painting, and in the Museum, which occupies the buildings of the old
Convento del Carmen, Ribalta, Espinosa and Juanes are seen at their
best. The school is noted for the peculiar deep red undertone of the
shadows, which is very markedly apparent in the works hanging on these
walls. There are also some beautiful examples of native faience and
pottery, for Valencia is still the home of Spanish lustre ware.
The Valencians are great bird fanciers, and very keen pigeon shots.
Numerous lofts built on the roofs for these birds cut the sky-line in
the old quarters of the city. Sunday sees the dry bed of the Turia full
of competitors in shooting matches, when toll is taken of the feathered
inhabitants of these airy dwellings.
If it were not for the rather bad drinking water and the malarious
marshes, the breeding-ground of a most particularly venomous mosquito,
Valencia would be as pleasant and lively a spot for residence as any in
Spain. The climate is good and it is near the sea. It stands on the edge
of a veritable fruit garden, and its people are pleasant and friendly.
TORTOSA
Journeying to Valencia from the north one is carried along a grand bit
of coast with glimpses of the blue Mediterranean rolling in on stretches
of yellow sand, and breaking into spray on the rocks above which the
train runs. The _rapido_ stops for lunch at Tortosa, and I got out
intending to stay if there was anything in the famous old city or its
Cathedral which might bear illustrating in this book.
I reached the best _fonda_ in the place, and was heartily welcomed by
its lively little landlord, who immediately handed me one of his cards,
whereon was set out, amongst many superlatives, the news that an
interpreter was attached to the house. "Gone away for the day, señor,"
was the reply when I asked for an interview. He was always away I fear;
however, I did not need his services and my host and I became fast
friends. So friendly indeed that I only just avoided an embrace at
parting on the day I left. He took great interest in my doings, and on
his side gave me much information. He explained to me how the mighty
Ebro, on which Tortosa is situated, and to which it owes its existence,
had risen in flood during the disastrous October of 1907. "Right up to
here, señor"--this while I was having lunch--and he pointed to a spot a
couple of inches off the floor of the _comedor_, which was on the first
floor of the house--"A terrible flood that?"--"Yes, señor, the streets
were for weeks full of mud and all sorts of things. Hundreds of poor
people lost everything and many were swept out to sea."
Another day I remarked on the gas that lit the _fonda_ and asked my host
why he had not put in electric light. "It is too expensive, señor; some
people have it, and the Market Hall is lit by it; but you must
understand that Tortosa long ago did away with oil lamps and was one of
the first places in Spain to use gas. And now?--well it is enough for
us, and the electric light is too expensive."
Elsewhere in Spain I have been told with pride that the country is still
in the foremost rank of civilisation--whatever the Progressive Press
says--and the almost universal use of electricity has been pointed out
to verify the boast. But Tortosa, which led the van when gas was a
novelty, is the only place of any importance that I know which is still
lit by this means.
Local tradition has it, that the city dates back to the time of St.
Paul who, I was told, settled here and built himself a nice little
house. Whatever the saint did it is on record that before his day the
town was an important Iberian port of the Ilercaones tribe, and in later
years under the Romans, possessed a mint of its own, being then known as
Julia Augusta Dertosa. Strategically the key of the great river, Tortosa
was subject to repeated attempts at capture by those not in occupation.
During the time when it was held by the Moors, Charlemagne's son Louis,
after an unsuccessful attempt, gained possession, only to be driven out
in the year 810. It was not until 1148 that the Infidel's reign was
finally terminated by Ramon Bereuguer, Count of Barcelona.
In the following year a desperate attempt was made by the Moors to
retake their stronghold, and the inhabitants, reduced to the last stage
of despair, contemplated the sacrifice of their women and children, and
then a final sortie to end their own lives. The women, however, showed a
true militant spirit, they courted death, but not in this mean manner.
Mounting the hardly defensible walls with every and any weapon they
could lay hands on, the men were directed to sally forth. The gates were
opened, and cheered on by their wives and daughters, the sterner sex
rushed out. So determined was the onslaught that the Moorish host was
beaten back and fled leaving all the plunder in his camp behind.
