La Peña or Candamo Cave

La Peña Cave is located in San Román (Candamo), in the lower course of the Nalón River, close to its mouth, and is the westernmost cave with Palaeolithic art on the entire European continent.

It opens up at the base of a limestone hill and consists of a small gallery that leads to a large room, some 70 metres long. The artistic space (from the Gravettian to the end of the Magdalenian) is located in the Hall of Engravings, with six panels.

The cave and its paintings must have had a magical-ritual meaning, according to the usual interpretations of this type of art. In addition, hardly any remains or utensils were found inside the cave that would have been typical of life inside the cave.

The Wall of Engravings stands out for having the largest number of images and the most complex organisation with superimpositions, and the Dressing Room, an elevated cavity with representations of horses and bovines, arranged to be seen from the room itself, which demonstrates a clear and attractive scenographic conception.

The Interpretation Centre and Didactic Classroom of the Candamo Cavern is located in the restored Valdés-Bazán Palace, a magnificent 17th century civil work, where full-scale reproductions of the treasures of the cavern are displayed, together with a multimedia system that develops the parietal art of the Cantabrian coast.