Silos Monastery
The monastery of Silos dates from the 7th century, although the most important part of its construction took place in the 11th century.
The building is situated in an area known
as the Tabladillo Valley. Its foundation may have taken place
around the 7th century. In the year 1088 a Romanesque temple was
consecrated, and was later substituted by another Neoclassical
one designed by Ventura Rodríguez.
The cloister which remains is Romanesque, with a square plan and
two floors with series of arches. The capitals of the lower cloister
are profusely decorated with symbolic ornamentation with dragons,
centaurs, mermaids, and so on.
The corners of the cloister are decorated with scenes from the
life of Christ in enormous reliefs.
The monastery archive is also relevant. It houses fragments of
the 10th century 'Beato', a page from the Bible of Oña,
other fragments of Visigothic manuscripts and fragments of music
from some 20 codices in aquitan notation.
Burgos guide