Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: purgatory

Santo Estevo de Ribas de Sil is a former Benedictine monastery. The ensemble of buildings, in which three cloisters have been preserved, is now used as a Parador hotel. The first monastery probably already existed in Visigothic times. At the beginning of the 10th century, a hermit settled in the abandoned monastery and founded a new community with other hermits who had retreated to the Sil Valley. The Galician king Ordoño II granted privileges and from 921 the monastery was rebuilt and dedicated to St Stephen. The monastery's coat of arms, which depicts nine mitres, commemorates nine bishops who renounced their episcopal see in the 10th and 11th centuries and retired to the monastery of Santo Estevo. They were buried in the monastery and, as they were venerated as saints, their tombs soon attracted pilgrims. As there were frequent disputes with the local landlords among the later commendatory abbots, Pope Julius II placed the monastery under the Benedictine Congregation of Valladolid in 1506. As a result, a school of liberal arts and philosophy was established in Santo Estevo and the monastery experienced a new period of prosperity. Two more cloisters and new monastery buildings, a chapter house, a large kitchen and a dining hall as well as dormitories were built. In the 17th century, 60 monks lived there. After the disamortisation of 1835, the monastery buildings fell into disrepair and were only restored at the end of the 20th century. During renovation work in the 1950s, these murals were discovered under the whitewash.

People have lived in this area since the Neolithic period, but it has been continuously inhabited since the conquest by Roman legions, who established an outpost and took over the existing castros in the area. It developed into a military centre known for its baths. The Romans built defensive walls, spanned the river with a bridge, and exploited the local mines. The importance of the town led to it being elevated to the status of a city in 79 AD, during the reign of the first Flavian Caesar, which was also reflected in its name, Aquae Flaviae. Rome's hegemony lasted until the 3rd century, when, successively, the Suebi and Visigoths as well as the Alani colonized the settlements of Chaves. The area surrendered to Islamic forces at around 714-716. The city was conquered by Alfonso I of Asturias in 773 and repopulated in 868 by Alfonso III of Asturias. Battles between Christian and Muslim forces then continued until the 11th century, when Alfonso V of León permanently reconquered Coimbra, establishing a firm buffer-zone to the south. He reconstructed, settled and encircled the settlement of Chaves with walls, in addition to establishing a Jewish quarter in the community. It was in the reign of Afonso I of Portugal that it was taken from León and firmly integrated into the Kingdom of Portugal domain (1160). Owing to its geographic location King Denis, ordered the construction of a castle to protect the kingdom's border. It is said to have been the seat of a Christian bishopric as early as the Migration Period. The existing church is said to have been partially destroyed, and the Arab occupation led to the extinction of the diocese. Documentary references to the church of Santa Maria Maior can be found in the Afonsinas Inquiries of 1259. The Romanesque church may have been built on top of another Visigothic building in the 12th century. The bell tower and portal of the medieval building remain. The purgatory

After the Romans had conquered the place in the Astur-Cantabrian Wars (29–19 BC) and the area became the largest mining center of the Empire during the Roman period, where gold and other metals and minerals were extracted. The Romans also imported grapevines. The modern name of the city derives from the iron reinforcements added to the ancient bridge over the river Sil, commissioned in 1082 by Bishop Osmundo of Astorga to facilitate the crossing of the Sil River to pilgrims in their way to Santiago de Compostela. In 1178, Ferdinand II of León donated the city to the Templar order for protecting the pilgrims on the Way of St. James in their road to Santiago de Compostela. The church of Santa María, built at the beginning of the 12th century, was replaced by a new building that was completed in 1670. The name “Nuestra Señora la Virgen de la Encina” goes back to the legend of the portrait of the Virgin Mary. The carving is said to have been brought from the Holy Land by Toribio, Bishop of Astorga, and then later hidden from the Moors. Centuries later, Knights Templar found it in an oak tree. The horror of the purgatory

