For our accommodations tonight along our Camino de Santiago, we're staying in the city of Pontevedra, Spain. Having done some research in advance of the trip, I knew there were a couple of interesting sites that I wanted to visit here. After checking into the hotel and getting a shower, I decided to explore the city a little bit and walk to these two sites.
The first is the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, which is a catholic church dating back to the 16th century. This large place of worship is the primary church for the city of Pontevedra and was consecrated as a basilica in 1962. I had to do a little research as to what this actually means. Essentially, basilica's are distinguished from other churches for ceremonial purposes and have the privilege to display additional symbols on and around the alter.
Arriving on the back of the structure, there was a tour beginning, which I didn't actually have time participate in, but those that did entered the church near a replica of Jesus' crucifixions behind a steel grate, presumably to protect it from vandals. With a couple of my friends, we walked around to the more scenic front view of the basilica, which faces northwest atop a large hill within the city. The Lerez River flows at past at the bottom of the hill. It's actually a quite stunning structure and I wish I had more time to explore.
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