An article in ‘National Geographic’ compared the Gothic façade of the Church of Gumiel de Izán with the Jordanian treasure
“We have up to 350 visitors to the Puente del Pilar in one day,” says the mayor, who now considers, together with the priest, charging an entrance fee.
It is 11:40 on any given Friday and a retired couple wanders around the parish church of Santa María de Gumiel de Izán, a small town of Burgos at the foot of Aranda de Duero (579 inhabitants, according to the INE). “We came from Madrid to spend the day; We had seen that someone posted on Instagram that she looked like Petra, and the truth is that she gives off an air. “We have been there and it is surprising to find a similar façade,” confess Carmen and Fernando, who have called several times the telephone number written on a page on the door of the impressive church. to see if someone would open it and they could see inside.
The telephone, with the tourist office closed – it usually opens in summer – is that of the priest’s house, Pedro Juanes, who in recent weeks sounds louder than that of Doña Manolita’s administration. “People came before, but now much more,” admits the priest, who arrives in a car with the precious keys to the church and who knows every nook and cranny of the premises inside out.
“It’s crazy, we can’t cope with so many tourists,” explains the mayor, Jesús Briones, who places the beginning of the tourist fervor a few weeks before the Pilar Bridge. when National Geographic magazine noted the similarity of the church with the so-called ‘treasure of Petra’. “As a result of the news there has been an avalanche of people. We started to appear in some newspapers and on the internet, what if the Petra, the Petra, the Petra… On the Pilar bridge itself I don’t know if we counted 300 or 350 people a day. Last weekend there was a bus excursion with more than 80!”, reveals the mayor.
Schedule
“It’s an incessant drip. We are thinking about setting a schedule, because if you don’t spend the whole morning or the afternoon here,”, explains Briones, who together with the priest and six “volunteers” He has set up a group that is responsible for opening the church and teaching it. For the love of art.
The main altarpiece of the church.
| Alba Vigaray
The church, raised on an imperial staircase, has a beautiful and enormous baroque limestone doorway with three sections – it is visible from various parts of the town -, built between the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th century. The sides have Corinthian columns and niches, like those of the Navateo treasure. According to the living forces of the town, tourists like it even more inside than outside. “The façade is impressive, and it is true that it gives an air of Petra, But inside it is even more beautiful, when people see it they are amazed,” says the mayor.
Columns
The couple, who are not the only ones who have been to Perta before coming here – “they come like this a lot out of curiosity” – assure that there are similarities with the Jordanian treasure, especially because of the yellowish color of the stone. “It also has to do with the classic order of columns and capitals,” appreciates Fernando, an art lover who visits churches and monasteries throughout Spain with his wife when he can.
The parish priest points to the brilliant success of Santa María that has gone viral. “People have been passing over the church and it has spread like wildfire,” says the priest, who explains that the temple was considered so monumental in its day –The work was not completed as planned due to lack of funds.– because there was a very important monastery in the area, that of San Pedro, some of whose precious capitals are kept inside the temple [varios de ellos, con bellas geometrías, datan del siglo XII].
The church has had a primary role in the region for centuries. In the late Middle Ages, Gumiel was under the tutelage of the Mendoza family, as a manor held by the Girón, counts of Ureña, and belonged to the diocese of Osma. The shields of all of them are on some of the walls of the temple, Juanes points out during a visit to the interior of the enclosure, where numerous nobles from the area are also buried.
parish museum
Inside, the church, in Gothic style and covered with ribbed ceilings, is particularly beautiful, with an altarpiece from the 16th century, dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin, which has nothing to envy of that of the Charterhouse of Seville. The interior houses a notable parish museum with several treasures, including a Bible from 1559, and paintings and carvings from the 14th century of high artistic value. So much so that in 1975, the thief ‘Eric the Belgian’ entered the temple with his cronies by sawing part of the side wooden door and took several Flemish paintings. Now the door, which maintains a huge scar witness to the assault, is armored with sheet metal and iron to prevent another theft.
“Some paintings recovered, others did not,” says the parish priest. “Here even the cobwebs are more than a hundred years old,” the father boasts ironically, pointing out that until the second half of the last century the artistic heritage of the interior was not taken into account, very well glossed by Pedro Ontoria Oquillas, professor of History at the University of La Laguna, on the Gomelia website. “The travel guides talked about a beautiful facade, but it had no value,” reproaches Juanes, who leads up to eight parishes in the area, in addition to being the chaplain of the Aranda hospital.
Charge entry
What is happening now in the Santa María church has some poetic justice, and given the interest, the town is considering establishing a schedule specific opening hours and perhaps charge a minimum amount for entry. “It would serve to make repairs and clean the facade. We have to set a schedule because if not, the Constitution Bridge is going to be crazy,” says the mayor, who also says half jokingly, half seriously that they need 100,000 euros to fix the old organ, from the 18th century: “Just in case “You can put it in the newspaper.”
Visits to the church have also benefited businesses in the town, which has several beautiful houses with the traditional post-and-race style – mud and wood – similar to that of the homes in La Alberca (Salamanca). At the Bakery they say they have noticed it “a lot.” “When it’s good, a lot more people come. I mainly sell things from here, like Aranda cake or typical pastas. During the week I also notice more activity,” says Lola with a smile from ear to ear. “Since it has become fashionable, it is especially noticeable on the weekend. We do not provide meals, but we do serve some coffee, some vermouth or some skewers. It’s not much, but it all adds up”says Basilio, who runs the Palacio bar, close to the church.