Zigzagging through Zaragoza

Most tourists (and those who feed off them) hang out in the very large and long Plaza del Pilar. But I suspect it’s also a centre of city life for locals judging by the crowds at the weekend. While taking a last lingering look at the square on our final day in Zaragoza, we heard what we expected to be some kind of protest march coming towards us from the main lateral street into the square. It turned out to be a couple of people in vaguely Victorian dress in motorised vehicles of what appeared to be late Victorian era, Jules Verne type (penny farthings being the nearest relatives I would guess) promoting La Lonja del Comercio Justo.

Google translates this as “the fish market trade fair” but it could be that the poster refers to the building in the Plaza del Pilar called La Lonja. This building has been described as “the finest existing example of Aragonese Renaissance civil architecture” and is currently used by the Zaragoza City Council as an Exhibition Gallery. However, the events listed on the site of La Lonja del Comercio Justo 2016 featured on the poster appeared to be a whole lot of cultural, participatory events mainly aimed at children. If anyone can demystify me, please do.

Plaza del Pilar is an impressive cityscape and space, blending modern and old elements successfully, with some wonderful individual buildings. The modern elements include a couple of very large and attractive water features and a museum, an angular building clad with amber-coloured agate panels that provides for great Kodak moments – or perhaps I should call them selfietunities.

The plaza is populated with interesting, mostly traditional style sculptures that add to the story of the city. The old elements are a brief chronicle of Zaragoza’s history, and the La Seo cathedral is one of the oddest marriages of Gothic-Mudejar, Romanesque and Renaissance architectural styles even from the outside … which is all we got to see because of church services and tightly controlled opening times. Add into the mix that it stands on top of Roman ruins and has experienced devastating destruction by many warlords over time, and you feel that Zaragoza is a city that will survive whatever is thrown at it.

Lured by the promise of frescoes by Goya (“The Queen of Martyrs” painted in the dome), we paid to tour the Basilica de Nuestra Senora del Pilar which is the church that features on all promotional pictures of Zaragoza, seen from the river Ebro with its many domes and towers. Another splendid temple to the Catholic faith and tribute to Our Lady of the Pillar, reputed to be the first church ever to be dedicated to Mary and originally consecrated in the first or second century AD.

I later read about something we missed or perhaps just don’t remember seeing – can’t work out how! Apparently during the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939, three bombs were dropped on the church but none of them exploded and two are still on show in the Basilica.

Turning the corner at one end of the Plaza del Pilar, it’s just a short walk to the beautiful Art Nouveau style Mercado de Lanuza which is still a genuine market and favourite of locals. It looks out across Roman ruins towards the Plaza Cesar Augusto. Here there is an old stone church (with a refreshingly plain interior and not remarkable enough to be named as a must-see on tourist maps) and the tomb of the revered General Palafox (a hero of the Napoleonic war).

On the days we ventured further afield, we found the prosperous end of town to the south of the old city. It has a more old-world, established European style about it with wide boulevards, good public transport and plenty of restaurants and cafés. Definitely the area we would choose to stay in next time.

The Aljiferia (currently home to the Aragonese Parliament) was somewhat disappointing and one of the monuments that caused me to question what UNESCO World Heritage listing does for some buildings. Labelled “the beautifully restored Palacio”, it is so clearly renovated that is has the look of a building of the 21^st century in the style of centuries ago and somehow that seems artificial. I suppose in due course the patina of age will imbue the exterior with the appropriate air of decay. So little of the interior is accessible which also made the long walk through the city to reach this monument somewhat of a fizzer.  En route we passed the ever-present bull ring – I wonder what these will become in due course as the sensibilities of modern Europe must surely soon force an end to bull fighting.

 

Other highlights of our visit were walks in the lovely parks and along the river, the Goya Museum (which is housed in a splendid palacio and is well worth visiting), the ruins of the Roman amphitheatre right next door to the Goya Museum and the Museum of Zaragoza (showcasing wonderful mosaics and sculptures from Roman times). And finally, of all things, an Italian meal at LaMafia restaurant in Casa Jimenez.