Basilica of the Benedictine Abbey Santa Maria de Montserrat, Montserrat, Catalonia, Spain. Hermit monks first settled on the sacred mountain of Montserrat in 900 AD and the monastery was founded in 1025. It was destroyed in 1811 during the Napoleonic wars and rebuilt, along with the basilica, in 1850. Here we see the 58m long nave and the apse, and along the sides at the chapel entrances, ornate hanging candles donated by Catalan towns. The black Madonna, or La Moroneta, is housed in a side chapel and is visited by pilgrims from across the world. Picture by Manuel Cohen
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