There was a time when it was part of the province of Soria, depending, administratively speaking, on San Esteban de Gormaz. A time in which Christians and Saracens settled in these Castilian extremes, a permanence that for the former constituted a reconquest, and at the same time a continuation of those Crusades promoted by Pope Urban to the cry of Deus lo vult, God wants it.

Currently, Maderuelo is a town that dies, like so many others, located at the end of that border line that separates the province of Segovia from Soria and Burgos, a detail, on the other hand, that has not made him lose that charm that entails the places that still conserve good part of their medieval aspect.

However, some elements of that time, such as the old bridge, have been irretrievably lost, covered by the waters of the Linares reservoir that surrounds it.

The hermitage of Vera Cruz, located on the outskirts of the town, has also known times in which the waters, increased its flow, have licked its arcane ashlars. Building of the twelfth century, its external appearance, like the Mozarabic hermitage of San Baudelio, is singularly deceptive, since starting from the principle of absolute humility, its interior housed an extraordinary artistic treasure.

However, unlike the ill-fated Soria shrine, this treasure, that is, the extraordinary paintings that completely covered the interior of its apse, rest today, to dazzle and admire all, in the Prado Museum in Madrid.

Moved in 1947, and in good logic it can be assumed that encouraged by the unfortunate outcome of the frescoes of San Baudelio, it was made for them an exact reproduction of the original chapel that housed them, and can be seen, together with the few original canvases of that, recovered in exchange for the apse of the Segovian church of San Martín, in Fuentidueña.

Among other varied themes, its content is based, mainly, on the creation of man, Adam and Eve on both sides of the Tree of Science, or Christ in majesty with the apostles and follow the same parameters as the paintings of Saint Baudelius of Berlanga and San Miguel de Gormaz.

As in so many cases that occur throughout the length and breadth of the national territory, the tradition insists on attributing its membership to the Order of the Temple. And for some reason in particular, it must have been, regardless of his humility and isolated outside the walls of the town, a place of some importance for them, since within such a wonderful framework, was guarded a Lignum Crucis .

Significant, likewise, is the detail of its proximity to another of the most important Templar enclaves in the area. Located approximately five kilometers away from Maderuelo, within the province of Soria, the coldest town in Spain, according to some, Castillejo de Robledo, offers us an amazing vision of the subject, whose most spectacular reach is located in the interior of his church of Nª Sª de la Asunción; in the ruins of his castle, as well as in the many related legends that still circulate around the place.

NOTICE: Originally published in my blog LA ESPAÑA DE LOS TEMPLARIOS. Both the text and the photographs that accompany it are my exclusive intellectual property. The original entry, where you can check the authorship of juancar347, can be found at the following address: https://juancarlosmenendez.blogspot.com/2011/03/maderuelo-la-otra-iglesia-de-la-vera.html

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[Martial, latin poet]

Ars vtinam more Animvm qve effingere. Posses pulchrior in ter. Ris nvlla tabella foret.

Arte Ojala pudieras representar. el carácter y el espíritu. No habría sobre la tierra. Imagen más bella

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