Castilfrío de la Sierra (Sorian Highlands)

They are behind, then, Carrascosa and its mysteries and in half a dozen kilometers, approximately, we come to a village, Castilfrío, also of the Sierra, that still, and even in spite of the stigmas of depopulation that so deeply affected this picturesque Soria's plot known as the Highlands, certainly keeps alive a meritorious part of its ancient spirit and splendor.

It is not a trivial statement, in any way, if one takes into account, first, that we speak of one of the most important mountain populations, together with Oncala and San Pedro Manrique; and second, that still stand with defiant pride, many are the old houses of its conurned urban area, which look, with more or less deterioration-that after all, pride in the face of time, little or nothing has to do- , a heraldry that speaks of ancient lineages and manors probably granted in the time of reconquest and subsequently increased, preserved and expanded by the wealth generated by livestock, mainly sheep, which once characterized the region.

High on the top of a mountain known as San Miguel-remember, that this Christian champion replaced former ancient divinities, such as the Roman Jupiter, which, according to Vitruvius, had to be dedicated to temples and altars in the highest places- It has documentary evidence of the existence of this town, at least, in the year 1270, time in which it is noted with the name of Castill Frido or Castiel Frido, name based on the qualities of their environment.

As the most relevant artistic-religious element, how much with the imposing mass of its parish church, dated in the sixteenth century, dedicated to the figure of the Assumption, although it is likely that it replaced an earlier Romanesque church, of which there is no trace , if we except two important elements that are located in its interior, although also it is possible that these could have belonged in origin to some of the churches of depopulated nearby, as they can be those of Sotillo or San Bartolomé: a formidable baptismal font, with the shape of a glass - the Grail imaginary, which symbolically grants eternal life with the waters of baptism - whose central part is decorated with intertwined arches - very similar to one of the models that can be seen in the famous cloister of the not too distant monastery of San Juan de Duero- as well as with geometric motifs in the upper part, where you can see, also, several small crosses of the tip or called patado or pate, that perhaps have some relation with the second Romanesque element to which reference was made.

This is no other than the magnificent Marian carving of the Virgen de la Encina, popularly and affectionately known as La Carrascala, which also has a hermitage dedicated to the outskirts of the town, in which it stands out, apart from other details, its octagonal dome.

Among the civil buildings of Castilfrío, and located a few meters from the church, stands out the house of the famous writer Fernando Sánchez Dragó, easily recognizable by the two formidable heads of Buddha that looks on both ends.

Not far from this, and also from the tower of the church, is located the so-called Casona del Obispo Solano and something further from both, and practically ruined, you can see the remains of what was probably the most important hacienda of Castilfrío: that known as the house that has more windows than days of the year, referring to the length and importance of its stables.

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NOTICE: originally posted on my blog SORIA WAY WALK WALKING. Both the text, as the photographs, and the video (except music, reproduced under a YouTube license), are my exclusive intellectual property. The original entry, where you can check the authorship of juancar347, can be found at the following address: https://juancar347.blogspot.com/2015/09/castilfrio-de-la-sierra.html

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