Bicentenary

It's been good to be in Jaca this weekend. Here's a translation of the publicity for the bicentenary celebrations:

"Acts to commemorate the bicentenary of the recovery of the Ciudadela by Spanish troops on 17th February 1814

With more than 200 participants from various groups dedicated to the re-creation of this period, including French units, cavalry and artillery, the weekend of the 22nd – 23rd February, the citizens of Jaca  and any visitors will have the chance to enjoy  various performances: military parades,  combats, artillery fire etc, along with the the previously offered lectures and the exhibition of old uniform buttons will help us to achieve what the slogan says:  “History as it deserves to be told”."

We went down to the Ciudadela just before six o'clock on Saturday, not knowing exactly what to expect. There were quite a lot of people, but I've seen it a lot fuller. I really don't think there was much publicity. I knew about it from a little poster in a shop window; I then went to the tourist office to find a schedule of events.

Anyway, back to the Ciudadela. Lots of people dressed as troops from 200 years ago. Flimsy looking tents. The participants were nearly all unknown to me. I think they were re-creation groups from other parts of Spain, and also from France. A sort of Napoleonic "Sealed Knot" I think I recognised one of the soldiers; I'll have to ask her about it. I really had no idea they did that sort of thing here. 

Some time after six, the troops marched out of the fort and into the city centre. There were apparently going to be skirmishes in the old quarter.

If I'd known in advance this was going to happen, I would have brought my camera home; it's in Zaragoza, waiting to take decent photos of the statue of General Palafox.

This bad photo is here because it's the only person I thought I recognised. I'm waiting for confirmation if it really was her!

Fuente de los incrédulos

Ramón de Pignatelli was an "enlightened" man. He was prime minister in the 18th century. The works for the irrigation system were started in 1738, but didn't go very fast until Pignatelli was in charge. They got as far as Zaragoza in 1786, commemorated by the "unbelievers' fountain"; nothing to do with religion  but to celebrate a work of engineering delayed for a couple of centuries and which some people believed would never bring the water to Zaragoza. 

Wikipedia says:  "When Ramón Pignatelli started to build a canal from the Cantabrian sea to the Mediterranean, many people laughed at the idea. When the waters reached Zaragoza, he ordered a fountain to be built to celebrate it, as the inscription says: "to convince the incredulous and to relieve passers-by" ("Incredulorum convictioni et viatorum commodo" Anno MDCCLXXXVI) Thus the fountain was proof of the success of the enterprise and a joke directed towards those who had not believed it was possible."

Sleeping woman

In the centre of Zaragoza, surrounded by traffic, a woman lies sleeping. She rests her head on ears of wheat. 

La siesta, by Enrique Galcera, 1963 in the Plaza del Paraíso. I love this sculpture. 

I found the information in a blog called Lo que veo en Zaragoza: http://loqueveoenzaragoza.blogspot.com.es/p/estatuas.html

Felipe Sanclemente y Romeu

In the centre of Zaragoza, just a few years ago they put up a bust of one of the heroes of the first siege of Zaragoza, Felipe Sanclemente y Romeu. Born in Barbastro in 1758, died in Zaragoza in 1815.
He was 50 when he lost his sons to the French onslaught. He used his personal wealth to provide for the defenders, but also took part in the fight, falling wounded.

After the French were turned out by the Spanish in 1813, he was able to return to Zaragoza from Cádiz, where he had fled, being crippled and unable to fight. He was honoured by the city he had given everything to defend.

Zaragoza

On Saturday we went on a guided tour of Rennaissance buildings in Zaragoza. Here are some things I took photos of along the way.

La Lonja

La Seo

My favourite, Mudejar wall, la Seo

El Arco del Dean

Group

In the valley

Yesterday we went to Huesca to see some friends. It was dry and windy. You could see the snow on the nearby Sierra de Guara, but not in Huesca itself; it is only November after all!
After dinner we went for a long blowy walk from the city, under the motorway to the chapel of Loreto, dedicated to the parents of St Lawrence, the local saint who was a deacon in Rome, executed by a vindictive prefect, roasted on a griddle....in the 3rd century. The parents were called Orencio and Paciencia, apparently. Saints, of course.
Well anyway, the chapel isn't very exciting on the outside, but it was a lovely walk, and just after we started back towards Huesca we saw these olives.

Just turning from olive green towards black, they were beautiful!

I'm not a great eater of olives, but in my house only Aragonese olives are eaten, usually bitter, black wrinkly ones. 

Snow

It snowed last night and when we woke up there was snow everywhere.

The red deer in the dry moat of the  ciudadela were being fed.