You have to appreciate what's left of this very beautiful building. They've had to close it a few times to shore it up so I'm very glad we got to take it all in. Centuries of history are baked into its walls. What a fabulous place it must have been and its purpose even more so. However, one does have to wonder if the money could have spent better elsewhere. UPPER PHOTO: What has survived to this day are the walls of the central apse with two floors of pointed windows between powerful exterior buttresses

On the outskirts of Castrojeriz, on what was previously the palace and orchard of King Pedro I of Castile, are the ruins of the old monastery of San Antón, run by the Antonians, who were dedicated to caring for the sick who arrived on the Camino de Santiago; especially those who suffered from the disease known as the fire of San Antón, sacred fire, fire of the sick. Today only the arch (LL photo) that formed a tunnel remains standing, through which pilgrims entered and left.

This monastery was under royal protection founded by Alfonso VII in the 12th century (1146), and was known as the Royal Xenodoquium of Saint Anthony the Abbot. The current ruins are from the 14th century.