Candelario

Candelario traces its origins to a colony of Asturian shepherds, with roots extending back to Roman times. A carved stone head of the god Janus discovered in a wall supports this ancient Roman connection. After the Christian Reconquest, the town became part of Ávila's council and was repopulated by settlers from Ávila and Castile.

In 1209, Alfonso VIII created the Community of Villa and Tierra of Béjar, which included Candelario. The town eventually became part of the Kingdom of León and was incorporated into Salamanca province when Spain's current provincial boundaries were established in 1833.

The parish church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción features mudéjar-style coffered ceilings, baroque and churrigueresque altarpieces, an Italian-influenced martyrs' altarpiece with a mannerist carving of Saint Sebastian, a Romanesque carving of Christ of Oblivion, and a Gothic rose window. The Humilladero hermitage houses a baroque altarpiece dedicated to Christ of Refuge. The town hall displays an impressive stone facade and interior staircase, while the Cruz del Herrerito viewpoint sits on a nearby hill.

The Casa Chacinera ethnographic museum opened in 2008. Candelario's traditional architecture adapts brilliantly to mountain conditions, with steep winding streets crossed by regaderas - small channels carrying crystal-clear water from the sierra's snowfields. Houses feature characteristic batipuertas (half-doors), thick stone walls, and large eaves protecting against snow.

Wooden balconies served as drying areas for cured meats, reflecting the town's meat-processing heritage. These three-story buildings housed butchering areas below, family quarters in the middle, and meat-curing spaces above.

Candelario climbs the slope of the sierra that shares its name, at about 1,136 metres, its main streets running down the hill and lanes cutting across them. Along the steep cobbled streets flow the regaderas, narrow channels of clear water from the snows of the sierra, once used to water the vegetable plots and carry away the day's waste. Many houses have batipuertas, wooden half-doors set before the entrance, along with thick stone walls and broad eaves against the snow.

Cured meats shaped these houses. Many three-storey homes had butchering rooms below, the family in the middle and curing space above, with wooden balconies for drying. The Museo de la Casa Chacinera, opened in 2008, shows how home and sausage workshop shared a roof. The parish church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción has mudéjar coffered ceilings, a Romanesque Christ and a Gothic rose window.

Candelario joined Los Pueblos Más Bonitos de España in 2015. The label is awarded by a private association, not the state: a village applies and is audited against around 40 criteria, from how its historic buildings are conserved to the upkeep of its streets, and members are reviewed and can lose it. Candelario is one of 31 members in Castilla y León, out of 126 in Spain. See all heritage towns in Castilla y León.