo’ where a married couple, Mariano and Tomasa, are anchored in the past, living life as it were at the beginning of the 20th century.

A visit around the different rooms of the house, such as the hall, winepress, the cellar, and stable, will allow some of us to relive, and some others to discover, the old traditional customs and way of life, in a time when physical labour controlled daily life. Words were also important, as were oral communication and passing on the knowledge to the next generation. So let Tomasa and Mariano speak...

Noble House (Olivares de Duero)

The Marquis of Olivares built, in the 16th century, a noble house with stables, cellars and many other rooms and facilities. This house and cellar has survived through time and history to this day and age.

In the 17th century, it was a Jesuit Convent until the expulsion of the Jesuits by Carlos III in the 19th century. It is in this period when the family Moro took charge of the house until the present day, when Carlos Moro, who was devoted to the world of vine growing and oenology, decided, together with his family, to restore the buildings and the cellar and create a top-quality wine.