Teruel is a long way from Jaca. Over 300 kms makes it more than a day-trip. We stayed overnight in Zaragoza and left quite early in the morning. The journey was just two hours on the lovely new motorway; what a difference it makes!
When we first went there, about ten years ago, the citizens of Teruel had started the "Teruel Exists" campaign to give their city a well-needed boost. It was rather disappointing because all the monuments were closed and most of the inhabitants were in the country celebrating the feast of the "sermon of the omelette". A few years later things had improved and the cathedral was opened to the public once more.
There are two glories in the cathedral, a great carved altarpiece and a wonderful medieval panelled ceiling, painted with people, animals, flowers, anything and everything.
On this trip we were able to see the ceiling from quite close in the galleries. The paintings are wonderful. I've put a detail in the text, but it doesn't show just how much there is.
Teruel is really open for business these days. There are plenty of parts of the city just as decrepit as they were before, but it gives a great impression of growth and youth and pride in the history of the place . Good for them! They also have four Mudejar towers, all of which have arches at the bottom, and one of which, San Salvador, is open to visitors.
We were lucky with the weather; this April it has varied between snow and 30 degree sunshine. In Teruel it was warm and sunny without being unbearable.
No comments:
Post a Comment