Lastanosa: Churches, Hermitages and History

Lastanosa combines a clearly dated church history with distinctive details at two hermitages and historic houses. It is also part of the Ruta de las Ermitas de Sariñena, with the Hermitage of San Sebastián in Lastanosa, and features a landscape described in a route guide from 2019. This offers a range of focuses for planning your trip: sacred architecture, inscriptions, routes and the surrounding agricultural landscape.

The Church of San Salvador and its surviving altarpiece

The Parish Church of San Salvador was built in the 15th century over an earlier Romanesque church and consecrated on 30 April 1570. Its building history therefore encompasses both a Romanesque predecessor and the later church; the consecration date provides a precisely specified historical milestone.

The altarpiece is another point of interest: three panels and half of the predella of an altarpiece dedicated to the life of El Salvador have survived. Its religious dedication distinguishes this aspect of art history from the church’s architectural history. Those interested in Lastanosa will find not only a construction date, but also a specifically identified work and its surviving parts.

Hermitages and route

The Hermitage of Santa Ana is a whitewashed rectangular building. Its nave is divided into three aisles, and it has a wooden roof and a round-arched door on the south side. The Hermitage of San Sebastián is also whitewashed, but is built of masonry. Its nave has four bays, and a broad porch stands on the south side. The comparison therefore highlights the different layouts of the naves and the structures on their south sides.

The Ruta de las Ermitas de Sariñena is 106 kilometres long and divided into a northern and a southern section. The Hermitage of San Sebastián in Lastanosa is part of the northern section. It is useful to distinguish between the route as a whole and its connection to the town: the 106 kilometres refer to the entire route, while Lastanosa, with this hermitage, is located in the northern section.

Historic houses and inscriptions

At Casa Calvo, history is evident in an architectural feature that also bears an inscription: the entrance is beneath a round arch. The central voussoir is inscribed with the year 1574; a side voussoir is engraved with “Año 1589 Domingo de Pisa Sastre”. The two dates are 15 years apart. Alongside the shape of the entrance, they give the house two precisely dated details.

The house La Vieja at Calle Mayor 1 has a different point of interest. It is considered an example of 16th-century vernacular architecture. Together with Casa Calvo, it broadens the focus from the parish church to the town’s houses: at La Vieja, the architectural classification is the main feature, while at Casa Calvo, it is the round arch and its dated voussoirs.

River, surroundings and local events

The Alcanadre River crosses Lastanosa from north to south. A route guide dated 6 March 2019 also describes the access road to the La Primicia valley: it passes over a small mountain range with rugged sandstone benches. Clay or marl layers emerge below them, and there are small holm oak woods in places. These landscape features relate to the access road to the valley as described.

The same route guide describes the area around Lastanosa as being shaped by dryland farming. It also reports that new irrigation has enhanced the land and that new orchards have been planted. This reflects the landscape description from 2019 and should not be taken as a statement about the current condition of every plot.

Local events may also help you choose when to travel: around 6 August, Lastanosa celebrates its patron saint festival in honour of San Salvador. A Mass is held each year at the Hermitage of San Sebastián on 20 January, the feast day of Saint Sebastian. If you are planning your trip around one of these events, check the specific times in advance.

Discover more destinations: Liri, Lecina, Questions, Arén, Martillué, Yaso, Arto, Estadilla

For the broader travel overview: Huesca.