Although the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela is impressive by itself, it is also surrounded by magnificent plazas filled with distinguished monuments within the city's Old Town, as it is called. The church, its grounds, and the outlying Santa Maria de Conxo Monastery, constitutes an extraordinary ensemble of Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and Neoclassicist buildings. This Old Town is not only a harmonious and very well preserved historical city, but also a place deeply imbued with faith.
We walked around to explore the famous squares - Praza do Obradoiro, Praza das Prateriaz, Praza da Quintana, and Praza da Inmaculada.
Praza do Obradoiro is at the western façade of the cathedral (No. 4 on the floorplan) and is the most popular. This façade was my first glimpse of the church and was where we entered. Its name was derived from the Galician word for "workshop" and was named as such because this façade features a wealth of decorative and iconographic art work from renowned stone artists and stone masons from the city.
The buildings around this main plaza are very impressive. Pazo de Xelmire (Archbishop’s Palace) with its Romanesque architecture is where temporary exhibitions are sometimes held (there was none at the time of our visit). Hostal dos Reis Catolicos (The Catholic Monarch’s Hotel), whose construction was ordered by Ferdinand and Isabella to serve the pilgrims as both a hotel and hospital, is at present, a fancy state-run hotel. Casa do Concello (Town Hall) was once an archbishop’s palace. The two Romanesque-Gothic buildings are now universities - Colexio de San Xerome and Colegio de Fonseca.
We walked to the south end and reached another plaza, the Praza das Prateriaz (No. 1 on the floorplan). It is smaller but cozier and has an ornate fountain of four horses with webbed feet as its centerpiece. From there, we could see the church’s oldest façade, the only Romanesque façade that remained unchanged from eight centuries ago.
Around this square are arcades lined with shops that still sell all kinds of silverware (prateriaz is a Galician word for "silversmith") as they did in the olden days. Fronting this is the Caso do Cabido (Chapter House) noted for its bright red doors and windows. It is only three meters deep because it was built for the sole purpose of beautifying the plaza.
Not far is the Praza da Quintana (No. 2 on the floorplan) that has a flight of steps that divide “Quintana of the Living” above the stairs and “Quintana of the Dead” below, where there was once a cemetery. A huge necropolis was discovered there when excavations were made in 1964.
The plaza is known for its long Baroque wall topped with 17th-century pinnacles and lined with 24 statues of Biblical figures. The highlight for pilgrims is the Puerta Santa (Holy Gate), which is set into this gate and opens only during Jubilee Years. Unfortunately, it was not a Jubilee Year when I was there.
Running on one side of this square is the western wall of the Convent of San Paio de Antealtares characterized by lots of windows. In contrast to the wrought-iron grating of these windows, we saw colourful planters that were hung and whose blooms brightened the rather ascetic wall. Nearby is the clock tower whose upper section was remodeled in the Baroque style and whose bells chime every quarter of an hour.
Completing our circle around the cathedral is the Praza da Inmaculada (No. 3 on the floorplan) on the northern side, facing the Azabacheira Façade. The façade's name is derived from the Galician word for "gemstone jet." It replaced the much older Porta do Paraiso, a Baroque Neo-classical façade that would have welcomed medieval pilgrims in the olden days. This is the traditional end point of the pilgrims hiking the Camino Frances and the Camino Ingles.
Facing it is the former Monastery of San Martino Pinario, once the second largest monastery in all of Spain. It now houses the Seminario Mayor and also serves as a museum and a simple tourist and pilgrims’ hotel.
I heard that its rooms are comfortable and the price of accommodations is quite reasonable. Perhaps I could consider staying here if ever I go back to Santiago de Compostela. Aside from its proximity to the cathedral, its history gives it a character that one will never get from a modern cookie-cutter hotel. Imagine sleeping in the very quarters where the medieval monks used to stay!
Photo Credits:
slideshow bob (Wikipedia), Luis Miguel Bugallo Sánchez (Wikipedia), ipinimg.com, santiagoturismo.com, Aestudio (Wikipedia), buendiatours.com, xacopedia.com, turismo.gal
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