San Pelayo

In Pisón de Ojeda, the inhabitants chose as the patron saint of their modest parish a Galician saint, Saint Pelayo martyr, an adolescent martyred by the caliph ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III in the year 925. Saint Pelayo is a recurring patron saint in Galicia, Cantabria, and Castile and León. In the province of Palencia, in addition to Pisón, he is the patron of the nearby villages of Dehesa de Montejo and Salinas de Pisuerga, and there is also the famous hermitage of Perazancas, which, according to its inscription, dates from the year 1076. Devotion to a Galician saint may give us a clue as to the origin of some of the settlers who repopulated the area.

The Church of Saint Pelayo is located on a small hill immediately adjacent to the south of the village of Pisón, on the slopes of La Cubilla, with fine views of the Sierra del Brezo. The apse and nave are built with walls of local sandstone ashlar, except for the side of the bell gable, which is made of rubble masonry. The apse dates from the late 12th century or the early 13th century; the central nave was later remodeled, dating from the late 14th or early 15th century. In 1770 the church’s new bell tower was built; that date is still carved into the triangular crowning of the bell gable.

The cache is located near the Romanesque apse of the church. Easy to find—sign it and leave it as it is. Leave the car in the village square and walk up to the church (in winter there may be patches of ice on the street).