Church of Santa Maria

The church is situated in the Valley of Liébana, which became important during the Muslim invasions because of the natural protection provided by the peaks of Picos de Europa. It was also a place where Visigoth art flourished. Despite its relative isolation, there was considerable cultural and intellectual development in this region during this period. Saint Beatus of Liébana lived there in the eighth century. He wrote the Commentary on the Apocalypse (Commentaria In Apocalypsin), which was widely diffused during the High Middle Ages and is one of the finest examples of a Mozarab illuminated manuscript.

The Church of Santa Maria de Lebeña is a good example of the art and architecture of the Repoblación. This comprises works created in the Christian kingdoms of northern Spain between the end of the ninth and the beginning of the eleventh centuries, which are also referred to as Mozarab. According to two documents from the Cartulaire de Santo Toribio, the construction of the building was ordered by the counts of Liébana, Don Alfonso and Dona Justa. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the church was restored, but not always correctly. Although the main elements of the original were maintained, some of the additions were in fact incorrect.

The church's plan is in the form of a Greek cross. There are three chapels on the eastern side—the two chapels either side of the central one are shorter and narrower. The nave is covered with cradle vaults whose longitudinal axes are those of the central nave and apses, and whose transversal axes are those of the lateral naves. The church has stone walls, whose corners have been consolidated with freestone. The horseshoe arches rest on columns with circular shafts, upon which are Corinthian capitals of Asturian tradition. The central bay is exceptionally high. The effect of this can be seen from both inside and outside the church, thanks to the various heights of the different parts of the building and the different slants of the roofs. The double-sloping roofs form eaves ornamented with modillions and lobed decorations ornamented with swastikas and six-petal flowers, which also comprises a border of buds, tendrils, and other vegetal motifs. Other buildings were later added, but not always in harmony with the building's style. There is a sacristy on the north façade, and a gateway and campanile in the neo-Mozarab style, built at the start of the twentieth century.

The building has some interesting decorative elements: the chapel entrances are ornamented with semi-circular arches, whose imposts are decorated with vegetal motifs in the Visigoth style, upon which are two vertical bands—an imitation of the rectangular band framing Islamic arches. The rich decoration of the capitals, in the Visigoth style, with bells decorated with vegetal motifs and moulded abacuses, exemplify the quality of the design. It is relevant to note at this point that the church had great symbolic importance. On the front of the altar, there is a large stone slab ornamented with circles filled with various radial motifs symbolizing life on earth, spiritual life, and salvation. The central motif is a double circle with a swastika, around which are six circles with geometric motifs. The solar symbols and other Celtic signs were no doubt imported by the Visigoths and Mozarabs in Spain.

The Church of Saint Maria de Lebeña is a fine example of the art and architecture of the Repoblación, which was influenced by Visigoth and Mozarab art. Located in the unique setting of the Valley of Liébana, it attests to a unique period in the development of art in the Iberian Peninsula in the Middle Ages.