A fragment of Visigothic Spain

We could argue that time, that Borgesian entelequia on which we pour out an infinite hunger for destruction and oblivion, has always been, at least as far as these remains in particular are concerned, much more charitable than the Cainite hand of some men, who, seeing in them a simple pile of old stones, condemned, simply and plainly, the permissive function of communal quarry, contributing, even in a subjective way, but effectively, deep down, to what began in the seventh century by the Muslim armies, which, under the command of the commanders, Tarik and Muza, invaded the Iberian Peninsula, crossing the Pillars of Hercules with their ships: the end of the empire and the way of life of the Visigoths.

The once powerful monastery of Saint Mary, located, to make matters worse, in the heart of a legendary land, that of Lara, which witnessed the birth, rebellion and imparting justice to the first counts and judges of Castile, is nothing but, today, an unrecognizable fragment of that glorious lost world, whose remains, languid and suffering from that melancholic mood that characterizes Verlaine's verses, see time go by, mortally wounded and It could be said that they have been definitely forgotten, if it were not for the pious marks, generally in the shape of a monxoi cross -the one that is represented elevated on a mound, in reference, not only to the Calvary of Christ, but also to Jerusalem, to the Holy City- that pilgrims leave throughout time, as a sign of consideration and passage, in their unequivocal transcendental adventure.

NOTICE: Both the text and the photographs that accompany it are my exclusive intellectual property and, therefore, are subject to my Copyright.