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Art & Culture
Cultural Heritage
The Sanctuary of San Antonio is located in the heart of the Basque Country, within Urkiola Natural Park and surrounded by impressive mountains and oak, beech and ash-tree woods. Its origin is unknown but according to some documents it may have been built between the 8th and 9th centuries. Following several restoration works the present building dates back to the 20th century.
Its plan is rectangular and it is divided into two parts. The outer walls are strengthened with four big buttresses and one of the old towers is preserved still. Within, it should be mentioned the 850,000-stone big mosaic.
Two saints are venerated in Urkiola: Antón Abad (January 17th) and Antonio de Padua (June 13th). Every June there is a religious celebration and the legend has it that people willing to get married must walk around the stone (thought to be a meteorite) facing the sanctuary.
Nearby, the visitor will find the hermitages of Santa Apolonia and Santo Cristo, both of them connected by a causeway.
Santuario
