If any city has always attracted my attention to elements that linked it was Toulouse. The evoked much for the great painter that carries his name, Henri de Toulouse - Lautrec, of noble origin and linked to this area, Midi-Pyrénées (Although the most beautiful museum of his work is in Albi, especially the remarkable exhibition of his posters), then since the world of music, I had always heard the orchestra of the Capitole de Toulouse, famous for making interesting representations opera, with a good director like Michel Plasson, and the Paris Opera, the leading exponents of French musical culture (although there is the beautiful new premises of the Opera de Lyon).
We Isabel a rainy Saturday hours for a visit to Toulouse, we left the car in the parking lot of a grocery store and from there take the metro, convenient and fast (a day I will). The interesting thing is that the seasons were named in Occitan and French. Occitan sounded so close to Castilian, and Catalan. Historically this area rich in agriculture and the social and cultural, was coveted by many, for its geographical Cathars were developed, which were treated as heretics and virtually destroyed during the Albigensian Crusade campaign (at City Albi, which is a beautiful church with murals showing the sad slaughter). Innocent III and the Capetian kings covet their wealth and land. The story (and it depends how you see it), was the opportunity of France to annex the land "forever." And throughout the country sees traces of the "Perfect", "les parfaits." One of my goals is to go to Carcassonne and Montsegur, Cathar monuments par excellence. The Count of Toulouse, Raymond VI, played an important role and the city was besieged from 1217 to 19. Long ago.
The city has a long history, we arrived at the Capitol to the main square and from there, always guided by Isabel, went to Our Lady of Taur, in honor of San Saturnino, whose tomb was in this place and then moved to another huge and beautiful church Saint Sernin. Taur is a bull, an animal that was used to kill Saturninus, one of the first bishop of the city, who was sentenced to death for not making sacrifices to the gods. Saturnino was tied to the bull, who was stung and ran with the saint's body to destroy it. According to popular history says, the road linking St. Sernin and the square (Rue de Taur) was the transited the bull. The fourteenth century church, built after an early Christian work. The church has details of bulls everywhere, recalling the saint's death. The bad thing is the darkness in which they are seen now. In fact, they do so that artificial light does not damage the paintings or murals. But it's also the fact that the winters are dark and, despite subsequently placed windows, the light is insufficient. Worse on a rainy day.
However, it soon would be a reward. Before going to a beautiful place, Isabel told me to go to lunch at a nice place, on top of the main market are many fish restaurants and other delicacies. We showed one of the best, thanks to data from the daughter of Elizabeth, who told him by telephone. And it was true, extraordinary food, good wine, shrimp, fish soups and fondue-style cheese, a dish of fish in herbs, lots of bread and cheese, then a chocolate mousse and coffee to keep going. On the way to Saint Sernin, we entered a small bookstore and found a gem: Asterix in Occitan. Place I'll varied language, I try to find the version of this comic vernacular: I have it, was obviously French and Castilian, German, Hebrew, Catalan, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Hungarian, Greek, English and even in Latin, which I got in Germany. But I will continue my search for more. From the library up to Saint Sernin were a few steps, and found myself with this awesome church. What one sees first impression is the octagonal bell tower 65 meters of brick. You enter the church and its distribution is like a Roman cross. High, wide and illuminated by natural light. And then he was visiting crypt, in which the church holds its treasures. Has an interesting gallery with a small altars of "All Saints" and later around the high altar of the church. After the visit to the crypt, we decided to go for the "front door", which has no main towers and the cover is relatively modest compared with what one finds inside. There, an accident happened to me: to go with the open cover of my camera, one of the memories of my camera fell carelessly. Fortunately one of those who had saved and retrieved when I had already lost everything.
The brief visit to Toulouse was to end with a "Cerecita": the convent of the Jacobins, dominica building. Santo Domingo was and preached in this city, where he founded his congregation. This congregation will help create the university ruled by them. This church has some beautiful stained glass windows that give a sense of peace and tranquility, in many ways, saving time and style reminded me of Chagall's stained glass windows in Zürich or the Church of the Dormition of the Virgin in Jerusalem, places the light filtering through the stained glass windows give a sense special. A little, but rather carelessly, I lived in a church in Paita, Piura, which has some beautiful stained glass Winthernitz.
All that remained was to see the beautiful Romanesque cloister that this church has to its credit. A beauty. Full
architecture and history, we had to go to Toulouse, as we had a long way to Graulhet to go see the brothers of Elizabeth y. then go to the concert of Paco Ibáñez.
One day round.
0 comments:
Post a Comment