With regard to the cloister of this monastery, Villa-Amil declares that it has not its equal either in Spain or anywhere else. It is a strange mixture of the Gothic and Romanesque styles, but the latter predominates throughout. The nearest approach to it in Galicia is the cloister of Tojosutos, near Noya.[285] It is indeed sad to think of the way in which this interesting monastery has been neglected, and to note the state of dilapidation into which it has been allowed to fall. The fact is that the town of Lugo seems to have got left behind in the race for civilisation and improvement; she has fallen out of the beaten track, and life and energy have gone from her. Even her beautiful Cathedral gives the visitor an impression of neglect, if not of decay; and this may in some way account for the erroneous impression that George Borrow received of it. “The Cathedral church itself is a small, mean building,” ... he wrote. I am convinced that if Borrow had entered the Cathedral but for a moment he could never have described it as either small or mean. But we must remember, too, the remarkable fact that neither Ford nor Borrow had any eye for architecture. Carrying their writings with me, and reading their descriptions on the spot, I was continually astounded at their utter blindness in this respect. Borrow was right, however, when he wrote: “It is singular enough that Lugo, at present a place of very little importance, should at one period have been the capital of Spain.”
Another interesting monastery is that of Santo Domingo, which is now inhabited by some nuns of the Augustine Order. This also is a mixture of Romanesque and Early Gothic.
Lugo contains many traces of the old Roman days, but she has as yet no museum to shelter them. Her Roman inscriptions have many of them been built into the town walls at various periods of its restoration. Many persons still repair to her medicinal baths for the cure of scrofulous disease, and within the bathing-house part of the wall of the Roman baths described by Pliny may still be seen. According to Barros Sivelo, there are also some remains of the Roman prison, but I had not time to search for these.
The province of Lugo is said to be the most rainy part of Galicia, which is saying a great deal, seeing that Galicia is the most rainy part of Spain. The streets of Lugo are constantly enveloped in an impenetrable white mist during about eight months of the year; but when the sun does shine, there are splendid views to be obtained on all sides.
In the year 1896 a great Roman Catholic gathering took place at Lugo under the title of “Second Spanish Eucharistic Congress.”[286] Numerous religious meetings were held under its auspices, at which there were often more than six thousand people. Church dignitaries from many parts of Europe attended this Congress, and the printed account of the proceedings, of the speeches made and the papers read, form a bulky volume. Alas, that after such a revival Lugo should have once more fallen back into her former state of inertia!
From our hotel window we overlooked the principal square of the town with its tree-encircled fountain in the centre. One side of the square is taken up by the handsome Casa de Ayuntamiento or municipal buildings, which have a handsome eighteenth-century front and a high clock tower which is one of the principal architectural ornaments of the town. The front windows of the first storey rest upon an arcade of eight arches which forms a cool shelter from the blazing sun in summer and a protection from the ceaseless rains of winter. A funeral party crossed the square on the afternoon of our arrival at Lugo, and we looked down upon a procession composed of forty men, each carrying a lighted candle. Before them was carried a black banner preceded by two crosses raised aloft upon black poles. The coffin was borne by four men, while two more on either side held on to a black ribbon, or streamer, the other end of which was attached to a corner of the coffin. Six priests followed the coffin, singing as they went. Behind the priests came a crowd of poor people, including many women and children.
The next morning we looked out upon a bright and busy scene, for it was Lugo’s market day, and the people from all the neighbouring villages had come in to sell their wares. Baskets of oranges, local cheeses, and onions attracted our attention. Amongst the crowd women walked about with pitchers of water balanced sideways on their heads, not with brass-bound pails as in other parts of Galicia.
After our second visit to the Cathedral we passed through a gateway in the old Roman wall over which there was a figure of St. James on horseback, and soon found ourselves in the more modern part of the town. A wide carriage road encircles the walls, and the circuit makes a pleasant drive in fine weather.
About fifty kilometres distant from Lugo, in a green valley surrounded on all sides by mountains, lies the town of Mondoñedo. This town is not without its interest to students of Galicia, but as there is no railway to it, tourists seldom find their way thither. The Cathedral of San Martin at Mondoñedo is said to date from the year 1114. The sacristy is decorated with interesting frescoes about which a good deal has been written. It has three naves divided by Corinthian columns, and its form is that of a Latin cross, within which are no less than twenty altars, the largest of which is dedicated to San Rosando, and was consecrated in 1462. A cloister joins the Cathedral to the episcopal palace. Above the principal façade, which is in the Corinthian style, rise two fine bell towers.