A partial tour of the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral. I’ll be going back for more.
Portico of Glory by Master Mateo and his workshop. You can no longer enter the cathedral from this entrance and must pay to see the portico. Of course I did. You can see the hand print where thousands upon thousands of pilgrims have touched it, but you can no longer join them (the guard is there to see to it that you don’t.) It is glorious and will be well preserved. No pictures allowed. The photo was available online.
This was followed by a tour of the rooftop, and yes, my legs are still wiggly from all the steps.
The progression of the pictures. St. James from below. St. James zoomed in from below. The back of St. James from the top.
Other shots from the roof.
Afterward, I stopped by “the office” — San Félix de Solovio (aka: San Fiz). All the pictures are from the inside because I forgot to take one outside.
I was not expecting to “work” today, but the priest who was here had to leave early, so I took the Mass at 4 p.m. I have not been that nervous praying the Mass since my first time!
The brief history provided to pilgrims:
This church is mentioned in the Codex Calixtinus and is associated with the first pilgrims. Legend has it that this was the first church in Compostela and the home of a hermit named Paio, who, guided by a star, was able to discover the tomb containing the remains of Saint James. The pilgrim Leon de Rosmital, who traveled between 1465 and 1467, wrote in his diary: iOn the outskirts, before entering the city, there is a small Galician church believed to have been built by Saint James, where he lived while preaching in Galicia.”
Historians date the original church on this site to the 9th century. Damaged during the Arab invasions, it was rebuilt around 1122. In 1316, a portico and a polychrome tympanum depicting the Adoration of the Magi were added.
The tower was added several centuries later.
The early medieval church was destroyed by Almanzor and rebuilt in the 12th century by Diego Xelmirez. In the 18th century, it was rebuilt once again by Simón Rodríguez, who significantly expanded the church grounds and built a new bell tower, whose design was often imitated throughout Galicia in the following years.
At a side altar. She is beautiful… Nuestra Señora de la Soledad (Mary, Mother of Sorrows)
She is Mary alone in her grief after Christ’s Passion. Attributed to Galician sculptor José Ferreiro, she wears dark mourning colors, tears visibly streaming down her face. The sword recalls Simeon’s prophecy, while her upward gaze transforms sorrow into prayer, surrender, and hope.
Other pieces throughout the church that I plan to learn more about during the week.
It was then time for dinner because I forgot to eat lunch. Let’s just say, “I’ll be going back.”
Taberna Montes— a wonderfully Galician meal: zamburiñas a la plancha, small scallops grilled in their shells with olive oil, garlic, and herbs, followed by pulpo á feira, tender octopus dressed simply with olive oil, coarse salt, and smoky pimentón. I washed it all down with a crisp, refreshing glass of Albariño—Galicia on a plate.
The lines for the public areas of the Cathedral are long. Maybe not tomorrow, but I will be up early one day this week to get in at 7 a.m. while pilgrims on their way are not yet here and pilgrims who are here are sleeping in.
I pray you are all well and happier than The Queen who is not yet sociable at the Cat Resort (I get her a room to royal self and she sleeps in the darkest corner.)
