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Trasmiera
Comarca
Coat of arms
Country	Spain
Autonomous community	Cantabria
Province	Cantabria
Capital	Ribamontán al Monte
Municipalities	List Argoños,Arnuero,Bárcena de Cicero,Bareyo,Entrambasaguas,Escalante,Hazas de Cesto,Liérganes,Marina de Cudeyo,Medio Cudeyo,Meruelo,Miera,Noja,Ribamontán al Mar,Ribamontán al Monte,Riotuerto,Santoña,Solórzano,Voto
Area
• Total	557.97 km2 (215.43 sq mi)
Population  (2018)[1]
• Total	60,477
• Density	110/km2 (280/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	trasmerano, -a
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)

Trasmiera (Spanish:Trasmiera;Cantabrian and historically:Tresmiera)^[2][3][4] is a historiccomarca ofCantabria (Spain), located to the east of theMiera River (tras Miera, meaning behind Miera, from the point of view ofAsturias de Santillana), reaching the western side of theAsón. It extends between the bays ofSantander andSantoña, occupying most of the Eastern seaboard of Cantabria. This piece of coast is known for its cliffs and fine beaches, such as those of Langre, Loredo, Isla, Noja and Berria. Towards the interior, thecomarca offers large prairies as well as considerable hotel and camping development.

Trasmiera is composed of the 19 municipalities ofArgoños,Arnuero,Bárcena de Cicero,Bareyo,Entrambasaguas,Escalante,Hazas de Cesto,Liérganes,Marina de Cudeyo,Medio Cudeyo,Meruelo,Miera,Noja,Ribamontán al Mar,Ribamontán al Monte,Riotuerto,Santoña,Solórzano andVoto. Their areas and populations are as follows:

Its history starts inprehistoric times, evidences of whom can be found at the caves ofPuente Viesgo,La Garma (Omoño),Santoña andMiera. On the other hand, no trace ofRoman presence is known in the area, except inSantoña bay, for theromanization of this zone was scarce and weak. On the contrary, the culture of theCantabri persisted until the end of theVisigoth monarchy. Between the 8th and 10th centuries a great process ofrepopulation took place, which indicates that these lands were almost uninhabited.

KingAlfonso I of Asturias (739-757),Duke of Cantabria, ordered the resettlement of what now is known as thecomarca of Trasmiera, where there was little presence of human settlements. The repopulation was done following the habits of the time, with the help of smallmonasteries, around which immediately appeared family settlements which would reach village status, marking the origin for future small towns or villas. The monks received in exchange the property of the barren lands with the condition of having to cultivate them.

The most ancientrepopulation monasteries were those ofSan Vicente de Fístoles (inEsles de Cayón) andSanta María del Puerto (inSantoña), the latter having a large jurisdictional scope that lasted until the 16th century; however, from the 11th century on it was forced to depend on the monastery ofSanta María la Real inNájera (La Rioja) by royal order, and so it remained until the 19th century when theDesamortización caused the dissolution of the monasteries.

In the documents of the 11th century, thecomarca of Trasmiera appears as a geographic and administrative entity. Thisdelimitation has contributed to the conservation of many ancestral habits and activities through the centuries. One unusual activity that endured until recent times weretide mills, a good example of which is in the town of Isla.

From the 13th century on, this demarcation was established as administrative entity by royal order. The king was represented by amerino, which at first was a person from theBurgalese Lara family. The capital of themerindad was inHoz de Anero where the Assemblies ofCudeyo,Ribamontán,Siete Villas,Cesto andVoto took place. When some years went by, the administrators ormerinos passed to be elected from the native families of Trasmiera.

The fame of the mastermasons of thiscomarca goes back to theMiddle Ages. The job of mason needed good training, was traditional and had certain renown beyond the Trasmeran frontiers. During the 15th to 18th centuries masonry was at its very peak in Spain,Portugal and the African colonies. Many of them worked in the building of works so special as theEl Escorial Monastery and theCathedral ofSigüenza, and great monuments inGalicia; however they barely left their mark in Cantabria.

It is known that at the beginning of the 12th century a large number of masons of Trasmiera were called to work in the construction ofAvila's City Walls. From the 15th century on it is known by documents that they were working all aroundCastile and that they had positions of great responsibility. They saw themselves in the necessity of creating aguild association, an esoteric and reserved association in which they communicated by an especial jargon that only they knew. This jargon was calledla pantoja. The job was transmitted from fathers to sons, so they enjoyed an especial learning that allowed them to be Masters, and thus to direct cathedral constructions before the thirties.

Contracts were temporal, and the emigration from thecomarca generally took place in March, to come back for the winter. The most famous and most solicited masons were sometimes out of their homeland for years, and they only came back to get married or to administrate their properties, sometimes also to make their will; however they didn't lose their neighbour status in their hometowns, even if they stayed long years away from it. Normally thefamily name reflected their origin. Some of these masons achievedhidalgo status with their ownheraldic arms granted by the king, and even occupying public charges sometimes.

