Camino Primitivo

Rest Day Lugo

September 14, 2023

Maureen had arranged a 2 hour English city tour for this morning so were up for an early breakfast and off to meet the tour guide by 9:15 am.   It was quite cool and very foggy this morning so I was glad that I had brought my coat.  The meeting place was right in front of city hall which we were told was designed by the same architect that designed the Cathedral of Santiago.  From city hall we walked down to the Cathedral of  Lugo.  It was build in the 15th century and heavily modified in the 16th and 17th century.  The entire front façade was removed and replaced.   

The tour spent a lot of time going through the cathedral.  Unfortunately no photographs what so ever are allowed in the cathedral  so you have to take my word how beautiful it is.  The upper gallery of the cathedral has been made into a museum displaying the magnificent works of art owned by the cathedral.  The main floor is divided into several different alters all of which are unbelievable works of art.  

From the cathedral we walked across the street to the museum which houses the excavated Roman governor's  house.   It was built in 3 BC.  There are several rooms which have been excavated and the house butts up against the Roman wall.

After the tour was over Bob and I picked up a take out sandwich and walked the Roman wall.  Lugo is the only city with a completely intact Roman wall which surrounds the city.  It is a UNESCO world heritage site.  It is a very impressive structure being 30-50 feet high and 30 feet thick. It is 2 kilometers in length and has 71 towers.  Originally there were 2-3 story round wooden towers on top of the round sections of the wall. These were destroyed in 460 AD when the barbarians captured Lugo.  

After walking the wall I did a little souvenir shopping and hit a supermarket to buy a few things for then next couple of days.  There are no food stores and very little in the way of services during the next couple of days walks.  

Everything is closed for afternoon siesta which doesn't sound so bad as tomorrow is another long day.

It was really nice having a rest day here in Lugo and picking up a little local flavour.

Terry