Peñalba de Santiago, an unique village Located at El Bierzo's spiritual heart, Peñalba de Santiago is quite a special example of traditional architecture preservation. Its houses are built up around the X century Mozarabic church, making a stamp worth to be enjoyed. Peñalba de Santiago is also full of historical art and rural tradition at the Tebaida Berciana, which was famous because of its monasteries and hermitages, some of them currently completely disappeared. A thousand years ago the Astorga's bishop, a man called San Genadio, decided to came here looking for peace and spiritual retreat, living on a cave deep in the valley until his death. ​ Peñalba is located at 1100 meters of altitude, facing the Aquilian Mountains and its green valleys of Friguera and Silencio. The Roman Empire took the water from here to dig Las Médulas gold mines with it. It was carried trough cannals that even today can be seen or confused with a simple path.