Torices brings together San Martín Church, historical traces of religious life, and a landscape of rolling hills and mountains. You can explore the village through both its architecture and its rural surroundings. When planning your stay, you can decide whether to focus on church art, local history, or the named routes.
San Martín Church and Its Art
San Martín Church has a single, relatively wide rectangular nave with a wooden gabled roof. Its western bell gable is built of rubble masonry and has three sound openings; the upper openings feature twin round arches. The church was probably built in the 16th century, although its exact construction date is unknown.
The furnishings include popular Baroque altarpieces and sculptures from churches in other villages that have since disappeared. The Gospel chapel contains a copy of an unusual shaft featuring a relief of a large snake. The original is said to be in the Diocesan Museum of Santillana del Mar today. San Martín thus offers both a distinctive architectural form and artworks from a variety of places of origin.
The undecorated baptismal font is shaped like a truncated cone. Its form and size suggest that it may date from the Romanesque period. This attribution should be treated with caution: it applies to the baptismal font, while the church itself probably dates from the 16th century.
Religious History in Torices
Records show that in 1165 King Alfonso VIII donated Santa Cristina de Torices, along with other churches, to Sahagún Monastery and its abbot, Guterio. The document in question was copied in the 18th century. Torices was also home to a monastery called San Marín. These records add other places and names from the village’s religious history to the picture of San Martín Church.
Landscape, Hiking, and Mountain Biking
Torices lies in hilly to mountainous terrain, with forests of oaks, beeches, holm oaks, and cork oaks. Liébana’s local climate allows vines, numerous fruit trees, legumes, and garden crops to be grown; natural pastures and meadows are also found here. Forests, cultivated land, and pasture together shape the village’s rural character.
A hiking route documented in September 2023 runs from Torices via Somaniezo to Cornón de La Sagra, at an elevation of 2,048 metres. Check the relevant terrain warnings before using this route. For a different kind of outing, the “MTB Center Valle de Liébana. Valle Estrechu” mountain-bike route passes through Torices and continues from there to Collada Perejita. The routes differ in both mode of travel and destination: the hike leads to the summit of Cornón, while the mountain-bike route continues to Collada Perejita.
Access and Finding Accommodation
A municipal route from Potes to Puerto de Piedras Luengas reaches Torices after Cabezón de Liébana. For road access, a local road branches off the CA-184 between Ojedo and Piedrasluengas. If you are looking for a holiday apartment, you can tailor your choice to your plans in Torices—for example, visiting the church, learning about local history, or taking one of the named routes.
Discover more destinations: Los Corrales De Buelna, Ontón, Salces, Arnuero, Las Ilces, Hermandad De Campoo De Suso, Silió, Puente San Miguel
For the regional travel overview: Cantabria.
