The Santo Toribio de Liébana monastery – a National Monument

The Santo Toribio de Liébana monastery is a Franciscan monastery located in the municipality of Camaleño and close to Potes, in the region of Liébana, Picos de Europa national park (Cantabria, Spain).

It houses works by Beato de Liébana, as well as a relic of the Lignum Crucis, which, in this case, is the largest known piece of the cross where Jesus Christ died.

Its Door of Forgiveness opens at the beginning of each Lebaniego Jubilee Year to welcome pilgrims. Along with Jerusalem, Rome, Santiago de Compostela and Caravaca de la Cruz, it is one of the holy places of Christianity. It was declared a National Monument on August 11, 1953.

Next to the monastery are the Cueva Santa (pre-Romanesque style), the ruins of the sanctuary of Santa Catalina, the hermitage of San Juan de la Casería (16th century) and the hermitage of San Miguel (13th century).

On May 2, it celebrates the festival of La Santuca, a celebration that already existed in the fifteenth century and in which a carving of the Virgin Mary is carried in procession from Aniezo, about 15 kilometers away, to Santo Toribio, where it remains for about hours and then is taken back.

In 2015, after the approval by Unesco of the extension of the Camino de Santiago, the monastery was included as one of the individual stops of the Camino de Liébana.

How to get to?

Nearest airport is in Santander.

From Santander 1 hr 35 min (106 km) via A-8 and N-621

From Madrid 4 hr 48 min (422 km) via A-6

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