Wednesday 25 September – Getting high on a cathedral.

Again, perfect weather for our last day in the Lleida area.  We drove in towards the city and found yet another old castle closed and unattended, despite what looked like a fairly recent sign stating that it should be open.  So into the city, parked the car and walked across the bridge and past all the shops along the Calle Mayor to the Church of St Joan (closed), then into a lift, a short walk and another lift, to the top of Lleida Hill and the Cathedral of St Mary of La Seu Vella and what remains of the adjacent Castell de la Suda (Spanish/Arabic: Castle of Power).

Construction of the cathedral, probably over the remains of an old mosque, began in 1203 (not long after the Moors were defeated in Lleida) and took a few hundred years to complete entirely.  It was transformed into military barracks after the War of Spanish Succession early in the 18^th century and for the next couple of hundred years. Much of its valuable statuary and art works were removed one way or another (although much of it has turned up in museums and other places around the world).  It was effectively abandoned in the later 19^th and early 20^th centuries, although it was used as a concentration camp during the Spanish Civil War.  Restoration work began in 1948 and, although much of the structure had to be recreated, the bulk of the original church stands.

The cloister is spectacular, built in the traditional square shape with an open garden in the middle, but it is huge – certainly the largest we have ever seen, and considered one of Europe’s largest Gothic cloisters.  The capitals on the columns are intricately carved in differing patterns and each of the twelve arches on the internal walls has a different pattern.  The bell tower, accessed through one corner of the cloister, is 60 metres high.  We elected not to climb the 230-step spiral staircase to the top as the view would be no better than what we already had – just higher.

The cathedral itself is fairly austere however there are sufficient remains of frescoes and murals to appreciate how opulent it must have been before it was pillaged.  The stone plaque for the laying of the first stone on 22 July 1203 is extant as are some of the murals and frescoes in the small chapels around the walls, dedicated to the saints.  A 13^th century statue of Christ hangs on the wall of the apse and it is interesting to note the form; skinny, short hair, elongated facial features – perhaps how Christ was portrayed before Renaissance painters remade him in European form.

We had the place to ourselves and it was cool, so we took our time wandering through, before braving the sun again to go to the top of what remains of the castle, built in the 12^th to 14^th centuries.  The castle was converted into military barracks during the Catalan revolt of 1640-1652 and a large part was destroyed when explosives in the internal arsenal exploded. All that remains now is the Hall of Corts where, among many significant events, 6 year old James 1 the Conqueror was crowned (1214 – 1276).

After an interesting and worthwhile few hours spent here we made our way back down the hill, had lunch, then drove back to Corbins, stopping close to home at the small nature reserve at the confluence of the Segre and Noguera Ribagorçana Rivers to have a last stroll and observe a couple of ducklings splashing about under the watchful eye of mum, then home to pack.