Our Lady of Hontanares

Riaza Sanctuary · Ayllon saw (Segovia)

On the hill of Cerro Merino, about 1,400 metres away, the shrine of Hontanares is the spiritual heart of Riaza; its Romeria from Sunday following the 8 September, declared of Regional Tourist Interest, congregates the entire village.

Origin and history

The devotion is linked to the old depopulated of Fontanar / Hontanares, whose parish church was replaced by the present hermitage, built in 1606 with the contributions of the faithful, with church and old host. Tradition tells that the image was hidden in a cave during Muslim rule and found centuries later by a pastor who took refuge from a storm; a story presented as legend.

The central feature is the multitudinary Romeria of the Sunday following the 8 September - declared of Regional Tourist Interest -, with mass, procession in walks and popular songs; the entire population of Riaza goes up to the hermitage, also on the first Sunday of May. Hontanares is one of the great spiritual centers of the segovian side of the Ayllon saw.

Formal patronage and canonical coronation: not found in the sources.