SPAIN | Santander, Spain Travel Guide
Friday, April 19, 2024
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Altamira Cave
Museo de Altamira, 39330 Santillana del Mar,
Santander
Cantabria
Spain
94 281 80 05
Type: Museum
Addmission Fee: Entry 2.40 Euro.
Hours: Open Mon.-Sat. June-Sept. 9:30 am-7:30 pm, Oct.-May 9:30 am-5 pm, Sun. 9:30 am-5 pm.
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Santander
Cantabria
Spain
94 281 80 05
Type: Museum
Addmission Fee: Entry 2.40 Euro.
Hours: Open Mon.-Sat. June-Sept. 9:30 am-7:30 pm, Oct.-May 9:30 am-5 pm, Sun. 9:30 am-5 pm.
Comments ( 0 )
Rating (0 Votes)
Described as the Sistine Chapel of Paleolithic art, the Altamira Cave is Spain’s most notable prehistoric site and, as such, its most guarded. Since its discovery two km (1.2 mile) outside of Santilla in 1879 by Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola and his daughter María, the authenticity of the artwork has come under repeated scrutiny. How, some scholars have wondered, could such a primitive human being create such elegant and exacting representations of life on a dark wall with scant resources?
A more pressing concern is the growing threat of degradation from too many visitors, which can create damaging fluctuations in heat and humidity. The Altamira cave is truly one of a kind, a natural, stone, cream-colored rock surface that served as a palette for a single anonymous artist whose polychromatic renditions of bison, deer, bulls and wild boar have withstood the rigors of 14,000 years.
Though the cave is roughly 270 m (885 feet) long, the bulk of its masterpiece was carved, painted and scraped onto the walls (the natural contours of which were used to great visual effect by the artist) of what is now known as the Sala de Polícromos (Polychrome Hall). A natural subsurface corridor snakes past this main hall, which is near the entrance of the cave, and burrows deeper and deeper into the earth, past abstract designs, carved and painted deer, bison, horses and goats and, at its very end, curious painted figures.
Having been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, entrance to the cave is strictly limited to 8,500 visitors per year, most of whom earn the privilege because they have previously earned degrees in related sciences. To actually enter the cave, you’ll need to apply more than a zear in advance, in writing.
A trip to the cave, however, is far from disappointing as a new research center and museum has been constructed near the entrance along with an exact replica of the polychromatic hall (and this one you can enter). In addition to its exhibits on Altamira, the museum is touted as the most extensive prehistoric center in Europe, with replicas of art and authentic relics found throughout the country’s caves.
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