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GALICIA Information - CATHEDRALS of Galicia

Masterpieces not only In masonry, but also in the symbolism of the architectural whole. The cathedrals of Galicia's old dioceses, with the feeling of their masterbuilders, sum up the essence of history, where different ethics and aesthetics live side by side.

SANTIAGO, CATHEDRAL OF CATHEDRALS. Through medieval codices, we know the stages of construction of Compostela Cathedral, mostly from the "Callistine Codex ", a pilgrims' guide from 1149.
A walk around the cathedral is in itself real ascesis: we can put our five fingers on the column of the mullion, we can knock our heads against the Santo dos Croques, obtaining the knowledge of this image that represents the masterbuilder Mateo offering his work to the Altar - we can embrace the Romanesque seated image and we can visit the crypt.

On the lintels of the Portico of the Gloria is the inscription that says it is the work of Mateo from its commencement, and that this began in the year 1188. Over the whole Romanesque facade there was the symbolic interpretation inspired by the texts of the Apocalypse of St. John: the crypt or entrance symbolized the origin, the initial chaos; going up to the intermediate part, a balcony open to the west, with the three arcades of the Portico of the Gloria alluding to the militant church, to the pilgrims' road, to the quests, the Old and New testament; for Christ the Judge leading to celestial order, the cosmos, represented by the rose windmv, where the light enters and is diffused, a symbol of the perfection of the God-geometrician of the universe.

The "Botafumeiro" or king of incensories is essential in liturgies. In the upper middle ages, they hung lamps and incense burners in palaces and churches, where they burned aromatic plants such as myrtle, olive and incense. In the 14th century, there were already reports of a large incensory, and the mechanisms that made it work date from the 16th. The traditional doorway for taking photos of a visit to Compostela is the Platerias doorway, with its facade representing the human nature of Christ. Next to it, in the direction of the Plaza de A Quintana dos Mortos, is the Santa doorway, also known as Porta dos Vintesete, referring to the number of small figures that frame the door and which used to belong to the Romanesque choir, also by Mateo. This doorway is only crossed in St. James' Holy Years, when the Apostle's day falls on Sunday.

From Plaza de A Quintana, we can see the Baroque additions to the cathedral: balustrades, pinnacles, sticking out over the Clock Tower or Berenguela, so called because it was Bishop Berenguel who decided to wall in this part of the cathedral.VThe whole Plaza de la Quinitana, immortalized in poetry by García Lorca, is enclosed by the stern Herrerian wall of the Benedictine Convent of San Paio de Antealtares. In the Plaza de Obradoiro, there is a Plateresque access to the cloister and the cathedral museums, of tapestries, lapidarium and archaeology.

MONDONEDO CATHEDRAL, which grew out of the original cathedral of San Martiño de Mondoñedo, in the lands of Foz, was a source of inspiration for the contemporary fable-writer Alvaro Cunqueiro. It has a Romanesque design which, in the enclosure of the choir, houses some expressive 15th-century paintings, such as the Slaughter of the Innocents. Going round the site, we can see the vaults of the transept painted by masters who, in the Renaissance, worked on El Escorial. In a side chapel is a Gothic image of the English Virgin, which is traditionally said to have appeared in the sea, and the access to the rich, varied Diocesan Museum where we can find exhibits ranging from a selection of the prelate's shoes to English retables in alabaster. When you go past the enormous rose window, you can feel the almost divine mastery of the constructors.

LUGO CATHEDRAL was a prototype for Romanesque style in the area. Inside, you can feel an atmosphere of Galician mysticism that stone gives to Romanesque cathedrals. The monstrance is permanently on display, the central symbol of Galicia's arms, and we would necessarily have to find time to pay respects to the Virxe dos oilos grandes, in its highly Baroque chamber, so worshipped by the people of Lugo. We can also see the medieval tomb that is said to be St Froila's, the mother of St. Froilan, the patron saint, who we can see depicted in the imagery accompanied by the figure of a wolf. Side retables by the Plateresque Cornelius of Holland.

OURENSE CATHEDRAL, built on the site of an upper medieval church devoted to safe-keeping the relics of St. Martin of Tours. A Romanesque church, with the Portico of El Paraíso, The Christ of the Unprotected and the beautiful Gothic cupola, the retable by Cornelius of Holland, which by itself justifies a visit to this city in As Burgas, and the Gothic sepulchre of the unknown bishop. There is a great deal more, however: the chapel of Santo Cristo, with its Baroque baldachin by Domingo de Andrade, centred by the image of the venerated Christ, which is said to have appeared in the water around Finisterre. And the obligatory visit to the Diocesan Museum with pre- Romanesque objects attributed to St. Rosendo, the magnificent 15thcentury processional cross by the Arfe family workshop, Limoges enamelling, all proof of the power of Ourense in medieval times.

A visit to TUI should start in the upper part, that acropolis which culminates in the CATHEDRAL, an initially Romanesque building, although finished with a representative Gothic portico in the 13th century. The iconographic message shown in its sculptures takes us to the Birth of Christ, where Mary curiously appears in bed receiving the shepherds. In different periods, this cathedral was in danger of collapse, especially after the Lisbon earthquake, so some arches had to be included inside to support the columns. Highlights are a beautiful Baroque retable of the Expectation topped by an image of the pregnat Virgin, a 16th-century work which is previous to the retable.

We should not miss the Chapel of Relics or Chapel of San Telmo, with the curious altarpiece-reliquary. We should also visit the cloister, a 13th century construction which is nowadays a lapidarium museum. From the towers, it is easy to see its defensive objective and its domination over the Miño.

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