Montserrat: Short, Sweet, and Magical Part 2

There is so much to see and do in Montserrat, but with time limitations we had to cherry pick what to see or do. To visit the basilica was choice of activity for the day; there is museum, or you can take the gondola ride even higher for some hiking.

It was difficult to tell there's a church somewhere behind the arches from the square because it was hidden and flanked by two other buildings. The flooring of atrium was striking so it wasn't a surprise when I read somewhere that it was patterned after the one in Vatican City.

There is so many things to occupy the eyes, too many things to gawk at and I was still outside the church in the atrium.

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Inside the basilica is what you would expect from a Catholic church in Europe, I suppose. The opulence, the details, the gilding. Here is the site for the Black Madonna pilgrimmage. There was a long line of devotees who want to see the Virgin up close, the line stretching all the way out of the church; I assumed this is a daily thing.

There are six chapels situated along the left side of the church. We entered one and was intent only on praying. It was my father's birthday when we were there and I thought it was very appropriate that I was saying a prayer for his eternal repose in a very religious place. And before we finished our prayer, in came a priest and said the mass - in Catalan language! It was most solemn mass I ever attended. There was only 4 people there excluding the priest. I felt truly blessed for the visit.

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If there is one thing that really strike me from all the lovely stuff inside the church it was the gorgeous ornate hanging candles all over the side of the church. I figured there's got to be something about them, because they were all lovely and they were all different. Not two were the same, I believe. So I took photos of them and the hubs asked why I was so preoccupied with them. They just captured my fancy. See here....

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Still curious, I went online to see what I can find about them and here's what I found:

Around the edge of the church you will note lots of ornate hanging candles. These are representative of a Catalan style of jewellery-making from after the Spanish Civil War (1811 - 1812). They have all been donated by Catalan towns and associations. Collectively they are there to represent the constant presence of the people of Catalunya at the feet of St. Mary of Montserrat.


OUR WORLD TUESDAY

Comments

  1. How utterly gorgeous!

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  2. Stunning cathedral and what a wonderful stroke of serendipity that you were there for Mass , especially on your dads birthday.

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  3. Beautiful shots of the place. The sculptures are marvelous.

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  4. A gorgeous place it is indeed and terrific captures as always!! I hope you have a great new week!!

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  5. It is mesmerising full of awe and wonder.

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  6. Hello, what a gorgeous cathedral. The details and carved statues are amazing. Wonderful series of photos and post. Have a happy new week ahead!

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  7. Beautiful! Awesome!

    Happy Week to you,
    artmusedog and carol

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  8. That is very impressive, it puts anything in my part of the country to shame.

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  9. they had a lot of great artists in those days long past. :) A beautiful building.

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  10. They are really spectacular shots, very detailed and vivid. I thought at once of the Vatican and immdiately got disappointed because i only have a point and shoot when i visited Rome alone. Thanks also for the information you included from the net.

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  11. What a magnificent and beautiful basilica - inside and out.

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  12. These pictures took us on a remarkable religious journey with excellent, detailed pictures. You captured the detailed art work very well.

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  13. Hi! The stained glass photo is breathtakingly beautiful. I feel weight of the history. Thanks for sharing.

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  14. Hi! The stained glass photo is breathtakingly beautiful. I feel weight of the history. Thanks for sharing.

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  15. Lovely! I love visiting old churches around Europe, it's always grand and artistic.
    I thought those things were chandeliers, not candle holders. :p

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  16. That is such a gorgeous old church and what great pictures you got of it. Very interesting. I love the hanging candles. Thanks for all the wonderful pictures.

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  17. Gorgeous photos! Love to see all of them and imagine the stories!

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  18. Gorgeous photos! Love to see all of them and imagine the stories!

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  19. Gorgeous! The details are amazing!

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  20. Montserrat is just beautiful, i have a thing for church details, I don't get bored even when I've already seen tons of them already, ^0^
    the hanging candles are amazing. I wish you could do a separate post on that.

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