In Catalonia there is a host of small villages
which have remained practically as they were 500 years ago. The houses
are stone-built, with solidly-constructed doorways and charming windows.
Some village houses but above all many isolated farmhouses are
fortified. The cobbled streets are steep, winding and shady, giving
these villages an air of days gone by, introspective and filled with
memories, just as if time had stopped there for hundreds of years!
Perched
atop a rocky hilltop, beside a dizzying cliff, set in a pass or
enclosed in a glacial cirque, in Catalonia there is also a whole series
of sanctuary chapels dedicated to the Virgin Mary (known
as “Marian sanctuaries”). All of them have one thing in common, that
according to their respective legends carved wooden statues of the
Virgin Mary were found by some shepherd thanks to the help of an animal,
often an ox, and these figures are worshipped there. Devotion to Our
Lady has always been widespread among the people of these areas. Statues
of this kind, carved according to a similar pattern, proliferated from
the late 11th century, reaching their peak between the mid 12th and mid
13th centuries.
The outing is tailored to suit you, alternating – as you prefer – visits to chapels with walks around little villages where time seems to stand still. Journeys by vehicle are combined with walks to
take us to the chapels, where we can enjoy stunning views with much of
the country lying at our feet. We will also stroll through steep, shady
streets in villages which have withstood today’s pressure to become the
same as everywhere else.
Your guide is an expert in the history and art of the chapels and ancient villages who is also highly knowledgeable about the geography, flora, fauna, habitats and traditional and modern uses made by people of the land in the area you are about to discover.
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