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| Plaza Mayor of the little town with 282 inhabitants |
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| Monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos |
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| We waited in a queue to get in ... |
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| ... but then we were in the famous cloister |
This cypress is about 100 years old and 22 metres tall!
Santo
Domingo was founded in the
11th century by a monk named Dominikus (Span. Domingo) and supported by
Ferdinand I. In this isolated village close to the Camino de Santiago
from Valencia to
Santiago de Compostela, a massive church and convent was built but
only the cloister survived until today.
The cloister was built by different unknown stonemasons, one trying to
outdo the other by even more artistic ornaments and higher
craftsmanship.
The Romanesque cloister of the medieval monastery is richly decorated with extraordinary sculptural ornaments. Each of the four cornerstones image plates tell a part of the story of Christ.
This corner shows Christ wearing a pilgrim's bag decorated with a shell and accompanied by two disciples. His legs are crossed,
indicating a certain inner tension. (The explanations were in slow and clearly articulated Spanish so I understood a lot ;-)
Also the floor and the Mudejar ceiling was beautiful. We were hoping to see some of the very important books which are kept in this cloister, but there is no exhibition on that.
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| Chapel on the hill |
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| Flower of the Day |