Ramon, to show his appreciation of the heroism displayed by the fair
ones, invested them with the Order of the Axe (La Hacha) and decorated
them with the red military scarf. Also decreeing that at their marriage
they should precede mankind, and to this added the privilege of
duty-free dress materials. What more could woman want?
The Cathedral occupies the site of a mosque erected in 914 by
Abderrhaman. A Cufic inscription in the wall at the back of the sacristy
relates this with the date. Bishop Lanfredo dedicated the building to
the Virgin in 1158, but the present structure dates from 1347. It is
extremely good Gothic, with a heavy baroque west façade, ugly and
ill-proportioned. Of the exterior but little is visible, and my sketch
simply includes the upper part of the façade, visible over the roofs of
the quaint old town, with the river flowing in front.
The interior is very simple and dignified. The slender columns of the
nave rise to a great height; the light that filters through the few
clerestory windows that are not blocked subdues the garishness of a bad
_trascoro_, and finds its way amongst the tracery of the arches of the
double apse. In Avila Cathedral this same feature prevails. A double
aisled apse with open-work tracery between the arches and below the
vaulting of the aisles.
[Illustration: TORTOSA]
The _silleria_ of the _coro_ were carved by Cristóbal de Salamanca in
1588, and are really beautiful. The two pulpits are covered with
interesting iron bas-reliefs, and the High Altar encased in a mass of
plateresque silver work. The _retablo_ is a good specimen of early
Gothic work, and I could not help thinking how much better such an one
is than the many overdone chirrugueresque atrocities met with in more
famous places.
Tortosa is the centre of a district the mountains of which yield many
different kinds of marble, and the Cathedral is especially rich in
these. Perhaps the chapel of Cinta contains the best; the most used is
the _broccatello di spagna_ a purple colour with tiny marine molluscs
embedded in the hard clay. The Cathedral is adorned at certain festivals
with a series of splendid tapestries, and amongst many relics overlooked
and left by the French is a fine Moorish casket of ivory.
Pope Adrian IV., the Englishman, was at one time Bishop of Tortosa, a
fact which added interest to this beautiful little Cathedral.
The cloisters are early pointed Gothic, now much dilapidated and uncared
for. On the encircling walls are many highly interesting mural tablets,
a few of which have recumbent figures cut in low relief with their backs
to the wall, as is the case in the earliest Gothic effigies of this
sort.
TARRAGONA
My recollections of Tarragona can be summed up in three words--blue sea,
sunshine, and peace.
Some fifteen or twenty years ago the quays of its fine harbour were full
of life and bustle, ships entered the port and ships went out. The trade
with France in light wines was good, and with England and America in
those of heavier quality, better still.
Nowadays it is cheaper to send wines by rail. Reus, a railway centre a
few miles inland, has captured a great deal of Tarragona's trade, and
modern history repeats itself once more. Cheap and quick delivery are
the watchwords. Hurry and hustle are leaving the old trading towns
behind. Barcelona is not far away. Centralisation is everything, and
thus it happened that I found very few places in Spain so reposeful as
Tarragona. And I might add so beautifully situated as this old city
which climbs and crowns a hill that rises from the very edge of the blue
Mediterranean.
Very few cities in Spain can boast of prehistoric walls still extant.
Tarragona can do so. The huge uneven blocks of granite, which may be
seen in my sketch of the Archbishop's Tower, occupy the lower portion of
the old Roman walls. On the north side of the city they are even more
visible than in the sketch. Some of the blocks measure thirteen by seven
by five feet. Three of the ancient portals, the stone of which is faced
inside, still exist, but apparently no records do, to tell us who placed
these Cyclopean defences where they stand to-day.
Many remains of Roman days may be seen built into the houses of the old
and higher town, tablets, mural inscriptions, bits of columns, &c. The
Cathedral possesses numerous plinths and pillars of marble from the
quarries at Tortosa, built into its walls, and the Font in the
Baptistery is an old Roman basin. What a glorious city it must have been
when the Emperor Augustus made it his capital! and the overland trade
met the sea-going in the harbour below.
