Salisbury Cathedral by night

When I went to Cornwall for my Christmas holiday, I went via Salisbury, which is a bit of a dog-leg journey from Cardiff but there were good reasons, and one bonus of travelling that route was spending a night in Salisbury on my return to Cardiff. It was early evening when I arrived there and freezing cold, with a light ground mist swirling around, but no sooner had I checked in to my hotel than I headed out again. These photos are the reason. Salisbury Cathedral is one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen.

Llandaff Cathedral

I go often to Llandaff Cathedral, not because I’m religious but to admire its architecture, soak in its history, explore its fascinating cemetery, and because it’s at the end of a lovely woodland walk alongside the River Taff here in Cardiff. This is a place with something for everyone to enjoy.

The present cathedral sits on one of the oldest Christian sites in Britain, the place where Saint Dyfrig founded a Christian community in the early 6th century and where his successor Saint Teilo built the first church in the mid 6th century. The only remnant of those very early days is an ancient Celtic cross that now stands in the grounds near the Chapter House.

Construction of the present building began in 1120, when the conquering Normans occupied Glamorgan and appointed Urban as their local bishop, though little of that first cathedral remains – an arch behind the present High Altar and the doorway into the Welch Regimental Chapel are thought to be original. The very impressive west front of the present cathedral was built around 1220, and the cathedral was eventually finished around 1280.

During the subsequent 736 years, the building has, not surprisingly, suffered from the human history happening around it: there was significant damage during the 1400 rebellion led by Owain Glyndwr, it was desecrated by Parliamentarian troops during the English Civil War, and Mother Nature has also inflicted her share of damage, during the Great Storm of 1703 and during further traumatic weather events of the early 1720s, when the entire south-west tower collapsed.

Those architectural traumas were repaired using the gifts of the pilgrims who came to pay homage at the Saint Teilo – his tomb still stands in the Sanctuary – but, following Henry VIII’s restructuring of the church in Britain, pilgrimages were forbidden, maintenance on the cathedral could not be sustained and the building fell into a state of ruin.

Restoration work finally commenced in 1734, to the design of John Wood the Elder, an architect from Bath, though his new building, within the ruined outer walls of the existing cathedral, was never completely finished, and the original walls and pillars were left standing. A further phase of restoration took place during the 19th century, under the direction of J. P. Seddon and John Prichard, and much of their building remains today, though the cathedral was also severely damaged during the Cardiff Blitz of January 1941, when an exploding parachute mine blew the roof off the south aisle and the nave.

After the Second World War, the building’s restoration was managed by George Pace who is the man responsible for the enormous reinforced concrete arch that now dominates the cathedral’s interior. It was a bold decision to introduce such a modern element into such an ancient building but it works, primarily, I think, because of the magnificent aluminium statue of Christ in Majesty, the outstanding work by Sir Jacob Epstein that crowns the archway.

The cathedral continues to have its share of catastrophes: in February 2007 the organ was so severely damaged by a lightning strike that parishioners had to fundraise the enormous sum of £1.5 million for a replacement.

Llandaff Cathedral is the sum of its past, a reflection of the incredible range of historic events that have occurred in this part of Wales, a vital place of worship for the local Christian community, a mosaic of architectural styles and heritage, a place for the dead to rest and the living to ruminate.

Arequipa, white city of churches

Arequipa, Peru’s second city, is famous for its white stone buildings, made of sillar, the local volcanic stone – I guess there are some advantages to having a volcano on your back doorstep – well, one anyway!

The buildings are beautiful, and Marianne and I had two whole days to wander around the inner city exploring them. Our first visit was to the Convent of Santa Teresa – or, more correctly, the Monastery of the Unshod Carmelites of Saint Joseph and Saint Theresa. The monastery was founded in 1710 and only partially opened to the public in 2005, as a museum containing hundreds of works of art from the 16th to the 18th centuries. The brochure says that the doors of the bell room are closed at noon ‘to allow one of the nuns to pass unseen to ring the bells for the Angelus, as has been done since 1710’ and ‘from the De Profundis room, one can hear the chant of the nuns praying the sixth hour’. The nuns still make traditional products, which they sell to visitors - Marianne bought some delicately scented rose soap.

