First published: 03/11/11.

Els Slots 3.0

La Lonja De La Seda

La Lonja de la Seda (Inscribed)

La Lonja de la Seda by Els Slots

This is only one building, so my visit wasn't too long. At the entrance, I opted for the guided tour, which turned out to be very informative and was conducted (in Spanish) on a one-to-one basis. The start of the tour is in the main hall, which I also found to be the most impressive part of the building. It is no coincidence that it looks like the interior of a cathedral, as the wealthy merchants decided to emulate the religious symbolism because their trade was looked down upon.

The large, spiralled columns that dominate this hall represent palm trees: the columns used to be painted brown, their tops green and the ceiling sky blue. What a difference that must have been! Now all is the same kind of grey, a bit like when you're visiting Roman ruins and all those monuments look the same colour too.

The rest of the complex consists of a courtyard, a chapel (with a pretty Renaissance wooden ceiling) and the tribunal room on the second floor (also with an excellent ceiling). Although the main rooms are quite empty and austere, in the corners, around doors and windows, there are tiny sculptures. They often are grotesques and it is a delight to check them out. Actually, I visited La Lonja twice (the batteries of my camera ran out halfway during the first visit) and didn't regret it. There are a lot of interesting details, and I liked the atmosphere in the evening when the lights are switched on.

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