A trip to Olivenza and the Convento de la Luz

It's not far to Olivenza from Finca al-manzil but it's a journey into a very different Extremadura. From the dramatic crags and dense woods of our sierra surrounded by small fincas filled with vines, fig and olive trees to vast sweeping areas devoted to vines producing the rich wines of the Tierra de Barra near the Guardiana river and endless dehesa with herds of Iberic pigs and cattle roaming freely in thousands of hectares, remote landscapes, seemingly untouched by time. Our destination was a mysterious and long abandoned Franciscan convent with origins in the XV century. 

But first we stopped for breakfast at Olivenza. Formerly, Olivença, it was under Portuguese sovereignty almost continuously between 1297 - 1801, when it was occupied by Spain during the War of the Oranges and ceded that year under the Treaty of Badajoz. Fortunately, when coming under Spanish rule there was no destruction of the superb collection of building spanning 16th to 19th centuries built by the Portuguese.

What a charming town, wide streets lined with trees and gleaming white town houses, all harmonious and pleasing to the eye. Its appearance reflects the early neo-classical period originating in Portugal after the massive reconstruction work carried out in Lisbon because of the earthquake and fire of 1775. Under the guidance of the Prime Minister of D. José I, the Marquis of Pombal, the rhythmic repetition of windows, set in sober and unadorned marble frames, and the absence of additions or decorations in any other part of the facade define this
Pombaline style of architecture.

The ancient 13th century town within the walls of the castle is a beautiful example of the military architecture of the time. It has a trapezoidal shape with a central courtyard with three cubic towers at the corners, in addition to the Torre del Homenaje from the time of the Portuguese king, D. Afonso IV 1291 – 1357, son of D. Dinis.

The Torre del Homenaje at 37 m high is the highest of the fortress towers on the Spanish-Portuguese border. Built in masonry reinforced by stone ashlars at the corners, it has 24 arrow slits that illuminate its interior. At the top of its four faces, you can still see the remains of the primitive machicolations that defended its flank, these are projecting structures supported by a row of corbels with openings in the floor through which stones and boiling liquids could be dropped on attackers. At the foot of the barbican, a moat was dug, ordered by D. João II in 1488, completely surrounding the fortress as there was little trust that the Spanish would not try to recapture the town. Also notable within the inner walls are the church of Santa Maria del Castillo, built on the site of the first Olivenza church, dating from the 13th century, this church was built between 1584 and 1627. The barracks are from the 18th century with their own bakery, the tall chimneys a relic of when it was providing bread for thousands of soldiers.

On an attractive street with outdoor terraces of cafés and restaurants, just through one of the gates to the ancient town is the jewel of Olivenza, the church of Maria Magdalena . It was started in 1510 under the reign of Portuguese king Don Manuel I. in the Manueline style, which stems from late Gothic and is notable for its decorative and naturalistic character with marine elements referring to Portuguese dominance of the seas and discovery of sea routes to formerly unknown regions in Africa and Asia in the 15th and 16th century.

On the outside, there are false battlements, pinnacles, gargoyles, side doors

and the main door, with added decoration, attributed to Nicolas de Chanterenne a French sculptor who produced other important works in Portugal, such as the door of the Hieronymites Monastery in Lisbon or a marble altarpiece in the Pena Palace in Sintra, as well as other works in the Alentejo and Extremadura. 

During D. Manuel's reign the town's charter was renewed and orders were given for the building of new fortifications and the Olivenza Bridge over the Guadiana River, later known as Ponte de Nossa Senhora da Ajuda or, simply as Ajuda bridge, on the road to Elvas.

After this fascinating and enjoyable vistit to Olivenza we were on our way to the convent with only a very vague description of how to find it despite researching its history.

