Gothic Romance

We were very excited about our rest stop in Viana as it supposedly is in an old palace. It turns out to be a very dull version of corporate hotel inside a square brick box of a building. But our window looks out onto the ruins of the Church of San Pedro. A pure gothic structure built in the 13^th century it survived all sorts of shenanigans until it was used as a barracks for the Carlist Wars and 10 years later it collapsed. Thanks a lot guys. What the heck were you doing in your bedrooms back then?

It is still possible to see some of the painting in one section of walls and arches that survives, but the rest is just a ruin that only a romantic or an architecture student of Gothic construction can love. The space behind it, which would have been the graveyard, presents a stunning view down and over the valley below.

Thankfully I am a bit of a romantic so enjoyed lingering through the toppled stonework, especially as the large church in town was closed.  This happens quite a bit. Churches might only be open a little before mass, and that rarely fits in with our timing. But I did get a good look at its entrance, which is very well-developed cut stone in amazing condition given its age of 450-odd years old. All sorts of stories are clearly still visible in great detail, mixing sacred images (like the Passion and Redemption) with secular ones (like the Labours of Hercules and Renaissance grotesques).  I liked the addition of God above in the Dome, as if he is blessing the entire motley collection of carvings, and approving the skill it took the human hands that did them.

By about 6pm we were resting and reading and could hear the wind starting to bluster. Looking outside we saw the collection of flags strung across the street were almost horizontal in the wine, and a big dark cloud was enveloping the city. A half hour later there were rumbles and flashes of light, and the air had become quite cold. The flashes of lightening soon became long streaks and the rumbles of thunder crashed loudly as the rain came in a flood of cold darts on an angle determined by the wind.

We enjoyed the spectacle immensely and watched the Gothic ruins across the street light up and echo as each resounding flash and crash came and went, with rain soaking through the stone. Thank goodness we are not walking in that!