off the patio. Of the eight arches, two are in horseshoe shape, and the
others formed by irregular and capricious curves. The columns are almost
hidden in the walls. The ceiling is modern, and unfortunately cuts off
the view of the elegant _ajimeces_ and arabesques of the upper stage.
The ornamentation recalls that of the Alhambra. This chamber--said by
some, on no particular authority, to have been a mosque--was the seat of
the Inquisition down to 1706. The guide points out a cell called La
Torreta, in which--according to Verdi’s opera _Il Trovatore_--Manrico
was confined. The opera is founded on a legend of Zaragoza, and the
libretto was written by Garcia Gutierrez, a native of the city.
Some may enjoy the beautiful view of the Pyrenees obtained from the
Aljaferia more than the building itself.
* * * * *
Probably only a few fragments of this old palace are older than the
Cathedral of La Seo. This is the name commonly given in Aragon to the
cathedral church, and comes, of course, from the Latin _sedes_, like our
own word ‘See.’ Zaragoza became the metropolitan city of Aragon in 1318,
and the archiepiscopal dignity was reserved as far as possible to the
illegitimate sons of the kings. The city has now two cathedrals, which
are used for alternating periods of six months. The Seo is the older of
these, and occupies the site of the Moorish mosque--some say, even of an
earlier Christian temple dating from Roman times. The church was, at all
events, entirely rebuilt between 1188 and 1432, several Moorish names
being mentioned among the architects. It can hardly be said to have been
completed till the year 1550. Here were crowned the Kings of Aragon, and
here, as we have related, was slain the Inquisitor, Pedro de Arbues.
The west front was completed as late as 1685 by Julian Garza and Juan
Bautista Contini. It is in the classical style of that period, and is in
two stages separated by a broad entablature. The lower stage is adorned
with massive Corinthian columns, and pierced with three doorways; the
upper story is decorated with three statues of Christ and the Apostles
Peter and Paul, by Giral, placed in niches; above is a pediment
finished with an ugly finial. This front is flanked by an octagonal
tower of four stages, each smaller than the lower one, and is therefore
not inaptly compared by Ford to a telescope. This structure is in the
same style and reveals the same want of taste as the adjoining façade.
The third stage contains the belfry. The whole is surmounted by a
weather-vane and steeple, perched on a Moorish-looking dome. The statues
of the Apostles on the belfry are by Acali. There is no other façade
worthy of notice; but the Puerta de la Pavostria is in the better and
earlier classic style of the sixteenth century. It derives its name from
a functionary known as the Pavorde, who here distributed alms.
Street, who did not consider this cathedral in general interesting, has
much to say about a portion of brickwork at the north-east angle, inlaid
with small tiles in diapers, red, blue, green, white, and buff on white.
The eminent architect sees in this an interesting specimen of Moorish
work, and praises the grave quiet of the whole decoration (_Gothic
Architecture in Spain_, xvii. 372).
The church is of unusual breadth, there being two aisles and a row of
chapels on each side of the nave. ‘The nave and aisles,’ says the
authority we have just quoted, ‘are all roofed at the same level, the
vaulting springing from the capitals of the main columns, and the whole
of the light is admitted by windows in the end walls, and high up in the
outer walls of the aisles. In this respect Spanish churches of late date
almost always exhibit an attention to the requirements of the climate,
which is scarcely ever seen in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries;
and this church owes almost all its good effect to this circumstance,
for it is in light and shade only, and neither in general detail nor in
design that it is a success.’
The vaultings are adorned with gilded pendants and bosses, very much in
the Moorish style. The light red marble pavement, with rays diverging
from the yellow marble bases of the columns, appears to have been
intended to suggest a reflection of the roof with its ogive vaultings
above. The decoration is tasteful and not elaborate. The capitals are
sculptured with _putti_ upholding escutcheons with animals and foliage.
Over the chancel is the lantern, octagonal in plan, which replaced an
earlier one in the first quarter of the sixteenth century. The work was
undertaken by Enrique de Egas, only at the express command of the king.
The lower part is adorned with statues in niches, and with the canting
arms (the half-moon) of the family of Archbishop de Luna.
The reredos of the High Altar is of alabaster and in the Gothic style.
It was executed at the order of (and not by, as we have seen erroneously
stated) Archbishop Dalmacio de Mur (1430-1456). The seven compartments
are filled with compositions representing the martyrdom of St. Lawrence,
the burial of St. Vincent, and episodes in the history of St. Valerus;
with statues of the two latter saints, angels, and New Testament scenes.
