The old monastery

Monastery

Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...

 of San Juan de Ortega is a Romanesque

Romanesque architecture

Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...

 monument in Barrios de Colina

Barrios de Colina

Barrios de Colina is a municipality located in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 76 inhabitants....

, in the province of Burgos, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

. It is commonly believed that it was built by Saint John of Ortega himself, with the help of his friend and fellow saint, Domingo de la Calzada, as a help point to the pilgrims who walked to Santiago de Compostela along the Way of Saint James. Today, pilgrim

Pilgrim

A pilgrim is a traveler who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journeying to some place of special significance to the adherent of a particular religious belief system...

s are still received in the former monastery.

The church is an example of late Romanesque art, the illustrated capitals

Capital (architecture)

In architecture the capital forms the topmost member of a column . It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface...

deserve special mention, as well as the tomb of the Saint, in the crypt.