A shepherd discovered a statue of the virgin hidden in a cave, the much repeated format for the discovery of many effigies of the virgin mary throughout Spain. The legend says he took it home to Alconchel only to find it missing the next day, it was back in the cave in the middle of a remote, wild region. The word soon spread, and the cave became a place of pilgrimage and apparent miracles. The lord who owned the land paid for a small ermita to be built at the cave. In the XVI it was adopted by the newly formed order of Franciscan brothers who had split from the main order under the influence of San Pedro de Alcantara who wanted the Franciscans to return to their original austerity, a life of poverty and the bare minimum to sustain life  together with  draconian rules of prayer and penance as opposed to the luxury and decadence of the Roman Catholic church in Spain during that time, enriched beyond imagining by the constant flow of conquistador gold and silver plundered from the new world.  These brothers were known as the decalzados, barefooted. It is said that San Pedro visited the convent in its early days to preach and advise on the patterns of life lived in scrupulous abstinence in remote places lost in nature such as San Pedro's own convent between Caceres and Coria, the so-called smallest monastery in the world The Convento de la Concepción de El Palancar is in Pedroso de Acim. https://finca-al-manzil.blogspot.com/search?q=convento+palancar

The brothers tried to stay faithful to a life of frugality recommended by San Pedro but there were many frictions and factions within the Fransiscan order during the following centuries. Life in such a remote region with few resources became untenable for the new generations of friars. The monastery fell into dilapidation and ruin. The image of the virgin had long since been removed and is now in the church of Alconchel.  What remains is a whisper of the monastic atmosphere, the situation is still romantically beautiful on the banks of a flowing stream with lush vegetation hiding the last walls, vaulted ceilings and the bell tower, under this construction is the original cave with signs of the simple ermita, some niches where holy statues would have been placed. The most intact structure is the 18th century aqueduct which spans the river, a last attempt at sustaining the life of the monastery. By the time of the Peninsular wars of the early 19th century which caused further destruction, there was very little construction left. A sad fate for a place build to encourage the devout brothers in their stringent vows and fervent prayers. 

It would be a matter of opinion if it was worth a 26km detour there and back to see the barely recognizable ruins of an old convent. We found it fascinating to drive on the narrow camino through a perfect dehesa landscape, meeting herds of black Iberic pigs and cattle grazing under ancient holm oaks with glimpses of vast views between the hills. The site of the convent could hardly be more remote even nowadays but in former centuries it would be a long walk to any civilization and a hard life in the idyllic valley, the tranquillity is still stunning, perfect peace with just the sounds of birdsong and running water.

Coming from Alconchel with its magnificent Castillo de Miraflores (open at weekends) 

take the Ex 314 road to Cheles. After 3.50km there is a large barn on a hill on the left, just after there are caminos to left and right, take the left one which has a barely legible sign for Jarales, continue on the track, going through 4 gates with cattle grids until reaching the convent on the left before crossing the river. The convent has a wire fence surrounding it but broken in many places. Caution is needed as the slope is steep and the slate slippery, the remaining masonry is precarious, be careful! 

https://www.google.es/maps/dir/Alconchel,+06131,+Badajoz/Cheles,+06105,+Badajoz/Convento+de+Nuestra+Se%C3%B1ora+de+la+Luz,+Alconchel/@38.4943306,-7.2463544,12z/data=!4m20!4m19!1m5!1m1!1s0xd16d5e76130e5c3:0x3e6df2e1e646b7cf!2m2!1d-7.0700124!2d38.5170106!1m5!1m1!1s0xd1731f5c7978333:0x79d6472f326c1eff!2m2!1d-7.2828208!2d38.5117961!1m5!1m1!1s0xd172b7cdecfb9cb:0x352a8945d7ebcd82!2m2!1d-7.1761158!2d38.4658061!3e0

