Open your eyes to rediscover the city
LleidaWhen we return from a stay outside Lleida (whether longer or shorter) and we see the profile of La Seu Vella on the horizon welcoming us, we feel deep inside that very local and popular: “I’m home!” Even if it seems unbelievable, we even say it when the temperatures climb above 43 °C. Mind you: with our mouths more pursed and fans in hand. In any case, the emotional bond we have with the city’s most iconic monument is glaring. La Seu Vella is a symbol of Lleida. It is pride. It is love. Yes! All in all… do we know it well enough? And the rest of the city’s heritage?
When we go on vacation, whether in tourist mode or traveler mode, we often feel like opening our eyes to new places and fully immersing ourselves in the historical, gastronomic, heritage, cultural, or artistic richness of the chosen destination or destinations. Why not practice it also where we live? Where we have our roots?
'From La Seu Vella to the Lleida Museum: another look'
A few weeks ago we were invited to the special visit De la Seu Vella to the Lleida Museum: another look.
A more than good way to (re)discover the legacy of the city where we live. I have written the prefix re- in parentheses because, as they explained to us: "There are people, both from the city and from nearby towns, who have gone up to the Seu to attend various events, but who do not know the history of the most emblematic building in Lleida, who have never been on a guided tour".
The Lleida Museum and La Seu Vella have joined forces to offer us a unique dialogue-like tour that, I assure you, awakens the most curious spirits: what is the link between the two facilities? Why are the walls of the city's old cathedral stripped of ornamentation? The proposal “physically and symbolically connects the old cathedral with the museum, valuing the architecture and the preserved historical and artistic heritage.” These guided tours are held on the last weekend of the month until the end of November on alternate Saturdays and Sundays. In addition, they are available on demand.
From the expert hand of Núria Piqué and the conservator and documentalist Esther Balasch, the guided tour also invites us to carry out a very powerful exercise in imagination and “collective historical memory.” All this allows us to “reconstruct the original splendor of the temple,” broaden our perspective, reveal anecdotes, struggles, or historical secrets, and contributes to “generating high doses of feelings of patrimonial identity of Lleida.”
