Villafranca del Bierzo – May 16, 2017

Last night’s post was interrupted by an Internet failure, so to finish:

The gastronomic experience of the day came with our late afternoon meal.  The vino tinto was more the colour of prune juice, albeit thinner.  The label on the bottle suggested an ‘environmental agricultural’ establishment.  Possibly not enough insecticide residue to provide the appropriate colour.

Tomorrow (today now) is a scheduled rest day, so we will have plenty of time to see the churches and castle.  And to lick our wounds – although licking the soles of my feet is neither possible or desirable.

And Vic found a quilting store!

May 16, 2017

After a leisurely breakfast we struggled up the hill into town just in time for the setup of a small street market – a few veggies, plants and clothing. Vic bought a hat.

Then it was time to make a bee line for the quilting store. Not much on offer, but run by a very nice lady.

It was close to the first church into town, Iglesia de Santiago, the Santiago Church. This big stone 12th century church has a rather nice arched door in the north side with a unique capability. If a pilgrim is injured or sick enough that they cannot make it to Santiago, they may petition to enter this church through this door and they will receive their compostella, as though they had done it at the cathedral in Santiago. This tradition was confirmed by popes in the 15th and 16th centuries. There are enough restrictions that it doesn’t seem practical – it must be a holy year, distance, confession, and more. It is closed anyway.

The one church that was open was at the Colegiata de Santa Maria, the Iglesia de Santa Maria de Cluniaco. This was instigated by a warrior noble, but took many years to finish. It is mostly remarkable for its architecture.

.Four decidedly large columns support several arched domes of different designs. The ribs of the domes are granite, but the infill is made of tapered pieces of slate, instead of brick or carved rock.

The various altars and retablos are from different eras. The choir carvings are gated off but reputed to be well done. There are two organs. The lady caretaker regaled us for a long time on the features and history. She may have been lonely or just proud of her church.

She tells that there are three convents in town, one with 9 nuns, the others fewer. There are only two priests to administer the area, the elder at 77 seems to work an 18 hour day.

The other obvious item in town is the fort/castle, Castillo de Villafranca. A huge square of high walls with four enormous towers at the corners. It is privately owned. There was a modest compact car parked at the gate. I would have thought the owner would have had inside parking.