Santillana del Mar

Santillana del Mar is a historic town situated in Cantabria, Spain. Its many historic buildings attract thousands of holidaymakers every year.There is an old saying that Santillana del Mar is The Town of Three Lies, since it is neither a Saint (Santo), nor flat (llana), nor is it by the sea (Mar) as implied by its name. However, the name actually derives from Santa Juliana (or Santa Illana) whose remains are kept in the Colegiata, a Romanesque church and former Benedictine monastery. The UNESCO World Heritage site Cave of Altamira is nearby.LocalitiesThe 3,983 inhabitants are distributed as follows: Arroyo, 43 pop. Camplengo, 201 pop. Herrán, 204 pop. Mijares, 124 pop. Queveda, 586 pop. Santillana del Mar, 1.108 pop. Ubiarco, 246 pop. Vispieres, 337 hab. Viveda, 1.069 pop. Yuso, 65 pop.Notable peopleSantillana (born 1952), footballerIn literatureThe protagonist of the novel Gil Blas is born in Santillana.In his philosophical novel "La Nausée", Sartre described Santillana as the prettiest village in Spain ("le plus joli village d'Espagne").