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Cloisters - 999th thing I didn't know

Caminando

Veteran Member
I think that when we walk a camino it involves heaven and earth.

Therefore I was pleased to discover recently that the cloisters of the Middle Ages, which we encounter in France and Spain (Portugal?) are designed with this in mind.

The axial, cruciform shape with a central feature is intended to symbolise the conjunction of God and man.

I don't know how to add a photo of a cloister, so if anyone has a moment, can you add one for me? Thanks!

:arrow:
 
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Here's one.
 

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The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
Here is one of THE cathedral cloisters. Complete with 'shell' in the centre.

Blessings
Tio Tel
 

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St Hilare
7StHilare2.jpg
 
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Santo Domingo de Silos with its twisted cloister pillar is unique in that it has a double storied cloister.
Nobody knows why these pillars are twisted.
 

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Two cloisters here. First one was on the Le Puy route, and second one was in Estella. The one in Estella particularly appealed to me: it is in a state of partial repair, and somehow that made the presence of medieval monks walking around in prayer more real for me......
Margaret

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Join the Camino cleanup. Logroño to Burgos May 2025 & Astorga to OCebreiro in June
Who knows where this church is?
 

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Are the request lines open? Does anyone have a picture to post of the cloisters at the Monastery at Samos? That, despite the austere accommodations, was one of my favorite overnights on the camino.

-John

(What a cloister-ous thread :roll: )
 
...and ship it to Santiago for storage. You pick it up once in Santiago. Service offered by Casa Ivar (we use DHL for transportation).
Marylynn, thanks for reviving this thread. There are places here that I didn't know existed.
Maybe I need to go back. : )
 
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One of my favorite cloisters in Estella is the 13th century church San Pedro de La Rua. Since the church is perched on a limestone cliff today you take a sleek contemporary elevator open 24/7 up to view into the impressive Romanesque cloister! This stylistic mixed urban combo is a great success.

 
One of my favorite cloisters in Estella is the 13th century church San Pedro de La Rua. Since the church is perched on a limestone cliff today you take a sleek contemporary elevator open 24/7 up to view into the impressive Romanesque cloister! This stylistic mixed urban combo is a great success.


I also love the cloister at Estella! Did you notice the twisted pillar? And the statue that appears to be so obviously Asian?
 
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This is the cloisters in Sobrado. They are not startlingly magnificent but they are in constant use by pilgrims, with the entrances to the dormitories and loos directly off the cloisters, as well as a hose and basins for washing clothes.
P1090708.jpg
 
There is a scene in The Way where it appears they are sleeping in the cloisters themselves. Does anyone know where this is?
 
I think that when we walk a camino it involves heaven and earth.

Therefore I was pleased to discover recently that the cloisters of the Middle Ages, which we encounter in France and Spain (Portugal?) are designed with this in mind.
designed
The axial, cruciform shape with a central feature is intended to symbolise the conjunction of God and man.

I don't know how to add a photo of a cloister, so if anyone has a moment, can you add one for me? Thanks!

:arrow:
Just to put this in perspective the cloisters were desinged for mediation and prayer were you are in closed by 4 walls and you can not see the outside world the only way to do that was to look up and in doing so you were looking at heaven
 
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