Apologies to the sculptor and commissioners, but the newly installed crucifix of the cathedral of Santo Domingo de la Calzada in La Rioja (a town I really like and featured previously) – it looks like it was made of Playmobil (a Lego-like product, manufactured in Spain). It did get me thinking about what a crucifixContinue reading “The Cross and the Camino: the Crucifix of Santo Domingo de la Calzada”
Tag Archives: Camino Francés
Rattle and hum: the towers of the Obradoiro façade
Following on from my last post on the Obradoiro façade, where we looked at the central portion in particular, let’s now take a little closer look at the sides. In fairness, as you face the façade, your eyes are drawn to the centre such that it’s sometimes hard to appreciate the two flanking towers thatContinue reading “Rattle and hum: the towers of the Obradoiro façade”
The front of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela – the Obradoiro façade
It’s the one in all the postcards and selfies, and anyone who has walked/cycled that far has almost certainly had their moment immortalized in pixels and probably taken a few photos for others too. Everybody say ‘Quesoooooo’! The western façade of the cathedral was the brainchild of Fernando de Casas Novoa, who began construction inContinue reading “The front of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela – the Obradoiro façade”
The Camino and the Spanish Civil War (part 6 – Santiago de Compostela)
At the east end of the cathedral (the ‘back’, so to speak) the square known as Praza da Quintana is divided into two levels, the lower Quintana de Mortos (‘Square of the Dead’) used to be a cemetery until the end of the eighteenth century, and above the steps lies the Quintana de Vivos (‘SquareContinue reading “The Camino and the Spanish Civil War (part 6 – Santiago de Compostela)”
Medieval Mapping – a superior technique for a modern pilgrim?
When chatting about guides and maps to the Camino, John Brierley’s A Pilgrim’s Guide is often spoken of approvingly, particularly for its maps. Indeed, a separate smaller maps-only versions of his guide to the Camino Francés and Camino Portugués are also available. Part of the reason they are so successful is that they follow aContinue reading “Medieval Mapping – a superior technique for a modern pilgrim?”
The Camino and the Spanish Civil War (part 5 – Burgos)
I’ve been to the village of Tardajos three times (10km west of the centre of Burgos), in 2016, 2018 and 2022, and if you’ve walked the Camino Francés, you’ve certainly passed through it too. When I was there in 2018 I noticed something that surprised me; the name of the principal street was Calle GeneralContinue reading “The Camino and the Spanish Civil War (part 5 – Burgos)”
The Camino and the Spanish Civil War (part 4 – La Rioja)
There’s one person you’re bound to meet on your Camino, and if you don’t find him at first, keep looking and like Where’s Wally? (or Where’s Waldo? in the USA), he’ll eventually pop up — he’s José Antonio Primo de Rivera, and I first spotted him in La Rioja. You enter the famous winemaking regionContinue reading “The Camino and the Spanish Civil War (part 4 – La Rioja)”
Jacques de Molay – last Grand Master of the Knights Templar
There’s an awful lot of junk written about the Order of the Knights Templar, and it’s not just the fault of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code – it stretches back at least as far back as the eighteenth century founding of the Freemasons, and ultimately has it roots in the events of the Order’sContinue reading “Jacques de Molay – last Grand Master of the Knights Templar”
The Camino and the Spanish Civil War (part 3 – Navarra)
Alto del Perdón, just south of Pamplona, features in almost every Camino guide thanks to a rust-coloured iron art installation of medieval pilgrims struggling into the wind, accompanied by the legend ‘Where the way of the wind meets that of the stars’ (Donde se cruza el camino del viento con el de las estrellas). AltoContinue reading “The Camino and the Spanish Civil War (part 3 – Navarra)”
The Camino and the Spanish Civil War (part 2 – Navarra)
As you walk through Pamplona, you are guided along the Camino by the usual yellow arrows and occasional blue sign, but also by a series of shiny aluminum discs embedded in the pavements, with an engraved shell-star and a little biker symbol (I’ll confess that it was probably my third visit to Pamplona when IContinue reading “The Camino and the Spanish Civil War (part 2 – Navarra)”
Denis Casey 