In all, the expressions and the draperies are exquisitely rendered. Don
J. M. Quadrado is of opinion that this superb work was executed by Pedro
Johán of Cataluña, Ans, Gombao, Caspar, and Gil Morlán successively.
Before the High Altar the coronation took place, and the king, robed
like a deacon, prostrated himself before the primate. On the gospel side
is the wooden coffin which contains the ashes of Maria, daughter of
_Jaime lo Conqueridor_, who died in 1267. At her side is the noble
marble tomb of Archbishop Don Juan de Aragon, brother of Ferdinand the
Catholic, with statues of the Mater Dolorosa, attended by Saints
Jerome, Martin, and Francis. Here are also the tombs of Archbishop Don
Alonso, natural son of Ferdinand the Catholic, and of his natural son,
also Archbishop, Don Fernando. The first-named did not take orders till
after the birth of his son and successor, and only celebrated one mass,
deeming himself unworthy of the sacerdotal functions. Beneath a tablet
is deposited the heart of the Infante Baltasar Carlos, eldest son of
Philip IV., carried off by smallpox at the age of seventeen. His
portrait is familiar to students of Velazquez.
The choir occupies two of the five bays west of the crossing. It is in
the Gothic style, and closed by a modern railing. In the centre is the
tomb of Archbishop de Mede, from whose time the choir dates. The stalls
are of Flemish oak. The fine lectern dates from 1413. The _trascoro_, or
back of the choir, is a gorgeous plateresque affair in marble and
stucco, the work of Tudelilla of Tarazona, who flourished about 1538.
His are the statues of the martyrs Vincent and Laurence, the four
reliefs illustrating their martyrdom, and that of San Valero, and the
groups of cherubim. The tabernacle is in a not untasteful baroque style,
and has side columns of black marble and a good crucifix. This figure
of Christ is said to have addressed Canon Funes, afterwards Bishop of
Albarracin, who is shown on his knees regarding it. The sides of the
choir are adorned with statues of saints, including that of Pedro de
Arbues, on the very spot where he was slain.
Few of the chapels are of interest, and all but one have been disfigured
with baroque portals. In the chapel of San Bernardo is the fine tomb and
effigy by Morlánes of Archbishop Don Fernando de Aragon, above being a
retablo representing the Betrayal and the Crucifixion. Close by lies
Doña Ana de Gurrea, mother of the prelate (died 1527). The chapel of San
Gabriel, founded by Gabriel de Zaporta, is notable for its fine bronze
_reja_ and plateresque adornments. In the chapel of San Dominguito del
Val are preserved ‘the remains of the third child crucified by the Jews
in hatred of Christ towards the year 1250’; and the chapel of San Pedro
de Arbues contains that worthy’s body, his kneeling effigy by José
Ramirez, and paintings by Jimenez of Tarazona. In the chapel of Nuestra
Señora de la Blanca are collected the tombs of sundry archbishops. The
chapel of San Miguel owes its origin to a ghastly legend. Passing
through the pine grove of Villaroya, the Archbishop Don Lope de Luna
heard a voice calling him. He turned and saw that it proceeded from a
severed head which came leaping towards him. The decapitated man had
called on the Archangel at the moment the axe descended, and life was
miraculously preserved in his head till he had made his confession, and
was absolved by the primate. De Luna’s tomb is a triumph of Gothic art.
He is shown with mitre and crozier, reclining on a sarcophagus which is
sculptured with twenty-eight figures of friars in various attitudes. In
niches in the wall surrounding the tomb are beautifully carved figures
of ecclesiastics and grandees, full of vigour and expression. The name
of the sculptor of this fine work is unhappily unknown.
In the sacristy is to be seen the Gothic cross of gold and jewel-work,
on which the kings of Aragon swore to observe the _fueros_. Some of the
vestments are very fine. A casulla is said to have come from old St.
Paul’s, London, at the time of the Reformation. There is a magnificent
_custodia_, dating from 1537, and a fine silver reliquary, sent from
Avignon in 1405 by Benedict XIII. (the anti-pope, De Luna). In the Sala
Capitular are pictures attributed to Ribera and Zurbarán. The fine tiled
pavement of this room is modern.
The church of Santiago is mentioned as far back as 1121, and retains a
few Romanesque features. Here the saint is said to have lived on his
visit to Spain; and in the porch the magistrates of the city used to
assemble and to administer justice.
The most important church in Zaragoza after the Seo is, in Street’s
estimation, that of San Pablo, built in 1259. The octagonal steeple is
faced with tiles in much the same way as the part of the cathedral wall
above described, and is certainly a later addition to the structure. The
nave is of four bays and terminates in a five-sided apse. The aisle is
continued all round the church, and communicates with the nave by
pointed arches in an extraordinarily thick wall. In the left aisle are
five early and highly interesting Gothic retablos. The elaborate reredos
of the High Altar, with its reliefs of the Passion and of the Acts of
St. Paul, is hardly worthy of the master--Damian Forment--to whom it has
been hastily attributed. Ford suggests that it is the work of one of his
pupils.
