Our trip to Zaragoza was unplanned. It was not part of the official tour itinerary. But that morning, as our bus was leaving Barcelona for Madrid, our Tour Director announced that he had a little surprise for us – instead of stopping at another roadside café, he decided we’d do a little side trip to Zaragoza to visit the shrine of the Nuestra Señora del Pilar (Our Lady of the Pillar). It was not out-of-the way at all. All it would take was a little adjustment to the route. He said he had been thinking about it the other night and had carefully calculated the time. If we left Barcelona as planned, we could have five to six hours in Zaragoza, even making it to the noon Mass at the Basilica.
He made the executive decision to make this detour because he thought this shrine should have been part of the tour. He himself, is a devotee, and would very much like to stop there to pay his respects to Our Lady who has granted him a wish. No one disagreed. In fact, we were all grateful for this.
Zaragoza is the capital city of Zaragoza province and of the autonomous region of Aragon. The city centre overlooks the Ebro River and boasts of landmarks characterized by a myriad of architectural styles – Gothic, Baroque, and Mudejar. It even has Roman ruins.
But the impressive multi-domed Basilica clearly towered over all of them. It is built in the Baroque style, though the the original structure was Romanesque. In 1434, it was damaged by fire and was reconstructed in the Mudejar Gothic style. Then in 1681, Charles II, then king of Spain, had it rebuilt in its current style. Today, the Basilica is the second largest church in Spain, after the cathedral in Seville. It’s huge dome and four spires dominate the skyline, with the glazed blue, yellow, and white tiles on its cupolas shimmering in the sunlight.
Since this was going to be a brief stopover, we headed directly to the shrine’s parking lot. And to make things easier for us, our Tour Director led us to the eastern entrance of the church, where the chapel that houses the venerated image of the Blessed Virgin is located atop the legendary pillar. The Roman-style pillar carries the 15th century Gothic statue of the Virgin holding Baby Jesus enclosed in an elaborate silver casing. The pillar itself is typically covered in a rich vestment called manta. Apparently, some 20 new mantas are donated each year by individual devotees, cities, states, and nations.
The chapel, made of marble, jasper, and gilded bronze, and almost seems like a small church within a church, was designed by royal architect Ventura Rodriguez. Around it, are vaults with frescoes painted by Francisco Goya: The Queen of Martyrs and Adoration of the Name of God.
To be honest, I was not very familiar with the story of Our Lady of the Pillar. Our Tour Guide briefly told us that according to local legend, Saint James the Greater was sitting on the bank of the Ebro River, discouraged by his lack of success in spreading Christianity around the region, when our Lady appeared to him and assured him that his efforts were not in vain. This was in 40 A.D., when the place then called Caesar Augusta, was still under Roman rule and the Virgin Mary was still living in Jerusalem, making this her only reported apparition prior to her Assumption. Our Lady gave Saint James a statue of herself and instructed him to build a church and dedicate it under her name. She also left behind a pillar of jasper to mark the spot where she appeared.
Over the centuries, the shrine has received many distinguished pilgrims including Saint Therese of Avila, Saint John of the Cross, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, and many kings and queens of Spain. In fact, even in the 20th century, the shrine played an important role in the founding of the Opus Dei order by Saint Josemaria Escriva. As a young seminarian, he visited the shrine daily to pray for guidance.
For Spanish children, it has become a tradition to make a pilgrimage here after their First Communion. Another popular custom every evening is for young children to be presented to the Virgin. Parents hand their children to the altar boys who carry them to the front of the pillar, and the parents, standing outside the altar rail, take pictures.
We were just in time for a quick photo before the Mass started at the chapel. After the Mass, we walked around the rest of the Basilica.
We noticed a memorial hanging on one side of the chapel with two bombs. Our Tour Director was quick to explain that those are in fact, real bombs placed there to remind people of the miraculous intervention that happened in the Spanish Civil War in 1936. The bombs were dropped by airplanes but failed to explode.
