Let us now find our way to the cathedral cloister, which is described by Fernandez Sanchez as “a perfect example of the plateresque style,” with its beautiful bas-reliefs, saints and busts, and the arms of Archbishop Fonseca, under whose auspices it was built at the same date as the neighbouring sacristy. The original cloister, erected by Gelmirez, was destroyed by fire towards the end of the eleventh century; the present cloister was begun in 1521 and finished fifty-nine years later. It is in the Renaissance style, and was designed by a Flemish architect; above its arches, some of which are slightly pointed, the sloping roofs terminate with a lace-like border of elegant stone filigree work, and there are graceful pinnacles between the arches. The joins and angles of the Gothic vaulting of this cloister are groined with simple fan tracery which springs from its own capitals supported by the graceful and elegantly moulded pillars which divide the arches on the outer side and spring from the bas-relief border on the wall side. The graceful Renaissance windows in the walls give light to the neighbouring sacristy and other offices of the cathedral. The inner walls of the cloister are decorated with bands of bas-relief sculpture in the purest Greco-Roman style of the Renaissance. The pavement is composed partly of tombstones of priests with interesting inscriptions and heraldic emblems. Standing in the patio of this cloister and looking to the south we get a fine view of the two steeple towers that rise behind the Churrigueresque façade. CHAPTER IX THE PORTICO DE GLORIA A wonderful portico--The triple archway--Origin of Western Christian art--A system of symbols--“Bible of the Poor”--Mosaic gives place to statuary--A magnificent design--The focus of the world--The figure of Christ--The Four Evangelists--The four-and-twenty elders--Musical instruments--Jews and Gentiles--The Man Christ Jesus--The central pillar--The seated figure of St. James--The Stem of Jesse--Custom and superstition--Judith--The prophets--The bases of the pillars--Mateo represents himself--Another superstition--“The saint with the curls”--The capitals--A lifelike effect--A great thought--Didron--The drapery--The portico at South Kensington--Colouring--Mateo’s inscription--Mateo’s birthplace The Cathedral of Santiago di Compostella is celebrated all the world over for the exquisite beauty of its sculpture not only as regards its statuary but also for its ornamentation generally. Here at least the Cathedral of St. Sernin, or St. Saturnine, as it is sometimes called, does not attempt to compete with it: here it stands absolutely alone and unrivalled.