Slanting December sunlight creates deep shadows in the cobbled galleries of the medieval cloister attached to the cathédrale Notre-Dame de Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges, Haute-Garonne, Occitanie, France, a former Roman Catholic cathedral, now a parish church, that is also called cathédrale Sainte-Marie.
Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges, Occitanie, France: on a chilly day in late December, low winter sunlight creates deep shadows amid the columns and sculpted stone capitals lining the cobbled galleries or walks of the Romanesque cloister built in the 1100s on the south side of the Cathédrale Notre-Dame. The cloister, built on uneven ground above ancient ramparts, has an irregular shape, with its east walk, here to the right, much shorter than its western counterpart. The south gallery (left) is unique amongst Romanesque cloisters in having an open south side offering superb views of the Pyrenean foothills. The east, west and south galleries are formed by round Romanesque arches on double rows of columns, crowned by capitals sculpted with foliage, interlaced decoration, animal heads and rustic scenes. One pillar is carved with the four evangelists and their symbols. The northern walk, rebuilt in the 1400s and 1500s, is named the Gallery of Tombs, but only seven tombs of monks, benefactors and monastic visitors now survive. The former cathedral (its diocese was abolished in 1793) stands above the Garonne Valley. Buried here is its founder, Bertrand de l’Isle Jourdain, a knight related to the Counts of Toulouse and an Augustinian canon. He built the cathedral and its cloister as Bishop of Comminges. Bertrand died in 1123 and was canonised in 1222. A magnificent early 15th century painted mausoleum with a silver and ebony reliquary housing his mortal remains stands in the sanctuary. Over time, the cathedral and its village, built amid the remains of an ancient Gallo-Roman colony, became an important stage for pilgrims following the Camino de Santiago or Way of Saint James to Santiago de Compostela. It is now part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site devoted to the French Camino de Santiago.
Size: 4256px × 2832px
Location: Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges, Occitanie, France.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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