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LA RIOJA
Church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción
Briones
Time standing still among
he vineyards
A few kilometres from the Ebro, Briones
rises on a hill overlooking the valley, su-
rrounded by vineyards that change colour
with the seasons: green in spring, golden
in summer, reddish in autumn. It is one of
the most beautiful villages in La Rioja and
is included in the list of the “Most Beau-
tiful Villages of Spain” — a place where
time seems to have stopped in the Middle
Ages. Its walls, narrow streets and stately
houses tell the story of a town that was
once a frontier, a stronghold, and a set-
ting for alliances between kingdoms.
Perched on an eighty-metre-high hill and
offering spectacular views of the vine-
yards, the Sierra de Toloño and the Ebro
River, Briones unfolds, like the pages of
a book, its history through its cultural and
artistic heritage. The Plaza de España,
around which stand four of its main monu-
ments — the Palacio del Marqués de San
Nicolás (now the Town Hall), La Casona
(the oldest civil building in La Rioja), the
Church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción
or Santa María de Briones, and the old
Abbey or House of the Arches. Just a few
metres away are the Palace of the Quin-
coces and the beautiful Hermitage of San
Juan or Santo Cristo, which houses insi-
de a beautiful 19th-century apothecary.
View of Briones
La Casona, considered the oldest civil building in La Rioja
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