SPAIN: THE CATHEDRAL OF SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA AND THE CATHEDRAL MUSEUM

 June 29-30, 2022

As noted in the previous post, the current Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela was built in Romanesque style in the 13th century, with Gothic and Baroque additions in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. It is a massive structure, and no doubt gets its notoriety from being the reputed burial spot of St. James (aka Santiago) the Greater, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. However, it is a magnificent edifice of its own accord.

By the way, the only other churches in the world built over the tomb of an apostle are St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, St. Thomas Cathedral Basilica in Chennai, India, and the Basilica of St. John in Izmir, Turkey.

A sign of the importance of this cathedral is that it was visited THREE TIMES in a span of 28 years by two different popes--Pope John Paul II in 1982 and 1989 and Pope Benedict in 2010.

The interior of this cathedral is about 310 feet long, has a transept that measures 206 feet, and stands 72 feet high, making it the tallest building in Europe when it was built. Today it is still the largest Romanesque cathedral in Spain. At first glance it looks rather austere.

But then you see the main altar, and the closer you get, the more opulent it is.

Check out the enormous angels holding up the ceiling. The hanging silver vessel in the foreground is the botafumeiro ("smoker"), a huge incense burner on a pulley system that allows it to swing over the heads of worshipers during mass, filling the room with fragrant (or stifling, depending on who you are) smoke.

St. James himself is seated smack dab in the middle of the altar and is surrounded by Baroque silverwork, and his tomb is in a passageway below him. Pre-Covid, pilgrims were allowed to touch, even embrace, this sculpture, but at least when we were there in the summer of 2022, that was not being allowed.

Gold, gold, and more gold.

I love the jubilant washes of color on the supporting columns--a nice break from all that gold.

The organs--two of them facing each other above the choir and in front of the altar, are spectacular.

If you want to hear what the organs sound like, check out a short video I posted here.

A few steps down from the altar is a small, almost hidden door that leads to the holy sepulcher of St. James. Visitors are allowed to walk by (but not approach) the silver casket that is said to contain the apostle's remains.

The chapel is not much larger than a hallway. The colorful exit door is actually my favorite part of the tomb.

There are quite a few side chapels in the cathedral, and I know that we did not see or did not appreciate all of them. The cathedral was very crowded (and very noisy), and it was hard to see everything. Bob had arranged for a guide, but he pretty much just turned us loose once we were inside and we had to fend for ourselves. 

One of the chapels is the Chapel of Mondragón, also known as the Chapel of Piety or the Chapel of Santa Cruz. Built in 1521, it is dominated by this beautiful, tender terra cotta sculpture of the deposition of the body of Jesus. I especially love the depiction of Jerusalem in the background.

The Chapel of the Reliquary and the Royal Pantheon includes numerous royal sepulchers and dozens of works of priceless art. 

The Chapel of the Sacred Heart is also known as the Chapel of Communion, dates to the 15th century and is one of the older chapels in the cathedral.

I don't remember what the name of this chapel is, but I love the unusual stained glass crucifix depicting the body of Jesus as a tree.

The Chapel of the Conception has a sculpture of Mary holding the Baby Jesus, but also this beautiful sculpture of Christ's body being removed from the cross, a reminder that the first event led to the second.

The supporting figures are especially appealing.

Mary Magdalene looks ready to catch the body if it is dropped.

Zebedee, father of James and John, stands in a random niche smiling down at the crowds. His wife is one of the women present at the crucifixion.  We also spotted a representation of the Virgin of Guadalupe appearing to Juan Diego. Although this happened in Mexico, the entire Catholic world has adopted this representation of the Virgin.

The Holy Door, or Door of Forgiveness, dates to the 16th century. Supposedly it is opened only when the feast day of St. James, July 25, falls on a Sunday. We were there in June, and the upcoming July 25 was on a Monday, so I'm not sure why the doors were open. Maybe we needed the extra forgiveness? These two photos are of bas reliefs from the door on the left side:

These photos are of the door on the right side and the open doors:

The Chapel of the Pillar is a 17th-18th century addition. "Our Lady of the Pillar" is the name given to Mary, the mother of Jesus, at the time she was living in Jerusalem but appeared to James while he was preaching in Spain to tell him to return to Jerusalem (which led to his death). Note the stars and scallop shells that are on the pillars on either side of the altar.

The scallop is the symbol of St. James, and as noted in the previous post, is carried by many of the pilgrims making their way to Santiago de Compostela. The scallop motif was repeated throughout the cathedral.

In the 19th century, areas within the cathedral were excavated. So many relics were found that a museum to display them was added to the cathedral. It opened in 1928 and also included gifts made to the cathedral. The 16th century cloister, with its many tombs, is part of the Cathedral Museum.

These high choir stalls were chiseled out of stone by Master Mateo, a 12th-13th century sculptor and architect who contributed many works to the cathedral. This stone choir was torn down in 1603 but is having a second life in the museum.

This alabaster altarpiece, made in Nottingham, England, and brought by pilgrims, depicts scenes from the life of St. James. The five panels depict his apostolic calling, mission, preaching, martyrdom, and transfer of his body back to Spain.

I was happy to see Our Lady the Virgin of Guadalupe again.

I love this 14th century depiction of Mary--pregnant with her hand on her swollen belly. Is she waving to us? Why does she look so sad? The angel next to her is St. Gabriel of Annunciation fame. I think he looks a bit confused.

I am drawn to unique nativities and have a fairly good collection.  I'd love a reproduction of this one, The Tympanum of the Adoration of the Magi from the 14th century.

Here we have St. Sebastian, one of my favorite saints (at least in art), who was shot with arrows but did not die. Next to him is St. Michael, Dragon Slayer.

The museum has a fabulous tapestry exhibit that includes 17th century tapestries by Peter Paul Rubens depicting the life of Achilles. One tapestry shows Achilles being dipped in the River Styx by his mother, who holds him by the heel.

Another depicts Achilles hanging out with a group of Rubens' round, soft women.

Obviously, these tapestries were not found during the excavations, but were a gift to the cathedral by the canon Pedro Acuña y Malvar in 1814.

The Transfer of the Remains of the Apostle Santiago to the See of Padrón was painted by Raimundo de Madrazo in 1859, but it was just acquired by the Cathedral Museum in 2019. It shows the body of St. James on its journey towards Santiago de Compostela, accompanied by his disciples. The model for the angel holding the body's head was the artist's sister.

Our final stop was the Chapter House, a library of sorts.

Check out this ceiling. My flat white ceilings always seem so boring when I get home.

I read that the botafumeiro is stored here in between uses, which is what I think this is, but it looks like the one hanging in the cathedral itself, so maybe there are two.