What follows is my attempt to chronicle and recreate a few of experiences in Spain and France this summer for those interested. Focus primarily will rest on history and religion, and in particular the history that lives in the churches and castles that line the pilgrim roads toSantiago Compostella in Spain. The Muslim conquest of the Holy Land in the Seventh and Eighth centuries caused the traditional pilgrimage to Jerusalem to become increasingly dangerous. As the Middle Ages unfolded, the journey across the Pyrenees and into Spain to the traditional burial place of St. James became the dominant pilgrimage route. The results were dramatic. The first great wave of Christian churches in the Middle Ages sprung up along the pilgrim roads - the age of Romanesque was born. Architecture, spirituality, culture and politics would all be dramatically affected by the great mass of Medieval Christians on the road to Compostella.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Plaza of the Explorers
I loved this plaza in Madrid dedicated to the Spanish explorers Don Quixote points toward the horizon
Just a comment here: The name of this square is : Plaza de España and the monument in the centre is dedicated to the writter Miguel de Cervantes, who is sitting in the column. This is why Don Quijote and Sancho appear at the base. They are fiction characters and they were not explorers... but a knight and his squire wandering throughout Spain looking for exciting adventures and helping the miserables... ^^)
This blog is dedicated to Isabel of Andalucia, a mysterious, Spanish flamenco dancer sometimes seen shimmering through the lush gardens and cool fountains of the Alcazar in Sevilla.
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Don Quixote points toward the horizon.JPG)
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Just a comment here:
ReplyDeleteThe name of this square is :
Plaza de España and the monument in the centre is dedicated to the writter Miguel de Cervantes, who is sitting in the column. This is why Don Quijote and Sancho appear at the base. They are fiction characters and they were not explorers... but a knight and his squire wandering throughout Spain looking for exciting adventures and helping the miserables... ^^)