La Peña Cave is located in San Román (Candamo), near the mouth of the River Nalón. The cavern boasts the westernmost examples of Paleolithic art in the entire European continent.
It is located at the base of a limestone hill and consists of a small gallery that opens into a large chamber, totalling around 70 metres in length. The area containing cave art (part of the Gravettian up until the end of the Magdalenian culture) is located in the Chamber of Engravings, with six panels.
The cave and its paintings must have had a ritual magical sense according to the usual interpretations of this type of art. What's more, virtually no remains or utensils indicative of the cave having been inhabited were found inside.
Outstanding among the rock art is the Wall of Prints, which has the largest number of images and the most complex organization with overlapping, and the so-called Little Chamber, a high concavityhollow with representations of horses and cattle, arranged to be seen from the chamber itself, which demonstrates a clear perception of attractive scenic design.
Candamo Cave Interpretation Centre and Educational Exhibition is located in the restored Valdes-Bazán Mansion, a magnificent example of 17th-century civil architecture, where full-scale reproductions of the treasures of the cavern are on display, together with a multimedia system which explains the cave and rock art in northern Spain.
