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Links to individual Bellatrovata pages
Bellatrovata and Paradoxplace are the creations of Adrian Fletcher
All original material Š Adrian Fletcher 2000-07 - The contents may not be reproduced without permission. Feedback and comments to Adrian Fletcher
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Bellatrovata
SPRING IN SPAIN 2006 SANTA MARIA LA BLANCA VILLALCAZAR DE SIRGA (aka VILLASIRGA) |
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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. Its most striking surviving feature is the huge portico / narthex on the south side. If this looks a bit unbalanced it is because originally it was even wider, and there was a tower. There were also major door structures on the west facade which were compared to the west entrance to the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela !
Incidentally, in Dom P's inimitable tradition of providing fascinating contextual information, Alfonso VIII set up a university at nearby Palencia which predated those of Salamanca and Valladolid.
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The sepulchre of Doņa 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 there was often 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 infrastructures and art ..... but walking is as hard as it ever was |
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Links to individual Bellatrovata pages
Bellatrovata and Paradoxplace are the creations of Adrian Fletcher All original material Š Adrian Fletcher 2000-07 - The contents may not be reproduced without permission. Feedback and comments to Adrian Fletcher
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