The Monastery of San Francisco was originally built in the 16th century but has been badly damaged by several of the large earthquakes that have struck Arequipa over the centuries. There is still a large crack in the cupola but other damage is not easily noticeable. It has a beautiful inner courtyard, and many fine religious artworks and murals. The inner structure of the church is made of brick, giving it a very different, more austere look than the other church interiors.

The Convent of Santa Catalina is like a small town within the city. Founded in 1579 and only opened to the public in 1970, it has whole streets of private cells and apartments built for the cloistered nuns by their families. Part of its beauty lies in the colours of its walls – in some places they have been painted a paprika red, in others a vibrant sky blue, while much is still the white of the sillar stone. The gardens are beautifully planted and the streets, alleyways and window boxes are filled with red geraniums. It was fascinating to explore – around every turning was a new window to look out of, another doorway to peer through – and so many photo opportunities that I took over a hundred pictures.

At the end of our first day of exploring Arequipa, which luckily coincided with National Museums Day so entrance was free, we visited the Santuarios Andinos UCSM Museum and saw there the mummy ‘Juanita’, a young Inca girl who had been sacrificed near the top of the Ampato volcano and was only rediscovered in 1995. I have no photos of that amazing sight but the museum’s website has some images if anyone is interested in learning more of Juanita’s story.

The next morning we began with a small local church dating back to 1582, the Church of Santa Marta. It has exquisite paintings on its ceiling, as you can see from the photo.

We arrived at La Compañίa (the Jesuit Church) from the rear, entering through the cloisters of beautifully carved stone, which now house retail shops and a first-floor café where we enjoyed a cold juice. We also visited the church’s Cúpula Policromada, a stunning chapel with a vividly painted jungle of flowers and birds, and patterns covering its entire surface. Photographs were not permitted but I have to confess that I took a couple surreptitiously. The church itself was in use for a wedding when we first arrived so we returned later in the afternoon for a look. To be honest, although I haven’t included a photo here, I thought the external façade of the building was its most interesting feature.

We had a tour of Arequipa’s Cathedral with a lovely young woman, who came originally from Cusco. It’s a huge building, which has been damaged by fire and earthquakes over the centuries and, climbing up to roof, we were shown the damage to one of the bell towers. Its interior is more simply decorated than many of the other churches – it almost looks like the icing on a cake. The twelve columns surrounding the high altar represent the twelve apostles and are made of Italian marble, and it has the largest organ in South America, now unplayable due to earthquake damage.

The last religious building we visited was the Church and Convent of Santo Domingo, the first convent to be built in Arequipa. It is richly decorated, with an altar framed in gold and many ornate paintings hung on its walls, but by that point we’d seen enough churches to last us a long while, and were happy to head off for a cold beer and dinner before taking overnight buses in separate directions, Marianne to continue her journey through Peru and me to return to Cusco, for work the following Monday. We had enjoyed a delightful two days sightseeing in the beautiful white city of Peru.

My, what big knockers!

Urubamba church

Cusco has a lot of big knockers. So do many of the other towns I’ve visited in Peru.

Typically, they are found on the doors of large old constructions, like municipal buildings and churches.

Door knockers are, of course, attached to doors so that people outside can let those inside know they’re there. But most of the large knockers here are purely ornamental – some are placed so high on the door that only a giant could possibly reach them. And most are very ornate, with grotesque faces, naked cupids, and fantastical creatures. 

Here is a sampling ...

A church in Sucre, Bolivia

Another Sucre church door

                                        

Cusco cathedral

 

In Potosi

Another Cusco building

                                        

A church in Potosi