León to Astorga

The road from León to Astorga moved us through some small towns. One of them, Santibáñez de Valdeiglesias, was preparing for a festival to celebrate the Holy Trinity. We were there when the members of the parish were lining the street with branches and strewing fennel in the street. I paused to chat with a gentleman and expressed to him what a wonderful tradition they had. He turned to me and asked me to look around at who was preparing the town for the celebration. I noticed that all the people were in their 50s or older. He then said that once they are gone the tradition will die with them. Either their youth have left for larger cities or they are no longer believers. Truly a sad tale.

A little further on we began an ascent into the nearby hills.

And had some amazing views of the rolling countryside. Finally we have moved away from the flatlands of the Meseta Central.

We soon topped a hill and got our first view of Astorga...

In Astorga we took the students to the Palacio Gaudí, designed by the famous architect to be an Episcopal Palace. Sadly, due to a variety of issues, including the death of Astorga's bishop, the palace was never used for its original purpose. Today it is a museum with works that discuss the Camino de Santiago.

Astorga also has a beautiful Cathedral...

Its main altar is a Renaissance piece that was strongly influenced by the work of Michelangelo.

Next to the Cathedral is the Iglesia de Santa Marta and attached to it is the Celda de las Emparedadas. The celda, probably dating from the 14th century, was built to house women who entered into a practice known as immurement. 

This monastic practice was a harsh version of eremetic asceticism where women would voluntarily exclude themselves from society thereby becoming a living saint. They would sleep on the floor and have only the necessities to sustain themselves, relying primarily on the good will of the local citizens for food. Their purpose was to dedicate themselves to penance and prayer. Communication with the outside world was through a small window (to the left of the first door where you see a little steps up to the window).

Inscribed on the lintel above the window is a verse from Ecclesiasticus 38:23 (also known as the Wisdom of Jesus, son of Sirach, from the Apocrypha), translated says: "Remember my judgment: for thine also shall be so: yesterday for me, and to day for thee."

OVIEDO

The Monday (June 1) we took the group to Oviedo. It is here in the early 9th century that Teodomiro visited the king, Alfonso II, el Casto, to report the discovery of the remains of Santiago. No longer afterward the king initiated the first pilgrimage to Santiago. Interestingly, tradition holds that the king declared, "Quien va a Santiago y no a San Salvador, visita al criador pero no al Señor" ("Whoever goes to Santiago and not to San Salvador, visits the servant and not the Master"). So, we visited the Catedral de San Salvador first. The cathedral's museum holds one of the most amazing treasures in Spain: the Arqueta de las Agatas. This box was made in the 10th century and was gifted to the cathedral by prince Fruela de Asturias, the son of Alfonso III, el Magno, and the prince's wife Nunilo Jimena. It is made up of beautify agate pieces held together with gold and silver. The bottom of the piece holds the images of the Tetramorphs.

An interesting story attached to the Cathedral is found in the Main Altar.

On the third row up from the bottom, in the second panel from the left is the scene from the marriage at Cana...

Note that there are five wine vessels with a space between the fourth and the last. In that space should sit a sixth wine vessel. Well, if you go to the small chapel to the left of the altar you will find the sixth vessel, believed to be one of the originals from the marriage celebration...

A great story.

Earlier in the day we took them to see two pre-Romanesque buildings: Santa Maria del Naranco and San Miguel de Lillo. Originally Santa María was a palace that was later consecrated as a church. Both were built in 842.

Santa María del Naranco

San Miguel de Lillo