Abanco (Soria)
Located approximately 1,000 meters above sea level, in the vicinity of the Sierra de Pela, Abanco was part of the Muslim surveillance system of watchtowers. Although there is no evidence of a settlement in the 11th century, there was a watchtower of sillarejo on the hill next to the village, traditionally known as "the Watchtower (atalaya)". This construction was unfortunately sealed at about 60 cm high by a geodesic vertex.
There is no documentation that determines when Abanco was populated or repopulated. What we know is that, since the 13th century, a family named Martinez, who rendered good military services to the kings of Castile, ruled the destiny of this population until 1529, when it was incorporated into the newly created Marquesado de Berlanga. The marquisate spanned until the disappearance of the male branch, in 1750. One of its members, Fernando Martínez del Exido, was -like El Cid- governor of the Gormaz fortress, in which he maintained a strong resistance in 1528, during the War of the Communities, fighting for king Charles I. At the beginning of the 16th century (1504) there are several judgements dictated by Court of the Inquisition of the Diocese of Sigüenza against two neighbors, the one for denying God and the other for "having danced at Jewish weddings" and drinking and eating at that wedding.
Nobody arrives at Abanco by chance as the road ends in the village. The visit is always more interesting than expected. Located between wheat fields where the quail nests and oak sketches, Abanco is a town of contrasts; it is a small, practically uninhabited nucleus. Its small dimensions contrast with the imposing church of San Pedro Apóstol. Baroque style, it was completed in 1713 under the direction of Alonso Martínez de Ochoa, who also carried out the works of the house - palace, now restored and in private hands. The church conserves in its interior a late-Romanesque baptismal font. The traveler can climb to the nearest hill of Atalaya, where still exist the foundations of a Muslim watchower. It is said that in clear days you can see the walls of Atienza, Gormaz, and Berlanga, three of the legendary landmarks of the Camino del Cid.
Abanco has only one inhabitant. The town belongs to the municipality of Berlanga de Duero: www.berlangadeduero.es
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