Santas Martas

A route shaped by the Camino

Tourism in Santas Martas revolves around one defining fact: the Camino de Santiago has passed through here since the Middle Ages. Pilgrims who cross Reliegos, one of the villages in the municipality, enter via Calle Real, following a route already recorded in medieval documents. That same street still structures the settlement today.

At this point on the Camino there was once a pilgrims’ hospital. Jacobean sources often attribute its foundation to Bishop Pelayo of León in the late 11th century. For centuries it served as one of the few places between León and the area of Astorga where travellers could find shelter. The presence of the hospital reflects how important this stretch of the route once was, when the steady movement of people shaped daily life in the area.

The Camino still passes through, but its role has changed over time. What remains is a traceable line across the landscape, one that continues to guide people through Reliegos much as it did hundreds of years ago.

A place that outlived its own past

Santas Martas takes its name from the parish of Santa Marta, yet much of its historical development is tied to Reliegos, which grew around the Camino. Early medieval texts also refer to the church of San Esteban, linked to royal donations from the 10th century associated with the circle of Ordoño II. This suggests that the territory was already organised well before the flow of pilgrims increased its activity.

The fortunes of the area rose and fell with the Camino. While the route remained central, the hospital and surrounding settlements maintained their importance. When traffic declined during the Early Modern period, the area returned to the scale of a typical agricultural village in the south of the province.

Centuries later, something entirely unrelated to pilgrimage briefly brought attention back to Reliegos. On 28 December 1947, a meteorite fell here. The recovered fragment ended up in the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, and the घटना is still cited in Spanish geology manuals. It is an unusual twist in the story of a place long known to those who passed through on foot. Its moment of wider recognition came from something that arrived from the sky.

Traces in the open landscape

Medieval records mention small villages in the surrounding area that have since disappeared. Names such as Pinilla, Escarbajosa and Valdearcos now survive mainly in archives and old maps. The land still holds faint clues to their existence. Stone alignments reveal where livestock enclosures once stood, while isolated wells and very old trees hint at former dwellings.

The present-day landscape reflects a long process of population concentration. Cereal fields dominate the view, stretching across the plain. At intervals, adobe dovecotes appear. These circular or square structures were part of the traditional rural economy. Pigeons were raised there, with particular use made of their droppings as fertiliser.

Wine also left its mark on the terrain. Small hills often contain cellars dug into the earth. From the outside, they look like low huts with a door and a vent. Beneath them lie underground galleries where wine could be kept at a stable temperature throughout the year. These features remain part of the visual identity of the area, even where their original use has faded.

Moments when the villages fill up

For most of the year, Santas Martas is quiet. That changes at the end of July, when the fiestas of Santa Marta take place. Over a few days, the municipality gathers far more people than it normally holds. These are not large-scale events. Organisation usually falls to local groups or peñas, who arrange shared meals, music and cooking competitions.

Winter brings a different kind of gathering. Around Candlemas, bonfires are lit in some of the villages. This celebration is widespread across the Meseta, the central plateau of Spain, and blends religious customs with older practices linked to the agricultural calendar. The fires mark a pause in the colder months, offering a point of continuity with traditions that have shaped rural life for generations.

The Camino still sets the pace

The Camino Francés crosses the municipality through Reliegos and continues towards Mansilla de las Mulas. This is an open stretch, without major gradients, where agricultural land fills the horizon. The sense of distance comes less from elevation than from the breadth of the plain.

Calle Real in Reliegos preserves the traditional layout of the route. It runs as a long street that organises the village from one end to the other, following the same line used by pilgrims in earlier centuries. The continuity is clear, even as the context around it has changed.

There is also frequent mention of the so-called Vía Trajana, a historical variant that avoids passing through the city of León and heads directly east. In some sections it is marked with stone milestones, though most pilgrims continue along the main itinerary of the Camino Francés. Its presence adds another layer to the network of routes that have crossed this area over time.

Reaching Santas Martas today

Santas Martas lies on the plain to the south-east of León. The most direct access is usually via the N-601 road towards Sahagún, from which turn-offs lead to the different villages in the municipality.

It is not a destination designed for large organised visits. A slower approach suits it better. Walking a section of the Camino between nearby villages or heading out to see the dovecotes and traditional wine cellars that remain in use offers a clearer sense of the place.

Distances on the map can appear short, yet the openness of the landscape changes how they feel. In summer, the sun is strong across the plain. Carrying water and using a car can make it easier to explore the agricultural tracks that connect the former village sites.

Santas Martas retains a restrained character, even within one of Europe’s most travelled pilgrimage routes. There is no staging or monumental display. What appears here is essentially what has always been: a place of passage in the Leonese plain where its long history can still be read in the ground.