Monastery of San Millán de Yuso

La Rioja, cradle of excellent wines and of the Castilian language (commonly known as Spanish). They say that the first written piece of Spanish can be found in a codex of the year 1040, part of the Emilianense Glosses found in this Monastery, and where in one of the paragraphs there are notes of the commentator employing the new language used by the people, the ancient Castilian.

However, we had to wait three centuries before a monk of San Millán, named Gonzalo de Berceo, applied it to his literature.

The construction of the Yuso Monastery also known as El Escorial de La Rioja, started in 1053, even though there is nothing left of this Romanesque building. The new monastery you can see nowadays is of Herrerian style and dates back to the 16th century.

An exceptional spot. The location is unique, crammed in a small valley, which gives it a kind of misterious aura. Started at the very end of the 10th century, everything we can visit today is of Renaissance and Baroque style, of the 16th and 17th century. The only remains from this far past are the arches of the Saints Felices and Millán. The rest is a succession of Baroque, starting at the access door and overlapping with Renaissance rooms, such as the Kings' Room.

Continuing, you find one of the main surprises of this monastery: the baroque sacristy, one of the most beautiful in Spain.