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Getaways to towns help us to recharge our batteries, to oxygenate ourselves, to relax our minds and, for those of us who were born there, to share with family and acquaintances that human and direct relationship that is more difficult to achieve in a city.
My experiences in the Huesca town of Roda de Isábena, of which I am an adopted daughter due to my marriage to a neighbor of this place, focus on the bond established with its inhabitants, the few who spend their daily lives there, and the who, like my case, are temporary residents, since at the time they left the town and settled in other areas, preferably in cities.
That contact has helped me delve deeper into the history, religious architecture and rural beauty of this municipality, the smallest in Spain with a cathedral. In March 2019 it was awarded by the prestigious magazine The Times as one of the six most beautiful “secret” towns in Spain.
One can get lost in its cobbled streets, which keep the essence of medieval architecture, and glimpse its corners, perceiving that historical wealth: monuments and ancient buildings, true jewels of the Romanesque style. The viewpoints also allow you to contemplate the beauty that is around.
Roda de Isábena was the ecclesiastical capital of the Ribagorza county and episcopal seat in the 10th century, which gives it great significance. An ancient temple was first consecrated in the year 956. However, it was destroyed in 1006, beginning a reconstruction that continued for a long time.
In 1030, Bishop Arnulfo re-consecrated it and the invocation of Saint Vincent the Martyr was added to that of Saint Valero, once his remains were brought here. First the Episcopal See moved to Barbastro. Later, Ramón Berenguer IV (prince of Aragon and count of Barcelona) transferred it to Lleida, after this city was conquered from the Muslims in 1149, losing Roda and Barbastro the status of episcopal seats.
It was in this cathedral where I got married and where I learned to value the austerity of a sober altar and the warmth of a crypt, subsequently attending various celebrations in the company of family and neighbors.
Many times, I have been able to perceive in that space of prayer, a hidden and silent place, with a simple, strong interior and with little natural light, the result of that spirituality that beats in the ashlars of the Romanesque churches. I have recovered part of my roots within its walls and I have felt materialized in its stones.
The entire cathedral integrates that spirit of rural Romanesque, where parishioners share the mysticism of a close and family celebration.
Its Cistercian refectory, with Gothic frescoes and 18th century furniture, today converted into a restaurant, feeds the body and soul of all the people who pass by.
I have had several experiences as a diner, and I remember, in particular, a dark and cold afternoon, as the poet Antonio Machado would say, enjoying harpsichord music while having dinner accompanied by my husband and some friends.
Illuminated by candles and the glow of lightning when a storm caused us to lose power, this was an unrepeatable experience that can only be had in places like this.
Roda de Isábena is a jewel that deserves to be explored, a refuge for those winter days in which the voice of silence is the only thing audible, with that restorative feeling of peace and calm that, far from going unnoticed, takes over your person. .
However, in summer it is still the square, with the view of its imposing cathedral, the Greek agora, a meeting place for neighbors and foreigners to talk, share pleasant moments and celebrate the patron saint's festivities, where the bustle does not stop even at late hours. am.
Perhaps, I fell short with the exposition made about this charming town that lives around its cathedral, the first in the Kingdom of Aragon, according to some publications, and, today, a jewel of Aragonese Romanesque.
It has been said about this art that its simple forms manage to transmit a message of intellectual harmony to whoever perceives it.
