Camino Photo of the Day: Monasterio De San Zoilo

On the way out of Carrión de los Condes, we walked along a boulevard overlooking floodwaters of the Río Carrión on the right. On the left, we passed the massive Monasterio De San Zoilo. It was originally a Benedictine monastery that joined the Congregation of Cluny in the 11th century. The fortunes of the Cluniac monks waxed and waned over the centuries, until in 1531 they joined a Spanish congregation of monasteries centered in Valladolid. Then, in 1835, the monks were thrown out as the Spanish government nationalized all of the monasteries. When the law was rescinded twenty years later, the place was taken over by the Jesuits. They used it as a school and then a seminary. In 1992 it became a hotel.

All is not lost, however, as the building itself is a UNESCO listed site. The monastic church and some other parts of the interior are still used for their original purposes.

Date: 17 April 2016
Place: Leaving Carrión de los Condes (Castilla y León, Spain)

Today’s map: