Before leaving Leon, we went to the San Isidoro Museum, an 11th-century Romanesque church. The church is only of modest interest, but the museum attached to it is definitely worth the stop.
It features a smallish but beautiful library, a cloister, a chapter house, a pantheon of royal tombs, and the opportunity to walk out on to the towering city walls. Alas no inside photos are allowed, so I can’t show off the oversized Gregorian chant books, nor the giant Mozarabic Bible from 960.
You are not allowed to go up the tower, but it does feature, at the bottom, a beautifully decorated agate chalic featuring gold and various gemstones. Some believe it was the chalice used by Jesus at the Last Supper. I don’t believe that, as I’ve watched “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.”
The Royal Pantheon features the tombs of 23 medieval kings and queens that were not discovered until 2002, along with twelve children and nine counts. That’s of interest, but the star of the room, nay, the star of the entire museum/church are the colorful, vivid frescoes on the ceiling vaults.
The frescoes feature the life of Christ, starting with the Annunciation. There are several amazing aspects, including a mastiff dog drinking his owner’s milk whilst the owner is distracted by the angel. Then, there is the chaos that is the slaughter of the innocents. Next ceiling section has the Last Supper. Eleven of the disciples have halos, with me granting you one guess as to which disciple does not. In this section, the black rooster serves as a symbol of Jesus representing a new day for God’s people.
In the next section, there is another rooster, but in this case, it is Peter denying Christ three times before the cock crows. Then in subsequent scenes, Jesus is arrested, Pontius Pilate washes his hands of the whole affair, and then Jesus on the cross.
In the final scene, Jesus returns triumphant to judge the quick and the dead. Over his shoulders are the symbols for the Alpha and Omega, and he is surrounded by the four evangelists depicted as angel, bull, eagle, and lion.
An archway features a calendar with each month of the year in a circle. The twelve medallions depict a man’s typical activity each month of the year – from closing the door on the previous year while opening the door to the new year, warming himself by the fire, planting crops, harvesting, and blessing his bread by the fire at Christmas (and more of course).
I’ve got to give credit to Rick Steves and his guidebook to Spain, which, following carefully, allowed us to understand and thus enjoy the whole ceiling of frescoes.
From there we checked out the cloister and finished off the museum/church.
The entry to the church.
Photos are allowed in the
church, but not in the museum.
The tower.
The city walls of Leon.
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