• Martín,Bartolomé yGaspar de Solórzano:Cathedral of Palencia.
• Juan Gil de Hontañón: Cathedrals ofToledo,Segovia andSalamanca.
• Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón: Cathedrals ofValladolid,Segovia andSalamanca,Santiago de Compostela...
• Diego de Riaño:Cathedral andTown Hall of Seville.
• Juan de Herrera, the Trasmeran:Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.
• Juan de Maeda: Cathedrals ofGranada andSeville.
• Diego de Praves: Royal architect inValladolid.
• Juan de Nates: Works in Valladolid.
• Francisco de Praves: Architect of theDuke of Lerma in Valladolid.
• Marcos de Vierna: General Commissioner of Public Works during the reigns ofFerndinand VI andCharles III.
• Valentín Mazarrasa: Works in Valladolid,Toro andZamora.
• Julián Mazarrasa: Author of a treaty on architecture.

Another one of the traditional jobs of Cantabria and above all of thecomarca of Trasmiera is the altarpiece-making; to conceive and compose analtarpiece, to come up with and arrange its design.Woodworking was very highly regarded during theMiddle Ages andRenaissance. After the rules of theCouncil of Trent in 1563, which promoted the cult to icons and altarpieces, many workshops arose in this Cantabriancomarca. The highest peak is from the 17th century, from when much documentation exists.

Some altarpiece-makers asSimón de Bueras,Juan de Alvarado orBartolomé de la Cruz reached great prestige and were called to work inLa Rioja,Castile and theBasque Country. The so-calledMasters of the Seven Villas (aroundSantoña bay) were the ones who had more contact with the Castilian workshops. Many of these altarpiece-makers were consummate architects and had fine workshops wherecarvers, carpenters, sculptors,gilders and a whole series of necessary jobs for their work's culmination. These are some of the essential jobs in an altarpiece-maker workshop:

• Master architect, who organized the structure and presented the design
• Master carver, who was in charge of the decoration's motives
• Master carpenter
• Master sculptor
• Master painter, who did the colors
• Master gilder, who did the gilding and the artistic scraping

In addition to these consummated masters, many apprentices and officials worked in the workshops. During the first five years the master taught the apprentice and gave him food and shoes. After that, if the apprentice wanted to continue with the job, he spent another five years as official until he reached enough knowledge level in the job that allowed him to become independent and establish his own business.

When there was need for an altarpiece work, a banner calling for these masters was placed in the church door on Sunday. After a month, the altarpiece-makers gathered in said church and there they showed their drawings, their devised design and their work and payment conditions to theclergy and butlers of the parish church. These men chose one of these offers, then showed it to all the contestants to commence the bidding. Thatauction lasted the time that a candle takes to consume (although some times it was three candles' time), and the job was given to the master whose bid was on top at that moment. The next requisite was that either the assigned master had to pay a warranty deposit, or he had to present other colleagues asguarantors. Once this session was finished, the contract was signed before a notary. There was also a commission of masters who were in charge of assuring that the project carried out as planned.

The Roman influence ofMichelangelo and his followers reflected in the first stage of theCounter-Reformation is the style which the Trasmeran masters complied with. Images are represented with great realism and expressivity; the suffering of the saints and martyrs is patent. The most clear example of this tendency isJuan de Anchieta, disciple ofJuan de Juni. After that, the style of the masters evolved, and half past the 17th century they let into their work the influence ofGregorio Fernández. The altarpiece workhouses imitated and spread the new trends until the tastes changed, and by the end of that century images are gradually removed, so the altarpiece structure got represented by other kind of decoration.

Bellfounding in Cantabria is tradition that goes back to theMiddle Ages. Thecomarca of Trasmiera was a cradle for prestigious bellfounders, whose fame transcended theSpanish borders, which granted them works in some part ofEurope andAmerica. They reached such significance that many specialists remark that there is nocathedral,basilica orchurch that hasn't had in its belfries some work of a Cantabrian bellmaker.

In Trasmiera the job was carried out basically in theSeven Villas Assembly (made up of the villages ofAjo,Arnuero,Bareyo,Castillo Siete Villas,Güemes,Isla,Meruelo,Noja andSoano) where bellmaking workshops abounded then. This knowledge was transmitted from fathers to sons through the centuries, constituting real sagas of master bellmakers.

This importance allowed the fact that important cathedrals inMexico orPeru have bells made by Trasmeransin situ. Thus, the bell called"La Cantabria" was founded inLima in 1797 for its cathedral, demonstrating the significance of these artisans and their origin. In 1753, the bell considered the largest of Spain, weighing 22tonnes, was made by master founders of Arnuero destined to thecathedral of Toledo, and whose making took two years. Some chronicles tell that when the bell was used for the first time, it broke all the glasses of the city and caused all the pregnant ladies to miscarry, which forced its makers to make holes in it to lower its ringing.

In 2004, as a wedding present to thePrinces of Asturias, Cantabria gave them the "Virgen Bien Aparecida" bell,^[8] which weighs 1,600 kg and was founded inGajano (Marina de Cudeyo) by two of the last master bellmakers and heirs to the Trasmeran tradition, the Portilla brothers.

• CAMPUZANO RUIZ, Enrique. Cantabria. Pas y Miera. Trasmiera. Patrimonio Artístico Religioso, 2002.ISBN 84-931754-5-5
• Folleto turístico Cantabria infinita, editado por el Gobierno de Cantabria en julio de 2004.
• GARCÍA GUINEA, Miguel Ángel. Románico en Cantabria. Guías Estudio, 1996, Santander.ISBN 84-87934-49-8

• (in Spanish)News of Trasmiera

43°24′40″N3°36′33″W / 43.41111°N 3.60917°W /43.41111; -3.60917

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