Santiago de Peñalba
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SITUATION
The Peñalba's Santiago church is one of the architectural Mozarabic jewels. It's situated in the heart of the Valley of the Silence into the Leonese region of El Bierzo to 14 km from Ponferrada.The province of León -where El Bierzo is included- is in the North of Spain, near the Atlantic Ocean. The area of the Valley of Silence was full of sanctuaries and monasteries since the century VIII.That was the reason because it was called "La Tebaida Berciana".
EPOCH: THE RISING OF THE KINGDOM OF LEÓN
Peñalba's Santiago was constructed in the first half of the century X by the abbot Salomón in full brilliance of Kingdom of León.Ramiro II King of León, who donated many exchequers to the monastery. Among them there was Peñalba's Cross, Mozarabic reply of the former pieces of goldwork that the Visigoths realized.
ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENTS
Peñalba's Santiago is a church with two opposite apses, something almost only in the world. Only two more churches in the Christianity have two apses. These churches are San Cebrián of Mazote, also constructed during the height of Kingdom of León and other one is in the North of Africa. It seems to be that the possibility of having two apses was related to the North African religiousness influenced by the heresy of the circuncelions (folowers of the Donatism).
DECORATION
The decoration is a mixing of Celtic elements (lunar and astral symbols), Byzantine (plant of Greek cross), Arabic (a small dome covers the major altar) and visigothic (arches of horse-shoe).
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