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Within the parish of Escalarre (El Pallars Sobirà - Spain) is located the sanctuary where the patron saint of these parts is venerated: Santa Maria d'Àneu. The sanctuary, which is situated on flat ground and surrounded by modern agricultural buildings, is a building of the 11th Century, largely redone in the 16th Century. It has provided us with some Romanesque paintings of special importance which decorated the presbytery of this temple. Today these colourful murals are in the Museum of Art of Catalonia. Their central theme is that of the Epiphany and the Adoration of the Three Wise Men. The first mention of the church of Santa Maria d'Àneu is in the act of consecration of the cathedral of Urgell, in the year 839. Initially it was called "Santa Deodata", a name of an unmistakeable Visigoth flavour, which indicates that a Visigoth temple existed prior to the Muslim invasion. The original Romanesque church, with a basilica structure of three naves, with a central apse —preserved until this day—, two lateral apsidal chapels and arris vaults, was built in the first half of the 11th Century. Romanesque mural paintings from the circle of the maestro of Pedret adorned the apse from the end of the 11th Century. These frescos constitute one of the most important in Catalan Romanesque painting for their plastic quality and their iconographic originality. They show the figure of the Virgin showing the Child to the Three Wise Men, who are located asymmetrically on both sides of the apse opening. From 1216 onwards this temple became canonical, of the order of the hermits of Sant Agustí. The canonical life, nevertheless, gradually dwindled. Hence the ad limina visits of the bishops of Urgell in the years 1717 and 1723 tell us that in the convent of Santa Maria there was only the prior, the sub prior and a lay monk. On disappearance of the canonical life the church was inherited by the deanship of Àneu, who made it the spiritual centre of the valley. For this reason all the villages in the area make a pilgrimage, once or twice a year, to worship the patron. On 13th May 1943, an identical replicate of the image of Santa María was enthroned, the original colourful carving from the 13th Century having been burnt during the civil war. On the 1st May a grand gathering is held. The church of the ancient canon of Santa Maria d'Àneu is situated on the left bank of the river Noguera Pallaresa. To reach it one must follow the road from Esterri d'Àneu toEscalarre and at a kilometre before the village take a narrow track which, after crossing the meadows, leads to the sanctuary. The key must be requested in the rectory of Esterri d'Àneu. Source and photographic archive: JOAN BELLMUNT I FIGUERAS
The hermitage of the Mare de Déu d'Arboló (El Pallars Sobirà - Spain) is situated very near to the old municipal border between Arcalís and Gerri de la Sal, on top of a rocky crag which rises above the left bank of the river Noguera Pallaresa, in the place known as the estret (strait) d’Arboló. The locality of Arboló is one of the oldest documented places in Pallars. The name of Arboló is a magical name, not only for the inhabitants of Arcalís, on whose municipality the hermitage or sanctuary - situated on the northern edge of the municipality and at the very limits with Gerri de la Sal - depends, but also for all the inhabitants of Pallars Sobirà, who gather here to visit their Mother and Lady. Once at the open area next to the river which serves as a car park visitors must leave the vehicle, cross the wooden suspension bridge and follow the path that leads up to the sanctuary. The climb (10 minutes which fortunately must be done on foot) is an oasis of peace and poetry. Every stone, every corner, the murmur of the Noguera Pallaresa along which in other times the brave rafters came down with their trunk rafts, everything, everything, penetrates the deepest part of the human being and fills him with peace. The sanctuary of Arboló is a Romanesque building, built in the mid-12th Century with quite regular and well cut ashlars and with a varied colour range of red, grey and ochre stones. It has a single nave and a semicircular apse with arches, which houses an image, an object of popular devotion. Unfortunately it is not the original, but rather a faithful copy (replaced on the 5th May 1940, work of the Barcelona sculptor Francisco de P. Gomara), as the temple was sacked in August 1936, and although at first the image was hidden and escaped harm, later on it was found and burnt to ashes on the bridge of Baro. One of the deeply-rooted beliefs among the marriageable maidens was that the girl who extended her foot above the balustrade of the hermitage on the day of the pilgrimage would return on the pilgrimage the following year with her husband. And few were the maidens that didn’t want to be married... Source and photographic archive: JOAN BELLMUNT I FIGUERAS
From Castellot the visitor can see Llavorsí (El Pallars Sobirà - Spain) below him. It is a placidly pleasing image. The houses cling to the lower slopes of the mountain on the right bank of the Noguera Pallaresa. Here the visitor must contemplate the view, which is in the privileged position of being the key to three grand valleys, those of Àneu, Vallferrera and Cardós, besides the petita de la Coma, also known as the Coma de Burg. The village has conserved its mountain character; newly built or restored houses have been done with great care so as not to spoil the whole, which has achieved a level of harmony which in other places has been destroyed. Situated at an altitude of 1,250 m, on a hill that descends from the Baladredo, stands the sanctuary of the Mare de Déu de Biuse. Its location offers the visitor a grand panorama. It is said that, in times past, this site was the original settlement of Llavorsí. When the track leading here was done, the remains of a cemetery were found in the final stretch, very near the sanctuary, with tombs dating back some six hundred years. The hermitage, judging by its size, looks more like a church. It is rectangular with a single very wide, almost square, nave. On the façade there are two small windows, as hermitages often have, a circular opening or very small rose window. The roof is beamed and buttresses on the outside hold up the structure. The far end, chapel-shaped, is decorated with paintings representing several motifs. The sanctuary is set in a marvellous landscape, and the walker’s spirit glides over valleys and mountains. The pilgrimage takes place on the second Sunday in May and is one of the best attended in the area. After the mass, on the doorstep a loaf of bread is given to all. This is the "caritat de Biuse" (charity of Biuse),a custom whose origin is lost in the sands of time. Source and photographic archive: JOAN BELLMUNT I FIGUERAS
