Category: Liminal Space

Welcome to Viana! The town continues to be proud of its largest claim to fame: it was here that the infamous Cesare Borgia met his doom. Imprisoned in Spain by his “uncle’s” successor as Pope, Cesare escaped and became a mercenary captain for his brother-in-law, King Juan III of Navarre, who was dealing with a civil war. During the siege […]

Throughout the morning and into the early afternoon, these stone ruins continued to dot the vineyards through which the Camino passed. This photo was taken at just past noon, and still Viana is nowhere in sight. Date: 07 April 2013Place: between Torres del Río and Viana (Navarra, Spain) Maps!

Although it’s difficult to tell except at the highest magnification, this is a photo of a dog sticking it’s nose under the corner of a door. It clearly wants to get out and into the fresh air. Seems appropriate for today. Date: 07 April 2013Place: Torres del Río (Navarra, Spain) Maps!

Solely based on the coat of arms above this shabby door, this was once the grand house of some noble family. These days, like much of rural Spain, it’s a bit run down and in need of some love and care. As I mentioned yesterday, many of the older buildings here are constructed on this lovely red limestone. Date: 07 […]

As I mentioned yesterday, Santa María de Los Arcos is a warren of small chapels and side altars. Here we see a baroque, or possibly rococo, altar through a much earlier decorated romanesque archway. I simply love this level of decorative detail, as well as the historical style mashup that you get in these old churches. In them, you can […]

A door lock in Los Arcos. Unfortunately, I cannot now remember if this was on the church or some other building. I suppose I’ll just have to go back and find out. I just love these ornate and fiddly little details, and I mourn that so much beauty and craftsmanship is so easily discarded or ignored these days. Date: 06 […]

The four of us ducked into the long porch of the Iglesia de Santa María de Los Arcos to regroup and figure out which of the town’s albergues looked the most promising. Of course, I snapped a photo of the church’s magnificent entrance. In the end, we chose the albergue with the longest name. Date: 06 April 2013Place: Los Arcos […]

As we leave the village church of San Andrés de Monjardín, it’s worth taking a moment to look at the door and, perhaps more impressively, the lock on the door. They don’t make them like that any more! I wish I’d gotten a shot of the key, which the next door neighbour used to unlock the church for us. Date: […]

At the top of the steps, we come to the 13th century entrance to this 12th century church. The archivolts are a lovely, if eccentric, blending of late Romanesque and Arabic sculptural design. Unlike other archivolts of this era, it is almost entirely bereft of the images of angels and saints, instead favouring geometric and floral design. In we go! […]

The main entrance to the Iglesia San Miguel in Estella is a wonder of Romanesque sculpture. The tympanum (that’s the bit over the doors) depicts Christ the Teacher enthroned, a favourite of early medieval Christian art in both the East and West. He is surrounded by the symbols of the four Evangelists and, flanking them, are the Blessed Virgin Mary […]