Cathedral considering restricting access to Portico

[Peter Robins]

There's an interesting article in the current Voz de Galicia http://www.lavozdegalicia.es/ed_santiag ... TO=4037226
on the damage being caused by visitors to the Portico de la Gloria, placing their hand on the column etc. In the view of the cathedral authorities, the accumulative effect of the current number of visitors is not sustainable.

Various options are being considered of which the favourite at the moment is to limit access to groups accompanied by an official guide. This would have the additional advantage of reducing the noise and disturbance to church services caused by visitors to the Portico.

They/we are lucky that Galicia's stone is granite; if it were sandstone like my local cathedral, the carvings would have disappeared centuries ago!

 

[ivar]

Here is a picture of Portico de la Gloria:

Another cathedral related issue that came up in today's La Voz de Galicia is the fact that many times when the botafueiro (the smoking pot) is in use, the audience starts applauding. Applause in a cathedral is not very common, and not very popular among some locals.

More on that here: (spanish)
http://www.lavozdegalicia.es/ed_santiag ... TO=4037231

 

[Kanga]

The suggestions that access should be only to groups with an official guide is terrible! That means that a rich tourist who arrives on a bus or car will get access, whereas someone who has walked across Europe to worship in the Cathedral would not.

Far better to limit access, if there really is a need, to those who can show a compostella, i.e. they have walked at least the last 100 kilometres.

 

[Peter Robins]

I may have phrased this badly. The cathedral would provide the guides, and pilgrims would be grouped together, such as happens with many other historical sites, such as the Pantheon in Leon. The aim is to limit/reduce the damage currently being wrought by uncontrolled access, not to prevent pilgrims or anyone else from seeing the Portico. It would mean the end of placing hand, banging head on the column, and the various other rituals.

 

[William Marques]

Cathedral restrictions

Has the idea of restricting access to the Portico de la Gloria not been floated many times before and rejected each time. Perhaps this is the time they will bring in restrictions but if I was a betting man my money would be on these restrictions being postponed, cancelled, forgotten or ignored until another day.
Restricting access during services is another matter though.
William

 

[Peter Robins]

Looks like your scepticism is justified, William. At yesterday's meeting of the Consello Xacobeo, there were calls for 'more detailed studies' on the issue - the standard recourse of all politicians/bureaucrats who are unsure what to do ;-)

 

[Peter Robins]

more on this issue in today's Correo Gallego
http://www.elcorreogallego.es/index.php ... 4&Itemid=6
http://www.elcorreogallego.es/index.php ... 5&Itemid=6
The paper asks whether anything will be in place for holy year in 2010.

 

[ivar]

Here are some photos (from the El Correo Gallego articles that Peter reffers to above) that shows some of the damage to the Portico de la Gloria.