With around 200,000 inhabitants, Braga is the third largest city in Portugal. The Romans conquered the country around 140 BC. In 3 BC, they founded the Roman city of Bracara Augusta on this site and made it the capital of a judicial district. In 283, the city became the capital of the province of Gallaecia. In the course of the Migration Period, Braga became the capital of the Suebi kingdom in 411, which became Visigothic in 586. In 715, the region fell to the Moors, but the Christians succeeded in reconquering it in 868. In 908, Braga became the capital of the Kingdom of Galicia. In the 10th century, the Moors repeatedly waged war in the region. In 1112, the city became the seat of an archbishop. In the 16th century, it was redesigned in the Baroque style and partially remodelled in the 18th century with neoclassical buildings. Braga is the center of one of the oldest dioceses of the iberian peninsula, dating to the back to the Migration Period, when Martin of Dumio was able to christianize the invading Suebi tribes. The cathedral originally dates back to the 12th century, but it got greatly modified, resulting in a mix of romanesque, gothic baroquche parts. The horrors of purgatory

The romanesque church, also referred to as Mosteiro de Telões, was part of a convent, but today serves as a parish church. A glimpse into purgatory

Napoli is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city in Italy. Its metropolitan area has a population of more than 3 million. Founded by Greek settlers before 900 BC, Napoli was an important part of Magna Graecia and played a major role in the merging of Greek and Roman society. Following the decline of the Western Roman Empire Napoli was shortly ruled by the Ostrogoths. Byzantine troops captured the city in 536m but after the Byzantine exarchate, Ravenna fell a Duchy of Naples was created. Over centuries the Duchy´s relations to Rome or Byzanz were hard-fought. In 836 Napoli could repel a siege of Lombard troops with the help of the Saracens, which did not prevent Muhammad I Abu 'l-Abbas in the 850s loot Napoli. In the 11th century, the Duchy hired Norman mercenaries, and in about 1140 it came under Norman control under Roger II, then King of Sicily. In 1228 Emperor Frederick II founded the first university in Europe here, making Napoli the intellectual center of the kingdom. The conflict between the House of Hohenstaufen and the Papacy led in 1266 to Pope Innocent IV crowning the Angevin duke Charles I King of Sicily. Charles officially moved the capital from Palermo to Napoli. In 1282 after the "Sicilian Vespers", a successful rebellion on the island of Sicily against the rule of King Charles I, the Kingdom of Sicily was divided into two. The Angevin Kingdom of Naples included the southern part of the Italian peninsula, while the island of Sicily became the Aragonese Kingdom of Sicily. By the 17th century, Naples had become Europe's second-largest city – second only to Paris – with around 250000 inhabitants. A glimpse on the torments of purgatory

Bari was an early settlement and passed under Roman rule in the 3rd century BC. It developed strategic significance as the point of junction between the coast road and the Via Traiana and as a port for eastward trade. The first bishop of Bari was Gervasius who is known from the Council of Sardica in 347. After the decline of the Roman Empire, the town was devasted and taken by Alaric´s Visigothic troops, then was under Lombardian rule, before the Byzantines took over. In 755 it was conquered by Pepin the Short (Charlemagne´s father) and from 847 on it was an Islamic Emirate. The Byzantine fleet returned in 871 and since 885 Bari was the residence of the local Byzantine governor. Following a three-year siege, Bari was captured by Robert Guiscard in 1071. After the relics of Saint Nicholas, which were brought from Myra in Lycia, arrived in Bari, the Basilica di San Nicola was founded in 1087. This attracted pilgrims, whose encouragement and care became central to the economy of Bari. After the murder of archbishop Griso in 1117 a civil war broke our and the control was seized by Grimoald Alferanites, a native Lombard, in opposition to the Normans. He later did homage to Roger II of Sicily, but rebelled and was defeated in 1132. The Castello Normanno-Svevo (aka "Castello di Bari") was probably built around 1132 by Norman King Roger II. When in 1155 the Baresi rebelled against the Normans, the castle got destroyed, so as a retaliatory action, William I of Sicily (aka "William the Wicked") had the city destroyed except for the cathedral and the Basilica of St. Nicola. Bari recovered and had its heydays under Frederick II. When he returned from his crusade after 1229, the city gates were locked so he had to use force to gain entry. Therefore, he probably had the fort built in 1233 to keep the city in check. On the other hand, he granted the city generous trade privileges and left it the leading role in the region. The macabre skeletal symbols on the door are meant to reinforce the concept of purgatory. Santa Maria del Suffragio (aka "Chiesa del Purgatorio") church dates from the 17th century, when the "Memento Mori" cult was very widespread. I have already uploaded many photos I took in Bari during previous visits, so I will only upload a few. If you want to see more, click here: www.ipernity.com/doc/323415/album/1333318