The church of Santa Engracia, which figured prominently in the great
siege, commemorates the massacre of a number of Christians of both sexes
by the soldiery of Dacian. The bodies of the saints, Engracia and
Lupercius, having been discovered here in 1389, the church already built
on the spot was enlarged, and finally rebuilt with great splendour by
Ferdinand the Catholic. A terrific explosion on August 13, 1808,
completely wrecked the fabric, leaving little more than the plateresque
portal, believed to have been designed by Morlánes. The entrance is
through a round arch recessed within another, and surrounded by a
retablo-like arrangement of niches containing groups. The outer arch is
flanked by four statues of doctors of the Church in niches, and
surmounted by statues of Ferdinand and Isabel.
The existing church, clumsily restored by the Hermits of St. Jerome,
contains some interesting tombs of the martyrs. They appear to date from
the fifth century. One is decorated with reliefs in the rudest Byzantine
style, the subjects being Adam and Eve and the Serpent, and the sixteen
martyrs, whose relics are enclosed. The pillar is shown at which Santa
Engracia was flogged by order of Dacian, and a well which is believed to
contain the bones of innumerable martyrs.
It is curious and painful how constantly the memorials of religious
fanaticism confront one in this beautiful country. Here we are shown the
spot where a Christian suffered for his faith; there where a Jew
perished; there where a Moor died for conscience’ sake. Persecution
naturally engenders a vindictive and intolerant temper in its victims,
and these, become the masters, are hardened, not softened, by
affliction. Religion, too, in Spain was almost always identified with
race. The Moor, the Jew, and the Lutheran were not only infidels or
heretics, but aliens--the political and racial enemies of the Spaniard.
In fact, religious intolerance in the Peninsula cannot be said to have
assumed such unnatural forms as in France and Germany, where men of the
same blood and language cut each other’s throats, and vied with each
other in doing the most harm to their native lands.
To the dawn of the sixteenth century also belonged the famous leaning
tower at Zaragoza, the Torre Nueva, now demolished; while the Lonja or
Exchange commemorates the reign of Juana la Loca, or as the inscription
states, of her and her son, Don Carlos, ‘conregnantes’ (1551). This is
one of the many buildings scattered over Spain and Europe generally
which were intended to accommodate brokers and business men, who
resolutely refuse to swarm in the appointed spots--witness our own Royal
Exchange, the Lonjas of Seville and Granada, etc. The exterior belongs
to no recognised style. The round-headed door is flanked by two windows
of similar shape; above runs a sort of imitation gallery, then two more
rows of round-headed windows, finished off with a fine eaves-cornice.
The soffits of the arches are elaborately carved. At each corner of the
edifice is a little tower, roofed with white and green tiles. The
interior is divided into a nave and aisles by twenty-four columns, of
which seventeen are embedded in the walls. From their Ionic capitals
spring seventeen arches, which at the points of intersection are studded
with gilt bosses. The Lion of Zaragoza may be distinguished among the
decorations, and over the door and on the walls the arms of Spain.
O’Shea says that the ‘gigantones’--gigantic figures representing the
four quarters of the globe, carried about in processions--are kept here.
* * * * *
A great many of the fine old mansions (_solares_) of the aristocracy and
merchants of Zaragoza disappeared in the siege, or to permit of modern
improvements. Those which remain date mostly from the sixteenth century.
The finest, on the whole, is the Casa de la Infanta, so-called as having
been the residence of La Vallabriga, a lady banished from Madrid for
marrying the Infante Don Luis. The house was built by a rich merchant
named Gabriel Zaporta in the middle of the sixteenth century. A square
entrance admits to a court, round which runs a gallery, upheld by
columns on fluted pedestals, and formed of caryatide figures
interlocked. On these rest the capitals, elaborately carved with masks,
and on these again is borne the gallery, the arches and parapet of which
are enriched with medallions, masks, grotesques, and foliage. The
decoration is a fine specimen of the plateresque style. The staircase,
in the same style, is worthy of note.
The fine old Casa de Comercio, described in several guide-books of
recent date, no longer exists. The noble mansion of the Counts of
Sastago housed Philip III. in 1599; and the Audiencia occupies the site
of the ancestral home of the De Luna family, to which belonged the
anti-pope Benedict XIII. and the wicked Count in Verdi’s opera.