Twenty miles away at Gayá the Romans tapped a continuous supply of fresh
water, and their aqueduct, a good deal of which remains, ranks next to
that of Segovia in size, and stands as an example of how the Romans
built. Roman villas with incomparable views out to sea, dotted the
hillsides; temples to every god and goddess rose in the city, which
contained a million inhabitants. It possessed a mint of its own, and,
favoured by nature and art, became known as "Colonia victrix togata
turrita."
[Illustration: TARRAGONA]
The Moslem sacked Tarragona, and for four centuries one of the glories
of Colonial Rome lay a heap of ruins. In 1089, at the commencement of
the building of the Cathedral, the see, much to the disgust of Toledo,
was raised to metropolitan dignity. Thenceforth, between the two cities,
endless disputes have arisen as to the Primacy of Spain.
Though begun at the above date, most of the Cathedral is of twelfth and
early thirteenth-century work. It is not known who designed this
magnificent church, the finest example of Transition in Spain. The
interior is very simple and very dignified. The roof is borne by grand
piers, thirty-five feet in circumference. Their bases are broken by four
seats, one in each corner, placed thus to enhance the line of the
composition, and break the otherwise too great severity of the
foundations.
There is no triforium; but an early pointed clerestory of large bays,
and a superb rose window in the west, of date 1131, admit a flood of
light. Nothing could well be simpler than the pairs of massive columns
which carry the centre arches of the vaulting, nor finer than the
delicate single attendant at their sides from which spring the
transverse sections. All these are capped with square Romanesque
capitals.
The chancel is pure Romanesque and very beautiful. The semicircular end
of the Capilla Mayor and the two small apses are the oldest part of this
noble building. The _retablo_ of the High Altar is alabaster, and carved
with reliefs of the martyrdom of Santa Tecla, Tarragona's patroness. The
delicate tapering finials and the figures under canopies below, are
carved in wood. Behind the High Altar is a very interesting urn which
contains the ashes of Cyprian, a Gothic archbishop.
The fine _cimborio_ which rises above the crossing has eight windows of
three and four lights alternately, which contain fragments of very
brilliant coloured glass. In the transepts are two magnificent wheel
windows full of good glass, indeed I know of no better scheme of colour
than that which adorns this window on the south side.
The _silleria del coro_ are the work of Francisco Gomar and date from
1478. The body of James I. of Aragon lies in a tomb at the west end of
the _trascoro_, having been brought here from the ruined Monastery of
Poblet--the Escorial of Aragon. A ruin where still lie under their much
despoiled and mutilated tombs some of the rulers of that kingdom.
[Illustration: TARRAGONA. THE ARCHBISHOP'S TOWER]
This grand Cathedral is not dependent on gloom or subdued light for its
great impressiveness. On the contrary it is the best lit of any of
Spain's Cathedrals, and it is on its excellent proportions and scale
alone that its reputation for solemnity will always rest, and its
majesty be ever remembered.
The west façade, commenced in 1248, is constructed of a light-coloured
stone, which time has improved into a very beautiful sienna brown. The
upper portion is unfinished. In the centre is a fine and deeply recessed
Gothic portal, flanked by two massive buttresses. Under Gothic canopies
stand statues of the Apostles and Prophets, the lintel of the doorway is
supported by a Virgin and Child, above which is the Saviour, and a row
of figures rising out of their tombs on the Judgment Day. Above all is
the already-mentioned rose window. So well does the mass of the building
rise above the adjacent roofs that this window is visible from the
breakwater of the harbour. The two doorways on either side of the façade
are pure Romanesque. Each is surmounted by a small wheel window. The
iron work which covers the doors is of a very intricate design; and the
huge iron knockers with grotesque heads, the hinges of the doors, and
the copper work as well, gave me many pleasant moments in marvelling at
the skill of the smiths of days gone by.
It was in the cloisters however that I found the greatest charm of the
whole Cathedral. The court is a veritable garden, where date palms, fig
trees and oleanders crowd one another in the neatly arranged beds behind
box hedges. I spent many pleasant hours in this delightful spot, my
solitude broken by occasional visits from the Sacristan, who, in his
faded and patched purple cassock, came in at odd times for a chat. Very
proud of his Cathedral was this quiet custodian, and I shall never
forget his soft voice and winning smile, nor the great interest he
evinced in my sketch. The swifts rushed screaming past, the bees hummed
from flower to flower, the scent of the plants was delicious, the warm
sun and the splash of the fountain--turned on for my benefit--all went
to help the welcome repose and forgetfulness of the outer world that
overcame me as long as I was at work in this little Paradise.
