Medina de Rioseco

Medina de Rioseco, capital of Tierra de Campos, is situated 45 kilometres north of the capital. An old fortified city, it preserves some of the eight entrance gates from the wall.

An example is the Zamora gate, from the 16th century, built on a square plan, with four wide semicircular arches. Also worth a mention are the Ajújar gate, from the late 12th century, formed by a single pointed arch, inside which there is a small building occupied by the Municipal Museum; and the San Sebastián gate, from the mid-16th century, which is formed by two arches and which bears the coat of arms of Admiral Luis Enríquez. The town also has several religious buildings, such as the church of Santa María de Mediavilla, an Isabelline-Gothic structure raised between 1490 and 1516. Inside the walls is the chapel of Benavente, which has a reredos by Juan de Juni devoted to La Inmaculada. The temple houses the museum of Mediavilla, which displays sculpture, paintings, Hispano-Philippine ivory and a silver monstrance by Antonio de Arfe. A short distance away is the church of Santa Cruz, an Herrera style building which houses a museum of religious Easter floats. Lastly, the church of Santiago contains a dazzling baroque reredos by Joaquín de Churriguera.