Christian refugees, fleeing from Muslim-occupied Spain to Liébana in the 8th century, brought with them the Lígnum Crucis , purportedly the single biggest chunk of Christ’s cross and featuring the hole made by the nail that passed through Christ's left hand. The Santo Toribio Monastery, 3km west of Potes, has housed this holy relic ever since. The monastery is also famous for being the home of medieval monk and theologian Beato de Liébana, celebrated around Europe for his Commentary on the Apocalypse.
Illuminated manuscripts of Beato's work were distributed throughout Europe and came to be known as Beatos. Around 25 survive today and the monastery's cloister is lined with replicas, but the original text was lost. The Lígnum Crucis is kept inside a crucifix of gold-plated silver in a lavish 18th-century baroque chapel off the monastery's austere Gothic church and is an extraordinary magnet for the faithful.
You can drive 500m past the monastery to the tiny Ermita de San Miguel , a chapel with great valley and Picos views.