We also noticed that at the back of the chapel, there was an opening where people can kneel and touch the pillar and the statue. The lines were long, however, and we did not have time to do this. In fact, our Tour Director told us that we should probably be heading out to get some lunch and perhaps do a little sightseeing on our own, so we could leave for Madrid in the mid-afternoon.
But before we went out, I took the time to look at the main church's interior to admire the large vaulted nave flanked by immense pillars and the retablo (main altar piece) made of alabaster. A series of smaller chapels were lined up, but I didn’t have time to visit them individually. I heard there’s an elevator that takes one up to the north tower where one can take a flight of stairs all the way to the top to enjoy the breathtaking views of the city across the soaring spires. I also heard that there is a museum within the cathedral that houses various artwork and religious artifacts related to Our Lady of the Pillar. It was too bad I couldn’t see those either.
I bought a couple of magnets from the souvenir store and saw some brightly coloured ribbons being given away (for a small donation). Offered in a rainbow of colours, each ribbon was stamped with these words in Spanish, “the measurement of Our Lady of the Pillar.” I wasn’t sure what these were, so I asked the lady from the souvenir shop. She said that this tradition began when pilgrims asked to have the manta of The Virgin brought to them for the sick and the dying. The requests became so numerous that the church now offers in its stead ribbons that are of the same length as The Virgin’s statue, which is 15 inches. It has become a symbol of blessing and protection for many Aragonese people and they use this to adorn their homes, shops and vehicles.
My travel amigas and I headed out to Plaza del Pilar, which is said to be the largest pedestrian plaza in all of Spain. Indeed, it was a picturesque 400-metre expanse lined with historic landmarks, cafés, tapas bars, boutiques, fountains, and statues. There were also street performers, musicians, and lottery carts, which I thought of as funny and ironic at the same time for they were parked right outside the church.
Our first mission was to find a place where we could get a fast lunch. One of my amigas spotted a quaint café right across from the basilica called, El Real. We quickly ordered small meals and were quickly served as well. I had a small tuna sandwich and an order of churros con chocolate. As soon as we were done eating, we did some quick exploring, and by that, I meant, looking at the landmarks without really going inside.
We checked out the Ayuntamiento de Zaragoza (city hall) which was a reconstruction of the original Renaissance building damaged during the Spanish Civil War; the La Lonja de Mercaderes which was originally built to serve as a market exchange between merchants and now an art gallery; the Museo del Foro de Caesaraugusta which is a multi-media museum built around the archeological ruins of a Roman forum; the Cabildo Metropolitano De Zaragoza which houses the ecclesiastical council of Zaragoza; the Catedral del Salvador de Zaragoza, also known as the Catedral de Seo, which is a Gothic-Romanesque-Baroque cathedral built over the remains of a mosque and features a medieval tapestry museum; the monument of Francisco de Goya (who was born there); the cenotaph of Goya and the family Goicoechea; the Fuente de Hispanidad which is a fountain designed to represent the map of Latin America; and the Bola del Mundo giant sculpture. It was a pity that we could only look at them at this point. But then again, we were not even supposed to be in Zaragoza, so we just took what we could.
We had a few minutes to spare to stroll along Calle Alfonso and check out the assortment of shops and restaurants in rows of beautiful old buildings, but didn’t have time to browse the wares. Nevertheless, it was a wonderful walk, for the street is a blend of the historic and modern, and no doubt, has a vibrant night life.
This city, in my opinion, is a complete gem, and what's great about it is it is not overrun by tourists (my impression at the time of our visit). I guess it still remains a very much underrated and undiscovered destination in Spain, and it is a place I'd love to return to next time.
When it was time to go, we boarded the bus and headed for Madrid.
Photo Credits:
britannica.com, erasmusu.com, casavirgendelpilar.com, line.17qq.com, spiritualtravels.info, Rob Lawrence, Carlos Teixidor Cadenas, enjoyzaragoza.es
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