The double doorway in the north transept through which one enters the
cloisters from the Cathedral, is the finest of all. The capitals of its
detached shafts are wonderfully carved. They represent the Awaking of
the Three Kings by an Angel, the Nativity and the Journey of the Magi.
The arcading of the cloisters consists of six bays on all four sides,
these bays are subdivided into three round arches, with a couple of
circular openings above and enclosed within the arch. Some of these
openings contain very beautifully carved tracery.
[Illustration: TARRAGONA. THE CLOISTERS]
The capitals of the columns are a museum of quaint fancy and good
carving. In one set, all the incidents of a sea voyage are cut, in
another, mice are seen carrying a cat to his grave, who, shamming death,
turns and devours some of them before his obsequies are complete. There
is a Descent from the Cross, where one of the Faithful wields a pair of
pincers much longer than his own arms, so determined is he to pull out
the nails that cruelly wound Christ's hands.
Many fragments of Roman sculpture are let into the walls; and a lovely
little Moorish arch, with a Cufic inscription and date 960, reminds one
of the Infidel's rule over the city.
To reach times nearer our own, there are two inscriptions telling of the
occupation by British troops, which run--_5th Company_ and further on
_6th Company_--obviously pointing to the fact that these lovely
cloisters sheltered some of our own troops during the Peninsular War.
Like many other Cathedrals, Tarragona's possesses a grand series of
tapestries, which are hung round the columns and walls during certain
festivals. They are mostly Flemish and not in any way ecclesiastical.
One indeed that I saw was anything but this. Cupid was leading a lady,
who was in _déshabille_, into her chamber, wherein, by a four-post bed,
stood a gentleman with a lighted taper in his hand!
It was pleasant in the evening to stroll down to the harbour and out
along the mole, to watch the deep-sea fishing fleet race home with the
long sweeps out in every boat as the wind dropped and the sea became an
oily calm. I must own it was with great regret I left this now peaceful
spot--a city that once boasted of a million inhabitants, and prior to
that was a great Phoenician port! Of all the Cathedral Cities of Spain
I would rather return to Tarragona than any other, hold converse with my
friend the Sacristan, who knows and loves his Cathedral so well, and end
the day as the sun goes down watching the boats return from long hours
of toil.
BARCELONA
Barcelona the Progressive, the finest port of Spain, with its large
harbour, its wide boulevards, splendid suburbs, good hotels, huge
factories and modern prosperity has well earned the title of first city
of the New Spain.
Amilcar Barca in 225 B.C. founded the Carthagenian city which occupied
the Taber hill on which the Cathedral now stands, and twenty years later
it became a colony of Rome. Remnants of the old walls can still be
traced in the narrow streets which centre round the Holy Fabric. Under
the Goths, Barcino, as it was then called, rose to some importance,
money coined here bears the legend "Barcinona." The Moors were in
possession of the sea-washed fortress for about one hundred years, and
then the reign of the Counts of Barcelona, independent sovereigns,
began.
Count Ramon Berenguer I., who ruled from 1025 to 1077, instituted the
famous "Códego de los Usatjes de Cataluña," an admirable code of laws,
to which was added in the thirteenth century the "Consulado del mar de
Barcelona." This latter code obtained in the commercial world of Europe
the same authority as the old "Leges Rhodiæ" of the ancients.
When at the height of its prosperity, Barcelona, the centre of commerce,
received a severe blow by the union of Cataluña with Aragon, on the
occasion of the marriage of Count Ramon Berenguer IV. to Petronila
daughter of Ramiro II. King of Aragon. When Aragon and Castile were
united Barcelona became subject to the "Catholic Kings," and ever since,
in language, in habits and enterprise has shown her dislike for and her
struggle against the ways of Castile.
