The 12th-century romanesque church of San Salvador in La Pernía

The former colegiata of San Salvador, now a parish church, is located in the locality of San Salvador de Cantamuda, within the municipality of La Pernía in the province of Palencia and in the comarca of Montaña Palentina, in Castilla y León. This church was founded by Countess Maria Elvira, wife of Rodrigo Guntis and niece of Fernando I, who was buried here. For this reason, it was a patronato until 1123. The construction of the current structure dates from the year 1185, when Alfonso VIII created the county of Pernía in favor of the bishop Don Raimundo.

Its construction is situated at the end of the 12th or the beginning of the 13th century. The church stands completely and outside in a green field to the south of the main village, where livestock still grazes, on a level slightly lower than the road, which favors its contemplation. The exterior is a harmonious set of well-defined volumes: the most photogenic element of the exterior is its western facade, with a beautiful bell-gable of Spanish romanesque, being its most emblematic feature.

The western facade's west gable continues in height through two sections that have double bell openings. It culminates in a triangular shape in height. The western facade is pointed and consists of three arches of simple construction, opening in the west gable, below a large window. The facade and window are framed in a large semicircular arch that extends to the start of the bell-gable. The south facade opens under a modern porch. The central one is decorated with a baquetón and bezantes.

Outside the set there is a canopy, deteriorated. Each one of the bell openings is recessed and the exterior arch that decorates it carries a canopy, a decorated capital, and a monolithic column set on a small base with checkerboard balls. The imposta of the capital continues towards the sides through a small decorative molding. The window that opens on the south side of the transept features an arch with a base of baquetón that rests on capitals decorated with tracery and human faces respectively. Below, small columns rest on their bases. Outside the arch, a canopy is decorated with diamonds.

The apse cornices are supported by canecillos of varied decoration, which have a shell profile, while the ones of the transept and lantern are sculpted with themes such as leaves tipped with balls or pinecones, striped palmettes, crossed lozenges, squat characters, and some schematic animal heads. Inside, the altar table features romanesque columns. The church interior also includes a delightful collection of columnettes with carved shafts. The columnette on the south side in the lower body features a graceful face sculpted in its upper part, just below the lacy capital that bears it.

The plan of a Latin cross has a triabsidal head, a short central nave and a very protruding transept, formed by the intersection of the central nave and the transept. To the east, both the central nave and the two sides of the transept end in drum apses, the central one being larger. The central apse is divided horizontally by a simple sill that runs below the window sills and vertically by two prismatic pillars that rise to the sill and on which rest pairs of thin columns with capitals featuring simple volutes.\n The central apse cylinder is structured in three sections (each bearing a simple window) by two prismatic plinths that continue - starting from a simple molding located below the level of the windows - through double columns with capitals to the cornice, which, together with a succession of undecorated canecillos, help to sustain.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons