Discover Madrona: Necropolis, Churches and Trails on the Limestone Plateau

Among Madrona’s distinctive historical traces is the necropolis, which, after the one at Duratón, is considered the second most valuable necropolis in Spain.

Geographical Setting

Madrona lies on a large limestone plateau. The Frío River flows through the Madrona area. The rivers flowing through Madrona feed underground aquifers and support fertile, species-rich land. Here, the landscape and the history of the village stand closely side by side, without the impressions being reduced to a single attraction.

Culture

The Iglesia de la Virgen de la Cerca is a 13th-century building with alterations from the 16th century. It has Romanesque origins and features some Gothic modifications. Its furnishings include a Mudejar-style coffered ceiling. In the western section of its portico-like gallery, it has moulded arches with chequered chambranas resting on double columns, decorated with plant motifs and set on a podium.

On the outskirts of Madrona stands the Ermita del Santo Cristo de la Salud. It has exceptional ashlar masonry. At El Calvario, the grouped and signposted Stations of the Cross extend halfway up the slope.

History

The Visigothic site of Cuesta de la Alamilla was officially discovered and excavated in several campaigns during the 1950s. The fortifications from the Spanish Civil War in Madrona formed part of the third defensive line built by Nationalist troops to prevent the capture of the city of Segovia.

When choosing a holiday apartment in Madrona, you can consider the different trail lengths, the archaeological focus, and the sacred architecture and river landscape as separate themes when planning your days; cultural and landscape highlights can be weighed alongside one another. For planning the day, a circular trail with two specified lengths and the ascending Ruta II - Riofrío can be considered separately. The churches and trail points mentioned here offer different highlights from the river and landscape sections, so archaeological exploration, sacred architecture and a connection with nature do not merge into a single activity.

Trails

The Ruta Arqueológica is a circular trail of 3.5 km or 4.2 km with the La Rumbona variant; no difficulty level is specified. It runs along the Cordel de las Tabladillas to the Visigothic necropolis of Madrona and past the Sotopalacios landscape area, which is crossed by the Milanos River.

The Ruta II - Riofrío begins at the Ermita del Santo Cristo de la Salud. In the nearby area, the Ruta II - Riofrío climbs from Madrona via the Camino del Calvario to the wall of the Real Bosque de Riofrío.

To understand the trails, it helps to compare their described structure: the Ruta Arqueológica combines a circular route, a necropolis and a landscape area, while the Ruta II - Riofrío climbs from a religious starting point via the Camino del Calvario to the wall of the Real Bosque de Riofrío. This brings archaeological, sacred and landscape points of interest into focus as distinct highlights for the day.

For the broader travel overview: Segovia.