The Cristo del Otero is a 20-metre statue of Christ standing on a hill at the northern edge of Palencia, visible from the surrounding flatlands of the Tierra de Campos from a great distance. The sculpture, by Palencia-born sculptor Victorio Macho, has a powerful, angular quality very different from the more sentimental Christ statues of the region — the face in particular is striking, with a gaunt, sorrowful expression that reflects Macho's modernist sensibilities.
The hill itself is worth climbing for the view over the city and the surrounding cereal plains. The landscape of the Tierra de Campos — flat, vast, treeless, under enormous skies — has an arid beauty that is wholly different from the tourist Spains of the coast or the mountains. The base of the statue contains a small museum with exhibits on Macho's life and work.