San Saturio in Soria

I wanted a calm day with some walking, and so we set off to see the Hermitage of San Saturio in Soria.

Hermitage of San Saturio on the far side of the Duero River

A brief history

In the 6th century Saturio¹, a Sorian nobleman, distributed his inherited wealth among the poor of the town and moved into some caves above the Duero River. Here he built an oratory in honour of San Miguel de la Pena and lived in the caves for 30 years as a hermit. Prudencia was a young follower who passed on his beliefs. It snows heavily here in the winter and so it is hard to imagine living in a cave, which was probably damp.

In 1694-1704 the Town Council built today’s church, and in 1743 proclaimed Saturio the Patron Saint of Soria. His Festival is celebrated each year on 2 October and last year we were lucky enough to see some of the processions.

Hermitage of San Saturio

The Hermitage has the original caves in which Saturio lived, and above them the Baroque Chapel.The buildings are perched high above the Duero and can be accessed from either side of the river.

Interlinking caves have chapels, altars, and shrines, and the hermit’s cell.

The Baroque Chapel is quite dark and paintings cover every inch of the walls and ceiling. Unlike the caves the Chapel did not have a strong atmosphere.

Soto Playo

This little park is on the River Duero and it is a good place to walk. It was easy walking for me last year and it was calming this time after the starkness of the Hermitage. The Duero is a beautiful river here, below the town, and it would be good to explore its walks.² Last year we visited the nearby Monastery of San Juan.

An evening stroll

At the end of the day in Spain, certainly in Soria, you put on nice clothes and sit down in a cafe in a little square and watch the world go by – with a medicinal glass to hand, of course!