Our Blog - Jaca, Spain

As I mentioned, Jaca isn't really known for anything but it has been around a long time. According to the atlas of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds, Jaca was a town where minted coins were made from the second half of the 2nd century BC. The coins show an unidentified bearded head to the right with an inscription to the left and also have an image of a dolphin. The reverse side depicts a horseman carrying a spear to the right, with an inscription below in Iberian reading 'iaka'. A few can be found in the British Museum.

We happened to be going through the town on our way home, so we just added a stop to check our the 11th century Romanesque cathedral. The official name is the Cathedral of St Peter the Apostle, and it is the first Romanesque cathedral built in the area of Spain called 'Aragon'. It has been added-to and modified several times and so it has a slightly odd look. It is "in general" Romanesque, although several elements are in Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque style. Unfortunately, there was a service going on at the time and so while I grabbed a couple pictures inside, I didn't walk around much.

The exterior really doesn't look like a church anymore, huh?

The nave and a few attempted close-ups of the painting above the altar. The ceiling was originally in wood but was later replaced by cross vaults.

Side chapel altars and interesting decor over a couple of the doors.