The Sanctuary of Santa María La Real, built in the 9th century, was restored in 1962 and has an atrium with birch, maple and rowan trees.In the surrounding area there was a monastery of which today only the church remains, which had an inn-hospital to serve pilgrims, in operation until 1858. Legend has it that on foggy days the monks would ring the bell to guide lost walkers.The temple of Santa María La Real, founded by the Count of Aurillac, is the oldest monument on the Jacobean route that has been completely preserved, although it should be noted that the current façade is not the original. The church, with very thick walls, consists of three naves eighteen metres long, separated by two wide pillars on each side, topped by a triple header. The apses are rectangular and have no openings, something that is explained by the difficult climatic conditions of the area. Inside there are two chapels, including a large baptismal font from the 18th century, in which the sacrament was administered by immersion, a figure of the Virgin of O Cebreiro from the 12th century, two anthropomorphic burials and a reliquary that was given by the Catholic Monarchs when they travelled to Galicia in 1486. ??The piece houses a grail and a paten.This church is one of the oldest monuments on the Camino de Santiago and is linked to the "legend of the Holy Grail or the Holy Miracle", dating from around the year 1300. The story goes that the priest of O Cebreiro, a man of little faith, found it incredible that in the Eucharistic act, the bread and wine were transformed into the flesh and blood of Christ. One day he expressed his doubts aloud in the presence of the only devotee who had come to church, given the heavy snowfall that was falling, when the host turned red and turned into a piece of flesh and the wine into blood, and the Virgin bowed before the miracle. They say that the officiant, upon seeing it, collapsed and died. As relics of this medieval miracle, which reached the old continent and was inspired by Wagner to compose his opera Parsifal, you can see some small glass ampoules, in addition to the silver chalice and a paten, dating from the second half of the 12th century, mentioned above.

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拍攝者： Nandi66