We have left almost to the last that ambitious but meretricious memorial
of the decadence, the new cathedral, or Iglesia del Pilar. The Apostle
James (Santiago), according to tradition, visited the city forty years
after the birth of Christ. He was favoured by a vision of the Blessed
Virgin, poised on a pillar of jasper, and attended by angels. He built
a modest chapel on the spot, which soon became a great resort of
pilgrims. This was replaced in the thirteenth century by a large church,
which was demolished to make room for the present building, erected in
1686 by Don Francisco Herrera. The design, bad enough in itself, was
made worse by Ventura Rodriguez seventy years later. The exterior hardly
merits description, though the domes or cupolas with their brilliant
green, yellow, and white tiling are not without a certain bizarre
beauty.
Spanish writers are as severe as others in their condemnation of this
spacious edifice: ‘The baroque style’ (says Don J. M. Quadrado), ‘as
timid and clumsy in the general proportion of the work as it was
audacious and presumptuous in detail, gave space not repose to the
Pilar--size without grandeur. The eye measures vainly this square of
1500 feet, and observes the nave and aisles equal in dimensions; it
rests on the twelve square piers--enormous masses which might serve for
the bases of towers, recoils from the bare vault, from the thick
cornice, from the ridiculous foliage of the capitals, the arches, etc.
This disagreeable impression is intensified by the strange and confused
disposition of the temple, which, divided into two by the Shrine and
the High Altar, presents two centres of attraction, and obstructs the
nave with objects masking each other.’
The only objects of particular interest in this vast edifice are those
just named, which stand back to back. The Shrine or Capilla Santa
constitutes a chapel within a chapel, the exterior being rectangular,
the interior elliptical. Overhead is an oval dome borne on four
Corinthian columns, with capitals richly gilded, and over this again
another cupola or lantern painted by a namesake (not a relative) of
Velazquez. There are four smaller domes painted by Goya and Bayeu. The
profusion of rich marbles, the elaboration of the architecture, the
brilliancy of the frescoes, and the multitude of statues give this
chapel a sumptuous and not inartistic appearance. Around are hung
banners taken from the infidels. The Sacred Pillar is almost entirely
concealed, but there is a hole in the casing through which the devout
may kiss it. On each side of the chapel imposing staircases lead to the
crypt, in which lie several archbishops and canons, and the heart of Don
Juan José of Austria, brother of Carlos II.
The High Altar of the cathedral is of alabaster and in the Gothic
style, the work of one Damian Forment, an early sixteenth-century
artist. The lower reliefs, separated by slender pilasters, represent the
Espousals of the Virgin, the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity,
the Adoration of the Magi, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection. Above,
in canopied niches, are the Assumption, the Nativity, and the
Presentation. The canopies are richly adorned with the figures of
saints. At the sides are two large statues of St. James and St.
Braulio--objects of special devotion--and at the apex of the
altar-screen are two angels supporting Our Lady of the Pillar. The whole
is undoubtedly the finest work of art in the cathedral.
The choir stalls merit attention. They were designed by the Navarrese
Estebán de Obray, and carved by the Florentine Giovanni Moreto and
Nicolás de Jobato between 1542 and 1548. The infinite number and variety
of the designs, the delicacy and intricacy of the work, suggest that it
was accomplished in two or more generations rather than in six years.
Equally admirable is the bronze _reja_ by Juan Tomás Celina (1574) on a
marble base, sculptured by the Majorcan artist, Guillermo Salvá.
The sacristy contains an immense variety of offerings to the shrine by
pilgrims from all parts of the world. These had been accumulating for
centuries, and the Chapter were able some years ago to raise a sum of
£20,000 by disposing of only a portion of them. Without profanity we
might perhaps say that the Virgen del Pilar is to Zaragoza what Diana
was to the Ephesians. Hundreds make a living by selling pictures and
models of the shrine, and a surprising number of silversmiths do a
roaring trade in images and medals. Yet it is not quite wise or safe for
the traveller to scoff at a devotion which largely inspired the heroic
defence of 1808, and supplied the place of arms, strategy, and able
leadership.
Close by, the yellow Ebro is spanned by the seven arches of the Puente
de Piedra. Its origin is of unknown antiquity. It was here in 1435, when
one of the arches collapsed--presaging the destruction by the Genoese of
the Aragonese fleet which sailed that day; and the inscription
mentioning Alfonso V., and the date 1437, can only refer to its
reconstruction. And across this bridge we pass into the stern, desert
country of Aragon, and so on to the distant, gleaming Pyrenees.
