In the footsteps of Gothic Art in Cantabria: La Concepción

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Castro Urdiales, in addition to being one of the main ports of that fragmented and indomitable Cantabrian coast, which has accumulated so many legends and mysteries over the centuries, is also a metaphorical enchanted maiden, who opens, not without certain blush, to all the visitors that one day land in its mystical heart.

Given that in the past I already had the opportunity to show you part of its seductive charms -like its old town, eminently seafaring; its impressive promenade; beaches, such as Brazomar or Ostende or even its beautiful Ballena cemetery, with some splendid and, at the same time, magnificent pantheons, whose hermetic symbolism is a complete challenge to the imagination- today I want to invite you to cross the doors of what, possibly and in In my opinion, it is the most exciting and spectacular Gothic temple on the entire Cantabrian coast: its church dedicated to the figure of La Concepción.

Majestic building, whose beginnings date back to the 13th century and in which not a few historians point out the familiarity of many of its details with Burgos Cathedral - a detail that, basically, should not surprise us, taking into account the arrival of pilgrims and brotherhoods of itinerant stonecutters that spread out, both along the coast and towards the interior of the peninsula, leaving their mark in numerous places- its dimensions not only surprise, but also lead one to suppose that, in its design surely he encouraged the idea of building an entire temple of a cathedral nature, facing, from its privileged location, the wild and legendary waters of the Cantabrian Sea.

So much so, that it would be like a second lighthouse -let's remember that, next to it, stands the small and famous Castro Urdiales lighthouse-castle- that would also act as a reference and relief for the fishermen who fished in such dangerous waters.

Although it is true that rehabilitation work is currently being carried out, the scaffolding of which prevents us from fully enjoying its exterior beauty -where we can observe, among many other details, the stylized flying buttresses that give part of its stability to the temple- through it, however, we can get a rough idea of the wonderful grandeur that awaits us, once we cross the threshold of its portico and access its interior.

It is, then, when we witness, fascinated, a complex assemblage of structures, designed to the millimeter, which consolidate, in opposition of forces, an architectural framework that seems to rotate or converge, in a main, semicircular ambulatory, which, in addition to remembering, Symbolically, the so-called scheme of the Sepulchrum Domini or Sepulcher of the Lord, in Jerusalem, also seems to constitute a cultural heritage, based on the fantastic early medieval Benedictine monasteries.

The ambulatory is made up of a series of elegant chapels, which preserve, in their constitution, all the beauty of the characteristic Gothic star vaults, in which there is no shortage of interesting works of art, of different styles and periods, among which stands out a one of the most compact and beautiful images of what could be considered Marian figurative Gothic, made in a formidable block of granite and still conserving a good part of its original polychromy: the White Virgin.

But, in addition to the Virgen Blanca -a mysterious invocation, of which it could be suggested that it began to make its appearance, in practically all cathedrals, according to some sources, under the patronage of Cistercians and Templars- there are, as has been said, other relevant pieces, such as the Reclining Christ, by Gregorio Fernández -preserved in an urn, similar to the one that contained other enigmatic Christs, miraculously found in the waters and beaches of the Cantabrian Sea- a Christ victor of Death, very similar, in essence, which can be seen in the also Gothic church of the old Madrid monastery of San Jerónimo el Real, as well as an interesting figure of Santa Ana teaching the Virgin to read, as well as some tombs, set up inside the characteristic arcosolio, in the who sleep their eternal sleep, relevant characters in the history of the city.

More complete, for having remained safe from erosion and the abrasive marine saltpeter, although, of course, no less cryptic, the characters represented in the illustrative sequences of the large capitals that support the pilasters, lead us to think of the hermetic uniqueness of Gothic thought and in some keys, little or nothing understood today, but carriers of messages that could clarify for us, even in their apparent delirium, the deep brilliance and wisdom that nested in the thought of Gothic builders.

In summary: a temple that will not only move us with its beauty and elegance, but will also offer us a multitude of details with which to challenge our imagination and from whose position, as a genuine addition, we will have extraordinary views of the port, of the beautiful Maritime Pass and, of course, of a sea where legend and reality are so closely linked that it will be difficult to separate one from the other.

NOTICE: Both the text and the photographs that accompany it, as well as the video that illustrates it, are my exclusive intellectual property and, therefore, are subject to my Copyright.

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