To-day Barcelona is far in advance of any other city of Spain. I felt I
was once more in Europe when the comfortable hotel 'bus rattled along
through the well-lit streets. Perhaps I was getting tired of life in the
Middle Ages, and was obsessed with Mediæval Cities! At any rate, a clean
bed in a modern hotel was a luxury I thoroughly appreciated, and I
started the next morning to explore, with a mind at ease and a
consciousness that there would be no irritating little pin-pricks, no
_mañana_ for a couple of weeks at least.
[Illustration: BARCELONA. IN THE CATHEDRAL]
The Cathedral stands on the site of a Pagan Church converted by the
Moors into a Mosque. The present edifice replaced the Christian Church
which superseded this Mosque, and was begun in 1298. The crypt was
finished in 1339 and the cloisters in 1388. The west façade was covered
with scaffolding while I was there, and so may perhaps be completed in
another thirty years.
The interior of this splendid Gothic church is very dark. The pointed
windows are all filled with magnificent fifteenth-century glass. At the
sunset hour, when the rays of light strike low and filter through the
many colours of these windows, the effect in the gloom of this solemn
building is most beautiful. As the orb of day sinks lower and lower the
light lingers on column after column right up the lofty nave to the High
Altar until he suddenly disappears, and all within is wrapt in deep
twilight.
The nave is very narrow and very high. The clustered columns seem to
disappear into space, and the vaulting is almost lost in the darkness.
There are deep galleries over the side chapels in the aisles, which have
a rather curious arrangement of vaulting. From the roof of the aisles at
each bay depend massive circular lamps which catch the light and
heighten the effect of mystery which is omnipresent throughout the
Cathedral.
A flight of steps in front of the High Altar--an almost unique
feature--leads down to the crypt, where rests the body of Santa Eulalia,
Barcelona's patron saint. Her alabaster shrine is adorned with reliefs
of different incidents in her life.
The _retablo_ of the High Altar is richly ornate with tapering Gothic
finials of the fifteenth century; below it is a sarcophagus containing
the remains of St. Severus.
Above the Gothic _silleria del coro_ hang the coats-of-arms of the
Knights of the Golden Fleece. Among them are those of Henry VIII. of
England. The only installation of the Order was held here by Charles V.
The side chapels contain very little of interest, but the cloisters are
otherwise. Entered either from the street or the south door of the
Cathedral their beauty is very striking. In the centre palms and orange
trees rear their heads, and the splash of the fountains, in one of which
the sacred geese are kept, is refreshingly cool after the bustle of
streets outside.
San Pablo del Campo, now a barrack, is the most interesting of
Barcelona's ecclesiastical remains. This church, built by Wilfred II. in
913, is more like the ancient churches of Galicia than those of
Catalonia. Very small and cruciform, a solid dome rises from the centre.
Its cloisters are perfect, the arcading is composed of double shafts
with well-cut figures on the capitals.
The peculiarity of Catalonia's churches is well illustrated in the
aisleless Santa Maria del Mar, San Just, and Santa Maria del Pi. The
first named has some magnificent glass and four good pictures by
Viladomát, and in the crypt beneath the High Altar a curious wooden
figure of San Alajo. San Just has the belfry common to the churches of
Catalonia, an open iron-work screen, from which depend the bells, and
Santa Maria del Pi contains a fine wheel window and more magnificent
glass.
A relic of Loyola, the sword that he offered on the Altar of the Virgin
at Montserrat, is still preserved in the old Jesuit Church of Nuestra
Señora de Belen.
Among the many notable buildings in Barcelona is the Casa Consistorial,
or Town Hall. It was built in 1378, and has a very original Gothic
front. A beautiful _patio_ with slender arches and twisted columns adds
to the interest of the interior.
The Casa de la Diputacion opposite contains the picture on which Fortuny
was at work when he died. The _patio_ here is perhaps better than that
in the Casa Consistorial. It is in three stages, from the topmost of
which huge gargoyles of all sorts of devils and monsters rear their ugly
heads.
In the old quarters of the city, where the five-and six-storied houses
almost touch, the streets are very tortuous and not considered safe at
night.
In this respect, however, Barcelona does not stand alone. Any one who
ventures into the low parts of a Mediterranean seaport after dusk
generally does so at his own risk. Very few brawls commence among the
hot-blooded lower orders of the south without the finale of the knife.