Arcera

Illustrated in Calderón Escalada (1971: p. opp. 44) as a hemispheric mounted baptismal font of the Romanesque period. The basin appears to have deep concave ribbed pattern all around. The round stem of the base has the same pattern framed between two roll mouldings; the lower base is square. The entry for Arcera in the Enciclopedia del románico [https://www.romanicodigital.com/sites/default/files/pdfs/files/cantabria_ARCERA-AROCO.pdf] [accessed 14 May 2025] describes and illustrates the font in the now disused church of San Miguel de Arcera: "pila románica, troncocónica sin decoración" [cf. infra]. The entry for this church in the local web site [https://www.arcera.org/iglesia-san-miguel.php] [accessed 14 May 2025] notes the large font and a disappeared stoup: "En el pórtico se encuentra el baptisterio con una preciosa y enorme pila bautismal que se ha salvado al expolio quizás por su tamaño. No tuvo tanta suerte la pila de agua bendita que desapareció allá por el año 92" [cf. supra]. The same web site describes a second church in Arcera, Iglesia de Santa Cruz, that one in the lower part of the village known also as "Santa Cruz de Arcera"; the original church was also 13th-century, but was much modified in the 16th; no font mentioned in it [https://www.arcera.org/iglesia-santa-cruz.php] [accessed 14 May 2025].