Northern Spain Part 1: León

WE ARE SO EXCITED TO BE IN LEON!!! On Wednesday we traveled north to the beautiful city of León with its classic French-style Gothic Cathedral, the Basilica de San Isidoro with its 13th-century Pantheon where kings and queens are buried, and an example of Gaudí's architectural genius.

The Cathedral follows the architectural model of French Gothic.  The soaring central nave, apse and transept are lined with stained-glass windows. The effect for the visitor is dramatic, especially when the Cathedral is seen at different times of the day and the shifting light creates amazing splashes of colorful light. This Cathedral is considered to be the best example of its type in all of Spain.

The Cathedral also has an impressive cloister. As always the "devil is in the detail" and when one walks around the covered passageway it is essential to consider the columns with their decorated capitols. 

Here is a good example, and probably one of the most unusual.  Here you see the representation of a woman riding on a four-legged creature with a human face.  The commonly held opinion of scholars is that the face on the creature is that of a "philosopher." The interpretation is that the sculptor was sending a pro-feminine message in contrast to Aristotle's anti-feminine ideas. Thus, the woman dominates the man/philosopher. A very similar story comes from "La lai d'Aristotle," a Medieval French tale that recounts Aristotle's submission to the enticings of a women at the cost of his intellectual prowess.

León is also the home of the Basilica de San Isidoro where you will find the Panteón de los Reyes, a tomb where kings and queens from the 13th century are buried. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures inside, but I promise you that it was an amazing experience to see the original artwork on the arches and ceilings of the crypt. Below is the outside of the Basilica.

One of the pluses to León is to be able to see one of the buildings designed by the great Spanish/Catalán architect Gaudí.  Currently the Casa de los Botones is a bank.

And, sitting outside his creation is Gaudí himself, with paper and pen in hand.

León is a city with beautiful plazas.

It is a city surrounded by an ancient defensive wall.