12/1: Arcos de la Frontera: Incorruptible Bodies & Papal Recognition

I mentioned in the last post I'd include photos of the wonderful apartment we rented in Arcos de la Frontera in southern Spain. In the summertime, sitting out on the patio with a glass of wine overlooking the city would have been divine, but it was a little chilly for that at the beginning of December.

The owners had thoughtfully provided a space heater which was essential for the many hours I spent on the laptop writing posts of our visits to other places on this long trip. Just to the right of the table was the compact kitchen and pantry which had everything one could ever need for a short-term rental unlike the vast majority of places that were poorly equipped. 

The only rather bizarre thing was the open window that made it very drafty in the entire apartment. I ended up having to stuff a sofa cushion in it which sadly blocked the pretty view but did make it warmer!

We walked along the quiet streets of the Old Town toward the Church of Santa Maria that we'd only seen from the outside yesterday. As I wrote in the previous post, the church was built atop a mosque after Arcos was retaken as part of the Reconquista from the Muslim Moors in the 13th century.

The elaborate pipe organ coincidentally had the same number of pipes as the year it was made: 1789.

The choir stalls were made in 1731 from mahogany, cedar, ebony and pomegranate trees. They appeared to be as ornate and beautiful as any we'd seen in Spain's finest cathedrals and churches even though Arcos was just a small town!

The lectern, also made in the same year as the choir stalls, had 18 parchment music books from the 17th century.

The Altar of the Holy Christ was made in 1712 although its chapel was constructed in the 16th century.

The chapel was founded in 1480 but its Altar of St. Anthony was only added in the 18th century.

The Sacristy with its Renaissance doors was from the middle of the 17th century. Its picture of the Virgin was attributed to the Granada artist Alonso Cano whose works we'd seen in Madrid's Prado Museum.

The image of St. Michael, the patron saint of Arcos, was the work of Juan de Oviedo in 1592.

My new word for the day was 'tenebrario,' a large candlestick used in Roman Catholic churches during Holy Week! Have any of you heard the word before? This one was made in 1644 and was used in the old liturgy. 

The St. Felix Altar, also known as the Altar of Relics, was made in 1770 and included the 'incorrupt' body of the 13th century martyr which was sent from Rome when St. Mary's Church beat out the nearby St. Peter's Church as being declared the most important church in Arcos by the pope.

Though the saint may have been nicknamed 'the incorruptible,' when we took a closer look at his knee, we noticed it was no longer skin and bones. Instead, it was just bones, and a fine silver mesh now covered his knee. Neither Steven nor I had ever seen such an old body, let alone one in a place of reverence in a church!

Yet another altar, the Altar of the Apprehension, included an image of Christ carved in 1948 by a sculpture from nearby Jerez, the town we'd come through the day before en route to Arcos. The statue only makes his exit from the altar on Palm Sunday.

The main sculpture of the Virgin Mary, made in 1991 by a Seville sculptor, is also carried through the streets of Arcos on Palm Sunday.

These lovely Gothic-Andalusian-style paintings that were created in the latter part of the 14th century were discovered in the apse of the parish church. They were restored in 1972 and brought here. I liked how they were rounded on the edges like ancient scrolls.

At last we reached the church's very impressive High Altar that represented the church patron, the Virgin Assumption. The Renaissance altar covered up a Muslim prayer niche that survived from the older mosque. The altar, that was begun in 1508, showed God with a globe in his hand at the top and scenes from the lives of Mary and Jesus.

When we left the church and its many, many altars, we encountered a small procession which we thought was likely a religious procession. We didn't realize until later it was a food drive. That was something near and dear to our hearts as Steven and I volunteer at a food bank and for Meals on Wheels when we're not on the road.

We retraced our steps to the Convent of the Barefoot Mercedarian Order, founded in 1642, that was closed on our afternoon stroll of the town yesterday. I popped in to see what sweets the cloistered nuns were selling that day via the lazy Susan so they wouldn't be visible. I wanted to be able to support their efforts but all their cookies that day were made from pine nuts, peanuts, almonds and other nuts, all of which Steven is allergic to.

Neither of our sweet teeth were satisfied but we moseyed onto Belen Artistico, an one-of-a-kind cave-like museum that featured miniatures of favorite Nativity scenes. The Nativity scenes - Belen was Spanish for Bethlehem - were built simulating the interior of a cave with many windows and holes of various sizes. The creator had developed a lighting system that allowed the contrast of lights and shadows with a short dawn, a long daytime cycle, a short sunset and a longer night. The complete cycle lasted about five minutes. 

This diorama presented the announcement to Mary at her home in Nazareth.

Looking for a place to stay at the gates of Bethlehem:

From Nazareth, they journeyed to Bethlehem for the census registration.

The next scene depicted the Epiphany procession with the Three Wise Men traveling toward Jerusalem to speak to Herod before going to Bethlehem.

The announcement to the Shepherds: "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord."

The last scene was the Nativity which took place in a stable on the outskirts of Bethlehem. 

Steven thought the entire displays were rather hokey but I was intrigued by the dedication of those who created each of the scenes and the hundreds and hundreds of hours they devoted to the project. Never had I seen such a detailed Nativity scene and this was in a small town in the south of Spain!

Earlier in this post, I mentioned about the competition between the two churches in tiny Arcos de la Frontera to be recognized as the leading church by the pope in Rome centuries earlier. The parishioners of St. Peter's Church, having lost the extended battle with Santa Maria for papal recognition, refused to honor 'Maria' any longer and wouldn't even say her name. They instead prayed to 'St. Peter, mother of God!'

The church's Family Chapel:

How adorable it was spotting the little angles poking their heads out from under the dress of Nuestra Senora los Dolores or Our Lady of Tears.

