🇬🇧 SAINT GREGORY COLLEGE (Valladolid)

Text and photos: Javier Prieto Gallego / Translation: Amy Harmon

In the photo, a detail of the façade of the Colegio de San Gregorio –Saint Gregrory College– , the headquarters of the National Museum of Sculpture, an important foundation initiated by Bishop Fray Alonso de Burgos in the year 1487.

From the architectural ensemble, the spectacular exterior façade, the cloister, and its staircase stand out for their own merits. It has been described as a grand tapestry of intricate decoration and lofty symbolic intent. To fully appreciate it, it is necessary to gain some perspective by positioning oneself in the center of the square that is located facing themain door. This way, the two parts into which the façade is divided can be better appreciated. In the lower part, the door is framed by a lintel adorned with fleurs-de-lis, corresponding to the coat of arms of Fray Alonso de Burgos. Above it, a tympanum shows the bishop himself kneeling before Saint Gregory, under whose patronage the college is dedicated. The upper area has a symbolic interpretation centered around a large tree emerging from a pond, allegorical to the Tree of Knowledge sprouting from the Fountain of Life. Upon its branches, the grand coat of arms of the Catholic Monarchs makes evident the protection granted by the monarchy. Scattered across the façade, human figures can also be seen representing hairy men, wild figures –near the door–, warriors, and further up, macebearers beside the royal shield.

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