San Juan de Ortega is named after Juan Velázquez, a disciple and collaborator of Santo Domingo de la Calzada who dedicated his life to helping pilgrims. In the early 12th century, he established a chapel, monastery and pilgrim hospital here in the Montes de Oca, where pilgrims were vulnerable to attacks by bandits. The small settlement that exists today developed around the monastery. The name Ortega is thought to derive from the Latin urtica ("nettle"), referring to the vegetation that grew in the area.
What to see in San Juan de Ortega
Monasterio de San Juan de Ortega
The monastery church was begun in the 12th century during the lifetime of San Juan de Ortega and later enlarged in Gothic style. An elaborate Gothic baldachin made between 1464 and 1474 depicts scenes from the saint's life, but his remains are kept in a much simpler stone sarcophagus. The church also preserves an unfinished Romanesque sarcophagus that was never used for his burial.
Around the spring and autumn equinoxes, late-afternoon sunlight moves across a Romanesque capital depicting the Annunciation, Visitation and Nativity. The phenomenon is known as the Milagro de la Luz ("Miracle of Light").
Where to stay in San Juan de Ortega
La Cuadra de Luisito
Albergue El Descanso de San Juan
Albergue del Monasterio de San Juan de Ortega