[Illustration: PLATE 1
GENERAL VIEW OF VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 2
GENERAL VIEW OF VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 3
THE BRIDGE OF PIEDRA
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 4
LA ACERA DE SAN FRANCISCO]
[Illustration: PLATE 5
THE TOWN HALL
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 6
THE OLD PARISH CHURCH
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 7
HOUSE IN WHICH CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS DIED, 1506
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 8
HOUSE WHERE KING PHILIP II. WAS BORN, 1527
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 9
THE ROYAL PALACE OF PHILIP III.
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 10
CHURCH OF SAN JUAN DE LETRAN
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 11
COLLEGE OF THE ESCOCESES
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 12
COLLEGE OF THE INGLESES
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 13
INTERIOR VIEW OF THE LIBRARY
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 14
INTERIOR OF THE MUSEUM
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 15
FAÇADE OF THE MUSEUM
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 16
MUSEUM. BACK OF A CHOIR STALL. BY BERRUGUETE
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 17
MUSEUM. DETAIL OF THE CHOIR STALLS OF SAN BENITO
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 18
MUSEUM. SEVERAL FRAGMENTS OF CHOIR STALLS BY BERRUGUETE
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 19
MUSEUM. HEAD OF ST. PAUL. WOOD CARVING. COMMENCEMENT OF EIGHTEENTH
CENTURY
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 20
MUSEUM. CENTRE-PART OF A WOODEN ALTAR-PIECE END OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 21
MUSEUM. FRAGMENTS OF CHOIR STALLS. BY BERRUGUETE
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 22
MUSEUM. FRAGMENTS OF CHOIR STALLS. BY BERRUGUETE
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 23
MUSEUM. ALTAR-PIECE CARVED IN WOOD. END OF FIFTEENTH CENTURY
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 24
MUSEUM. THE ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN. BY RUBENS
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 25
MUSEUM. ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA AND THE CHILD JESUS. BY RUBENS
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 26
MUSEUM. THE ANNUNCIATION. BY JOSÉ MARTINEZ
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 27
MUSEUM. THE HOLY FAMILY. BY RAPHAEL
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 28
MUSEUM. ST. FRANCIS AND A LAY BROTHER BY RUBENS
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 29
ST. JOACHIM AND THE VIRGIN AS A CHILD BY MURILLO
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 30
PROVINCIAL MUSEUM. ST. BRUNO
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 31
CENTRE OF THE FAÇADE OF ST. GREGORIO
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 32
DETAIL OF THE FAÇADE OF ST. GREGORIO (LEFT SIDE)
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 33
DETAIL OF THE FAÇADE OF ST. GREGORIO (RIGHT SIDE)
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 34
LEFT ANGLE IN THE COURT OF ST. GREGORIO
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 35
GALLERY IN THE COURT OF ST. GREGORIO
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 36
DETAIL OF THE COURT OF ST. GREGORIO
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 37
INTERIOR GATE OF ST. GREGORIO
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 36
FAÇADE OF ST. PABLO
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 39
LOWER PART OF THE FAÇADE OF ST. PABLO
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 40
DETAIL OF THE PORTAL OF ST. PABLO
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 41
LOWER CENTRAL PART OF THE FAÇADE OF ST. PABLO
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 42
PORTAL OF ST. PABLO
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 43
DETAIL OF THE RIGHT-HAND SIDE OF THE PORCH OF ST. PABLO
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 44
DETAIL OF THE LEFT-HAND SIDE OF THE PORCH OF ST. PABLO
VALLADOLID]
[Illustration: PLATE 45
GENERAL VIEW
OVIEDO]
[Illustration: PLATE 46
TOWER OF THE CATHEDRAL
OVIEDO]
[Illustration: PLATE 47
PRINCIPAL ENTRANCE TO THE CATHEDRAL
OVIEDO]
[Illustration: PLATE 48
PRINCIPAL GATE OF THE CATHEDRAL
OVIEDO]
[Illustration: PLATE 49
CATHEDRAL. VIEW OF THE INTERIOR
OVIEDO]
[Illustration: PLATE 50
CATHEDRAL. THE RETABLO
OVIEDO]
[Illustration: PLATE 51
LA CAMARA SANTA; OR PRIMITIVE CHAPEL OF SAN MIGUEL WHERE ARE PRESERVED
THE RELICS SAVED BY PELAYO FROM THE HANDS OF THE MOORS
OVIEDO]
[Illustration: PLATE 52
COFFIN IN OVIEDO CATHEDRAL, AND DETAILS OF THE SEPULCHRE FROM COVADONGA
OVIEDO]
[Illustration: PLATE 53
OLD TOWER OF THE CATHEDRAL
OVIEDO]