A Short trip to a very small Monastery

It's getting chilly so our long walks tend to be transformed into a drive in the car and a short walk with some central point of interest and a few things to see along the way. Last weekend it was a trip to Ciudad Rodrigo, about 180kms from Montanchez nearly on the border with Portugal. Yet another siege and battle scene from the Peninsula wars, famed for its extensive and complete defensive wall encircling the whole town. After turning off the autovia de la plata at Canaveral we headed west towards Portugal. We have been this way several times on the way to the pottery at Torrejoncillo where we bought our large clay oven. This time we took a little detour at the sign for Monasterio de Palancar. A pretty rural camino wound through green fields to the village of Palancar tucked away in a fold of the hills. Just a little outside the village is the monastery built on a hill with wide views down to the valley. I had read that this was the smallest monastery in the world..........depends what constitutes a monastery I suppose, it certainly didn't look small from the outside but apparently this first view is mostly the "iglesia nueva" which was built 300 years after the first foundation in 1557 . We had time to look around the charming damp garden before one of the designated times of entry, quite a gruff warning not to ring the bell at any other times.  The door creaked open at 12.15 to reveal a small bent figure in the brown habit of the Franciscan order, this was brother Basilico who seemed to be quite alert if not agile considering his 86 years.

He gave us the tour and a fluent spiel about the quirks and curiosities of the place. From the iglesia nuevo built in the 18th century with a soaring vaulted ceiling of exposed bricks and plain whitewashed walls we walked through a passage way to the attractive cloisters built in the 19th century, a courtyard with pots of ferns and jasmine had a protective wire net against nesting birds....ummm I am sure St. Francis would not have approved. The "smallest monastery" became evident, in the middle of the much later buildings. 

The original area of the monastery founded by San Pedro de Alcantara was based on an existing building next to the Fuente de Pedrosa, a spring of famed healing qualities which also nurtured a particularly fertile fig tree, the fruit doled out by the brothers to pilgrims in search of cures. In a mere 30 x 28 feet was a Lilliputian world including a chapel adorned with gleaming intricate mosaics added in the 1950s depictingangels, S.Pedro and his faithful follower S. Teresa de Avila.

A tiny courtyard open to the sky with a tank to collect rainwater, a few cells only just big enough for a very small person to stretch out, a kitchen which was really just a primitive open fire in the corner, a refectory, the monks ate their frugal meals in a kneeling position from bare stone ledges..........and the smallest space in the whole area was a 1m2 cubby hole under the crude stairs,here San Pedro crouched on a stone block with his head resting on a wooden pole for only 1 1/2 hours sleep every night and was observed to sometimes levitate during particularly ecstatic moments. 

Apparently he only ate every 3 days, never meat, fish or eggs, went barefoot all year and wore a metal vest under his habit which had been driven with nails leaving sharp barbs on the inside...........no wonder he couldn't sleep!

While brother Basilico was recounting all this we were bending almost double to get through the tiny doors and shivering in the damp cold, Manfred and I looked at each other and I am sorry to say our wordless comment was 'what a weirdo!' In his earlier life he had been attracted to the austerity of the Franciscans but deeming the order not rigorous enough he was the author of the ‘Constitutions of the Stricter Observants’ an even more severe code of conduct. Not surprisingly there was a general outcry and San Pedro was forced to search for a place where he could follow his stringent rules in peace. He found it in Portugal on the Arrabida peninsula, a very beautiful setting for a group of hermitages and monastic buildings built on a remote and inaccessible part of the coast. These can still be seen today and were featured in Manolo Oliveira’s film, ‘O Convento’. After several years in Portugal he returned to Spain, led a solitary existence for 2 years and then decided to walk to Rome, bare foot of course, to ask permission from the pope Julius III to establish some poor convents in Extremadura under his guidance and code of conduct. Pedrosa and Plasencia are still in existence as buildings but it seems the ‘stricter observations’ are long gone. Brother Basilico looked cosy in his woolly socks and sandals and the newer part of the monastery looked clean, spacious and probably warm for the 8 remaining brothers. San Pedro de Alcàntara is the patron saint of Extremadura and is greatly esteemed as can be observed at his statue in the Plaza de Santa Maria in Caceres, the statue is gaunt, austere, bronze with a dull patina ….except the bony feet which have been kissed and stroked to a bright gleaming gold.