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Paradoxplace Italian Photo Galleries Directory Spain Photo & History Gallery Links Camino de Santiago / Camino Frances Photo and History Galleries Spanish & Portuguese Abbey, Monastery, Mosque and Cathedral Links
SANTA MARIA LA BLANCA VILLALCÁZAR DE SIRGA (aka VILLASIRGA)
Return to Camino de Santiago / Camino Frances Photo and History Galleries
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Map of the Camino de Compostela / Camino Frances - from the excellent MSM book "The Roads to Santiago de Compostella" |
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The huge church ("temple") of Santa Maria la Blanca is one of the points where pilgrims going to Santiago de Compostela can get another stamp on their document of passage.
The present unimaginative treeless setting, disguises the fact that the church was built under Cistercian supervision for the Knights Templar, and backed onto the south side of a large Templar castle (now gone).
The original (larger) church would have been built in the 1100s in one go. It's most striking surviving feature is the huge portico / narthex on the south side. If this looks a bit unbalanced it is because only half of it is left - and there was originally a tower above. There were also major door structures on the west facade (now blank) which were compared to the west entrance to the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela in magnificence !
Incidentally, in Dom P's inimitable tradition of providing fascinating contextual information, Alfonso VIII set up a university at nearby Palencia in 1214 which predated those of Salamanca (1218) and Valladolid (1346). The earliest universitry in Europe was Bologna (1088) followed by Modena (1180). Paris, Oxford, Cambridge, Padova, Siena and Naples (the first State University in Europe - established by Frederick II in 1224) were amongst several 1200s university startups.
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This style of doorway and extended richly sculptured portal, with no tympanum or archivolts, is also common in some areas of the the west of France. |
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The sepulchre of Doña Leonor Ruiz de Castro y Pimental, wife of Prince Felipe, younger brother of Alfonso X ("the Wise"). Felipe died in 1274 and his sepulchre is similar and unphotographically behind that of his wife. He was closely associated with the Templars, who by then were entering the final phase of their life (they were dissolved in the early 1300s, though in Spain and Portugal there was usually a seamless transfer of assets and functions to other military orders like the Knights of Santiago). It is unusual to find evidence of painting, though in reality almost everything would have been painted at the time it was made. |
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In 1987 the Pilgrims' Route to Santiago de Compostela was declared "The First European Cultural Itinerary" by the then European Council, a predecessor of the EU. Since then lots of lolly has flowed into route infrastructure, including roadside maps and sculptures ..... but walking is as hard as it ever was. Mostly the Camino parallels the road structure, as below, though sometimes it branches off on a cross country course undisturbed by cars! |
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All original material © Adrian Fletcher 2000-08 - The contents may not be hotlinked, or reproduced without permission.
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