CATHEDRAL

" At the end of the road, the cathedral ". Traditionally, the pilgrims, who arrived at the top of the hill overlooking St. Jacques in the east and who finally knew the purpose of their journey, fell on their knees and made a large cross of cross by écriant «My Joy! '. It is, of course, that this hill was called Monte del Gozo (Mount of Joy). At the time, they were only a few minutes away to reach the cathedral. The Puerta de las Obradoiro (Goldsmiths portal), the oldest, presents a porch with double romanes romanes, finely carved according to the process of Celebrates and Leyre. On the right, the clock tower was high at the end of the th century. Succeeding the first basilica built on the tomb of the apostle some time after his discovery, and that of Alfonso III destroyed in 997 by the raid of the Muslim vizier of Cordoba Al-Mansour, the current cathedral almost entirely dates from the th and th centuries. The city's rich clergy began around the th century an ambitious series of major works: the Façade facade is the best example of this. Conceived as a stone altarpiece by an obscure architect of Santiago, Fernando Casas y Novoa; This monumental feat of the baroque baroque projette its high towers close to 80 m. The staircase, equally imposing, leads to the foot of the portal of Glory, cleverly hidden behind heavy doors. The débauche of classicism places here the whimsical harmony of the novel. With the theme «apocalyptic glory of the last Judgment», the great statuary designed by master Mateo towards the end of the th century illustrates the vast epic of the Gospel.

Above all, it is an architectural manifesto of Spanish Gothic. Above the two side gates are the two stages of the Last Judgment and Purgatory. On the eardrum of the central portal, a superb Christ in glory is surrounded by the four evangelists while at the archivolte, the 24 old men of Revelation, playing heavenly music. The sides are covered with statues of apostles and prophets. Finally, on the meneau, at the bottom of the tree of Jesse, under the statue of Saint-Jacques, the imprint of one hand is excavated: This is where the pilgrims have always come to ask the hand and the front as a sign of entendimiento. On the other side, Maître Matteo himself stood on his knees against the altar master. This statue of "bosses" would have the virtue of giving memory and intelligence to anyone who comes to his head.

Inside, the nave at the same time gives the holy place its legendary heavenly clarity. The immense Romanesque cathedral has remained intact. There can be many elements common to all pilgrimage churches: large ambulatory for the movement of pilgrims, triforium, or wide proportions of the whole. It is worth admiring how the main nave and the large transept combine an admirable sobriety to an unforgettable majesty.

The days of great celebration (to be informed at the tourist office), a huge censer called botafumeiro (if not visible in the library), clinging to the keystone of the croisée, is tilted by an ingenious pulleys system at the end of a rope drawn by eight men, a grandiose and unforgettable spectacle if you can see it. It weighs 80 kg and fell four times without killing anyone. On 25 th and 30 th December, on 6 th January for Easter, the ascent of Saint Peter, Saint Jacques and 23 May.

The quartermaster (alta mayor), strangely a pure creation of the th century, is surmounted by a th century statue of Saint-Jacques, lavishly trimmed. Through a staircase behind the altar, pilgrims can come to kiss the mantle of the saint and seize it. Under the master altar there is a crypt where the remains of Saint James and his two disciples (Saint Theodore and Saint Athanase) are preserved. History tells us that the remains were lost a second time in 1700 after being hidden before an English invasion and were found during work only in 1879. Three skeletons were discovered, and no one knew that it was the apostle and his two disciples; remained to know which apostle was the apostle.

Fortunately, this problem was resolved by a church in Tuscany which possessed a relic of Santiago, which proved to be the missing part of one of the skeletons. This identification was confirmed in 1884 by Pope Leo XIII, and John Paul II's visit in 1982 was a probable way to reaffirm the veracity of relics identifications.

Among the beauties of this cathedral are the magnificent grid and the Voûte chapel (Capilla de York) and the Renaissance portes (sacristia) renaissance doors in the southern croisillon.

To visit the Tesoro y la Capilla de las Reliquias (treasure and relic chapel), the cloister and the Archaeological Museum, you must buy a collective ticket cost € 5. Open the summer from 10 a. m. to 14 p. m. and from 16 p. m. to 20 p. m., winter from 10 p. m. to 13 p. m. and from 16 p. m. to 18 p. m. Closed on Sunday afternoon. Nestled on the right side of the nave in a Gothic chapel, the treasure includes a magnificent gold and silver custode made by Antonio de Aebr (1539-1566). Carried out by Juan de Aleva in a plateresque style, the Relics Chapel, located next door, houses the head of Saint Jacques the Minor. On the right, you enter the museum. On four levels, a vast collection of sacred art, whose most precious pieces lie in the foundations of the old cathedral of the th century.

There are fragments of the ancient Romanesque facade of the Obradoiro sculpted in the purest matéin style. The crypt also contains the most precious, at least it is believed, treasures: a silver urn containing the remains of Saint Jacques.

On the floor, the collection of tapestries carried out in the th century according to the cartons of Goya, Rubens and other Flemish masters is crowned, from the balconies, with a superb perspective on the square of the Obradoiro and the roofs of Saint-Jacques.