It is said that one day, more than a thousand years ago, the hermit San Genadio was trying to meditate in his cave. But the rippling sound of the river was distracting him, so he banged his walking stick and ordered the waters to be quiet. The river fell silent immediately and the Bierzo Valley, the place where such a prodigy took place, became known as the Valley of Silence.
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It is said that one day, more than a thousand years ago, the hermit San Genadio was trying to meditate in his cave. But the rippling sound of the river was distracting him, so he banged his walking stick and ordered the waters to be quiet. The river fell silent immediately and the Bierzo Valley, the place where such a prodigy took place, became known as the Valley of Silence.
This mountainous and wild area, isolated from the world, was then a favourite for hermits who wanted to withdraw from the streets and live in peace and harmony with nature and the soul. So from the eighth-century monasteries and sanctuaries were founded here. They built so many that the place was nicknamed Thebaida Berciana, because of its resemblance to the region of Upper Egypt. The thing is that here, something happened that neither history nor religion has been able to explain. Hermits from all places came to this area possessed by a common mystical fever. Even though there were still many years to go for the meet-ups arranged via mobile phones or Social Media. The thing is, something similar happened in the Egyptian Thebaida, hence the name of Berciana Thebaida.
Around one of those monasteries, and in the middle of a very leafy nature, the town of Peñalba de Santiago emerged, which today still seems to be medieval. Its mountain houses of slate and grey stone are grouped around the true beauty of the Mozarabic church, built in the tenth century during the reign of Ramiro II. The king was a great benefactor of the monastery and its temple, and among his donations was the so-called Cruz de Peñalba, a piece of jewellery that today is a symbol of the region of El Bierzo.
But do not think that the monarch gave away that jewel just because he felt like it, no. He was convinced that, during the battle of Simancas, the apostle James had helped his armies to win, so the gift to the monastery was, more than anything, a token of gratitude. And, just in case he needed the apostle’s help again.
Do not miss any detail of the church because you are facing a treasure that was already here in the year 937. A peculiar place with horseshoe arches and two opposing apses in which Arab and Visigothic elements are mixed with the Celtic symbology samples.
Likely, the hermit San Genadio never saw it finished, as it seems that he died a year earlier in 936. After being abbot of the monastery and bishop, he had returned, in the last years of his life, to the ascetic retreat in the caves of the Valley of Silence. One of the caves is still revered, and there is even a tradition that attributes healing powers to the soil collected inside. But you know: if you’d like a souvenir, it is better to take a photo of a place where the waters of the river were silent than disturbing a Saint…
