<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=2 PTSIZE=10>Hello you all,
<BR>Since the beginning of July it has become possible to go up to the roofs of the Cathedral and the adjoining Bishop's (Xelmirez) Palace. Groups of ten people or less are taken up for the visit which lasts about one hour or so. The tickets may be obtained, or reservations made, at the entrance to the Bishop's palace, which is the unobtrusive door to the left of the Cathedral's stairway on Obradoiro. (The entrance to the Museum is to the right) . The tickets cost 8 Euros for pilgrims and 10 Euros for non-pilgrims.
<BR>One goes up through a centuries old narrow stone stairway which is hard to ascend since the steps are rather high, there is no hand-rail or the like, and no rests on the way up. I found the ascent strenuous, yet, two Spanish women in their sixties or so, managed to get up wearing heeled shoes. Arriving at the top, totally out of breath, through a small door, one finds only the roof which is composed of inverted "V" forms, with everything on an incline, and no walkways, no railings, or anything to hold on to, so serious care must be taken not fall. The guide was an extremely knowledgeable postgraduate student who seemed to know, and love, every nook and cranny of the place and all the histories around it. In ancient times, we were told, the bell ringer lived up there with his family and maintained chickens, pigs., etc., and even grew his own vegetables!
<BR>Ancient pilgrims had to climb to the roof in order to burn their worn out, dirtied garments, and the place where they did so still bears signs of those ancient fires. We were told that only those pilgrims who were physically unable to climb up were allowed to burn their garments in the familiar site on Azabacherias.
<BR>The views are, of course, spectacular and extraordinary: of all four squares and the cloister. Walking about one is struck by the exquisite artwork of the towers and by many smaller structures that cannot be viewed from below.
<BR>The inside of the Cathedral can be seen through the windows, and there can be few things as impressive as seeing the botafumeiro in full flight from up there. The window through which the botafumeiro flew out at the end of the fifteenth century, when the rope gave out, is particularly noteworthy, and from there it becomes clear how it could have happened.
<BR>The guide's narratives were, of course, in Spanish, but I was told that if a group so requested it, an English speaking guide could be made available; but I don't even think that one is necessary since the towers and the views speak for themselves.
<BR>While tickets may only be purchased on the day of the visit, reservations may be made days in advance.
<BR>Another visit which is also now possible is a guided one through the USC (Universidade Santiago Compostela). The tickets need to be obtained at the University store (next door to the Pilgrims' office). Not only may one go through the Fonseca main site, but the halls, libraries, etc., on the site that opens to Obraidoro can now be visited and, in fact, should be toured by anyone interested in history, in art, and in the academic life that has held the city together. In fact, in that visit we learned that about 90% of the properties in the old "Casco" belong either to the Archdiocese or to the University. We also learned that just under one-third of the population of Santiago is composed of students who come from all over Spain and from abroad.
<BR>Besides those two buildings we were taken to some of the "Faculties" which have their own buildings. Because our guide was getting her doctorate in Geography, she took us to her "Faculty" which is a very impressive building with art treasures and architectonic wonders that amazed me. That guided visit took more than two hours and was conducted in Spanish. For this one, however, I would strongly recommend that an English speaker be requested (I think that one can be gotten for groups of more than five people); the information is priceless and the spoken narrative and the buildings, halls, libraries, classrooms, examination foyers, etc., do form a continuum.
<BR>I don't remember how much the tickets cost; certainly no more than 10 Euros, but I do remember that with the ticket stub a 10% discount is given automatically by the University store.
<BR>While I was in Santiago I was struck by the fact that almost no one I spoke with was aware that one can now visit both the roof of the Cathedral and the University buildings. Apparently there have been no widespread advertisements.
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<BR>Let me know if there is anything else that I can tell you about this.
<BR>Warm regards,
<BR>Rosina
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