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The day was born in Mataró with a large pillar of sun reflected on the Mediterranean Sea, thus framing the dawn with the drawn silhouette of the Basilica of Santa Maria, as seen in this photograph in La Vanguardia's Readers' Photos.
The current building of this church corresponds to the expansion begun in 1675 by the Milanese architect Ercolle Torrellio, although there are references to its existence dating back to the year 1008.
It is declared a Cultural Asset of National Interest. Before the current basilica there was a Romanesque hermitage and, even before, a temple of Roman origin.
A pillar light is an atmospheric optical phenomenon in which a vertical beam of light appears to extend above and/or below a light source.
The effect is created by the reflection of light from small ice crystals that are suspended in the atmosphere or that comprise high-altitude clouds (for example, cirrostratus or cirrus clouds).
If the light comes from the sun (usually when it is near or even below the horizon), the phenomenon is called a solar pillar, as in this case off the coast of Mataró.
