Alba de los Cardaños is in the municipality of Velilla del Río Carrión, located in the northwest of the province of Palencia (Spain). It is on the banks of the Camporredondo reservoir in an area of great environmental value and spectacular mountain landscapes.
Until the beginning of this century, Alba de los Cardaños consisted of three neighbourhoods: Barrio Castro, Barrio de Campo and Barrio de Río. Now, only the Castro (Cardaño de Abajo) and Campo (Cardaño de Alto) neighbourhoods survive. The Barrio de Río (river district) was flooded circa 1929 by the Camporredondo reservoir.
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Ermita del Bendito Cristo del Río
The original Ermita del Bendito Cristo (Image of the Blessed Christ of the river) was located in the Barrio del Río, the neighbourhood that was flooded by the reservoir. A new Ermita del Bendito Cristo was built on the reservoir’s banks between Barrio Castro and Barrio de Campo. In the hermitage, the images of the blessed passionate Justiniano Cuesta Redondo and Pedro Largo Redondo, beatified by John Paul II on October 1, 1989, are venerated. There is also a commemorative tombstone in tribute to the Blessed of Alba.
Churches
There are two parish churches in Alba de los Cardaños, the church of San Justo and Pastor and San Juan Bautista. Both churches are over 400 years old.
The church of San Justo and Pastor is of Romanesque origin. It was extensively restored in 1958 by the widow of Samaniego. There is an inscription in stone to that effect embedded in the south wall of the nave.
The floor plan has a single nave, a flat apse with an attached side chapel and an open sacristy on the south side. The church construction is of rendered masonry and angular limestone ashlars. The nave is covered with a wooden gabled structure and a star-shaped ribbed vault in the presbytery.
On the south side, there is an open entrance porch sheltering the only entrance into the church.
The other church is San Juan Bautista in the Mario Campo neighbourhood. It is Gothic in style and dates back to the 15th century.
Shepherd’s hut
A shepherd’s hut (chozo) constructed of stone and branches used as a shelter by the shepherds of Alba in years gone by is located just below the Mirador (viewpoint) de Alba de los Cardaños. The mirador offers spectacular views of the Camporredondo Reservoir, including the dam and also the emblematic Pico Espigüete.
Alba de los Cardaños Photo Gallery
The photos are mainly from the Bario Castro neighbourhood and the Mirador. Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough time to explore Ermita del Santo Cristo del Río and Bario Campo.
Camera: Nikon FE2.
Film: Ilford Delta 100 exposed at 100 ISO.
Developer: Ilfotec LC-29 1+29 – developed for 7.5 minutes.
Agitation: Four inversions at the start, then 4 inversions every minute.
Digitised: Nikon Z6 and Capture One software.
I shot the photos in the early afternoon in bright sunlight.
