Cathedral Cities of SpainCollins, W. W. (William Wiehe)
History
Cathedral Cities of Spain
Collins, W. W. (William Wiehe)
Cathedrals -- Spain; Spain -- Description and travel
Entering the building by the door in the façade, I was immediately
nonplussed as to the orientation of the Cathedral. To add to the puzzle,
for the structure is almost square, four rows of columns seemed mixed up
in endless confusion, and the dim light admitted from the few windows
only accentuated the mystery. Very beautiful, however, is this Gothic
interior which runs north-east and south-west, and I soon found a spot
from whence to make a sketch. The columns rise from marble bases of a
rich crimson; the vaulting above was lost in gloom, the light coming in
from the south-west window struck vividly on portions of the Renaissance
_respaldos_, the niches of which are filled with saints and
archbishops, and the pattern of the marble floor served but to heighten
the general effect. In the picture may be seen a tabernacle with twisted
black marble columns, this marks the spot where the Virgin suddenly
appeared and held converse with Canónigo Fuenes.
Besides the archbishop's throne, the _coro_, which is not particularly
interesting, contains a huge reading desk. There is a great deal of
alabaster throughout the Cathedral, notably the very fine Gothic
_retablo_ of the High Altar by Dalman de Mur, around which are many
tombs of the Kings of Aragon. Close by, a black slab marks the place
where rests the heart of Don Baltazar Carlos, the son of Philip IV., who
was immortalised by the brush of Velasquez, and who died in Saragossa at
the early age of seventeen.
Among the chapels, that used as the _segrario_, or parish church, has a
magnificent Moorish ceiling, and the fine alabaster tomb of Bernardo de
Aragon. The Cathedral is rich in splendid tapestries and ecclesiastical
vestments. Among the former is certainly the best I have ever set eyes
upon. It is a very early piece and has a wonderful blue sky. In it are
woven the Last Supper, Christ bearing the Cross, the Agony in the Garden
and the Crucifixion, while in the lower right-hand corner our Saviour is
assisting with a long pole to stir up devils who are roasting in Hades.
Among the vestments is an extremely beautiful chasuble brought here at
the time of the Reformation from Old St. Paul's in London. I wondered,
when I looked at it, whether Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII.'s consort,
had been instrumental in its removal from England.
[Illustration: SARAGOSSA. IN THE OLD CATHEDRAL]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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