As we continued our circuit through the Extremadura region of Spain, our next stop was Guadalupe. The centerpiece of this town is the Royal Monastery of Santa Maria de Guadalupe, originating in the 13th century and associated with Columbus’ first voyage to the New World in the late 15th century. The monastery’s architecture evolved over that time and on into the 17th and 18th centuries. From the exterior (which you’ll see more of in the next post) the result is a crazy combination of towers and spires in all shapes and sizes. The interior spaces are equally exuberant and even more detailed:

The main church is dark, but exceedingly grand. Exploring further, styles change to brighter and more elaborate decoration:

The Monastery buildings also house museums for textiles, paintings, sculpture and more:

We left the Monastery just as the sun was setting and crossed the street to our Paradore. The views of the Monastery from the Paradore were stunning and I spent the rest of the evening, and well into the night, photographing the towers from my balcony. I’ll share some of those images in my next post.