The San Pedro Church had lovely 'collateral altars,' another term that was new to me that day and which just meant 'side altars.' This carving of the Immaculate Conception was included in the Latin American Exhibition in Seville in 1929.

I thought we'd seen our first and last incorruptible body in the Church of Santa Maria but no, here was another one! On the lower part of the altar was the incorrupt body of St. Victor, a 3rd century holy man who came from the Roman catacombs of St. Calixto.

The High Altar, carved and painted from 1539-1547, was the oldest one in the province of Cadiz. It seemed extraordinarily elaborate to me for a church that was even't recognized by the pope.

On the right collateral altar was another incorruptible body: St. Fructuoso was another 3rd century holy man who came from the Roman catacombs of St. Calixto. I remember hoping these would be our last sights of incorruptible bodies we'd see for the rest of our visit to Spain!

A family's shield was over the Virue's Chapel that venerated the Divine Shepherdess and a child.

The choir stalls were as intricately carved as any we'd seen in the country's finest cathedrals and churches.

The Baptism Altar was an example of Spanish Platersque art which meant in the manner of a silversmith. The Flemish panels were from the last part of the 15th century.

How distressing (possibly petty is a more accurate word) it was that the St. Peter Church elders haven't yet come to terms yet with what transpired so long ago when their church wasn't thought to be the most important one in such a small community. It couldn't have been more than a ten-minute walk between the two churches either. 

We were glad that the 17th century Mayorazgo Palace that we'd walked by yesterday was open this time. Inside were two colonnaded courtyards and large paneled rooms that remained from its past glory that were now part of the Association of San Miguel. We peeked inside and saw retired men enjoying drinks at the bar, a club that was apparently always busy when a bullfight was on TV or just during card games. 

Thanks to Rick Steves' travel guide of Spain, we knew to look up at this corner to try and make out the very eroded mask that was placed here to ward off evil spirits  from the house. This was Arcos' last surviving mask from a tradition that continued until the mid 19th century. 

Thanks again to Steves, we knew to be on the lookout for the ancient columns on many street corners in the Old Town. The columns, many of them Roman, were appropriated from the original settlement below the cliff. They were put up to protect buildings from reckless donkey carts in times gone by.

Having seen the town's few sights, we had fun wandering in and out of the many shops that doubled as art galleries that sold lovely hand-painted plates and very attractive watercolors of the white hill town. Funnily enough, just yesterday Steven and I took the two paintings we bought that day in Arcos to be framed - what a great reminder they'll be of our time in the gorgeous Andalusian area of Spain. 

There was still plenty of time left in the day, the sun was shining which had been a rare occurrence of late, and so we decided to get some exercise by walking all the way down into the newer part of Arcos. I joked with Steven I sure wouldn't want to try and catch up with a runaway suitcase on one of Arcos' many steep streets!

The Old Cliff Viewpoint gave us a great view of the idyllic countryside around the town.

We passed by a number of homes that had religious sculptures visible from the narrow lanes.

The striking Matrera Gate connecting the Old Town with the Lower Town had been critical in the defense of the city. It consisted of four towers and a small chapel with a light that guarded a sculpture of the Virgin of Pilar. The gate was rebuilt in the 17th and 18th centuries.

It felt like almost summertime when we saw orange trees and flowers still blooming!

At the bottom of the hill we happened on a path that ran beside the river we'd just seen from the viewpoint. We found a perfect spot in the sun to read for 90 minutes or so while gazing up at the beautiful scene.

We realized we'd come a fair piece when we looked back and noticed the Santa Maria Church where we'd started our walk that morning. We evidently had a long way to still walk to reach the other end of town and get back up to the Old Town! 

One of those white buildings was our rental apartment but we sure couldn't pick it out among all the other white buildings!

We weren't sure what this was but thought it may have been a nature reserve down by the river.

A little bit of background about Arcos de la Frontera: Its strategic position in southern Spain made it an important prize. For a brief period during the 11th century, Arcos was an independent Berber-ruled small kingdom. In 1255, it was claimed by Christian king Alonzo X El Sabio for Seville and it remained 'de la frontera' or on the frontier between Moorish and Christian Spain until the fall of Granada in the Reconquista in 1492.

We had a long but enjoyable walk back up the cliff, passing by a bamboo grove which we were surprised to see in this part of the world. 

We were certainly huffing and puffing a bit once we got to the top of all these steps, yet we still had two more sets of steps to climb.

Seeing the carvings of the Holy Week procession, done in 2008, made us both think of men attired in KKK robes.

This building was erected in 1788 by order of Charles III to house the new Granary because the original, built during the era of the Catholic Monarchs and located in the Lane of Cots, was no longer adequate. Once it stopped functioning as a granary in 1899, it subsequently became a magistrate's court, municipal library, housing for the military garrison, primary school, and, since 2000, a health center.

Just down the street from the former granary was the former San Miguel Church that had been a Muslim fortress built on a hill before becoming a retreat dedicated to San Miguel. It was ruined in 1684 as a result of heavy rain and not rebuilt until the 18th century when it became a hospice for orphaned girls. Now no longer a place of worship, it was used as a cultural hall for conferences, exhibits and presentations. 

The San Juan de Dios Church was created in the 16th century as the hospital of San Sebastian that was attached to a retreat. All the hospitals in Arcos in 1596 were merged into it. The combined hospital and church celebrated their 475th anniversary in 2018!

Little Arcos de la Frontera was a lovely example of the White Hill Towns in southern Spain and a place that we found very relaxing and scenic, especially before heading on to a big city.

Next post: On to Seville, our last city in Spain, a country we first began exploring about six fantastic weeks ago.

Posted on February 21st, 2019, from sunny but chilly Littleton.