Wender·Vista
Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileSpain
in Galicia, at the end of the Camino

Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela

— the cathedral the pilgrims walk a thousand miles to reach.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“The cathedral that ends the walk. Pilgrims arrive in the Plaza del Obradoiro footsore and quiet, having come on foot from the Pyrenees or from Lisbon or from somewhere farther. The Baroque towers face west; the Romanesque bones behind them are nine hundred years old. On feast days the great censer swings the length of the transept, and the smell of frankincense holds for hours.

from the studio
Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela
— bring it home

Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela stands at the Plaza del Obradoiro in the old quarter of Santiago, the capital of Galicia in northwestern Spain. Construction began in 1075 under Bishop Diego Peláez, and the main Romanesque body was consecrated in 1211. The Baroque Obradoiro facade was added by Fernando de Casas y Novoa between 1738 and 1750. The cathedral is the traditional terminus of the Camino de Santiago, and the apostle James the Greater is venerated in the crypt beneath the high altar.

— the stone

The granite is local, quarried from the hills around Santiago and worked by Galician stonemasons across more than six centuries. The Romanesque Pórtico da Gloria, carved by Master Mateo and completed in 1188, sits behind the later Baroque screen and counts as one of the great works of medieval European sculpture. Twenty-four elders of the Apocalypse tune their instruments above the central column. The stone is dark with the rain that comes off the Atlantic, and the towers wear lichen the colour of bronze.

— the visit

The cathedral is open daily and entry to the nave is free. The Pilgrim's Mass is held at noon and at seven-thirty in the evening; the Botafumeiro, the great silver-plated censer weighing about 53 kilograms, is swung on principal feast days and on certain Fridays at the noon Mass. The Pórtico da Gloria and the museum require a separate ticket. Pilgrims who have walked the last hundred kilometres of the Camino can collect the Compostela certificate at the Pilgrim's Reception Office on Rúa Carretas.

— where
Spain · Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, Galicia
— elevation
260 m · 853 ft
— position
42.8806° N · 8.5446° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
at the lake
Plaza del Obradoiro
town square
at the lake
Monastery of San Martiño Pinario
Benedictine monastery
at the lake
Hostal dos Reis Católicos
former pilgrim hospital
1 km E
Mercado de Abastos
market hall
N
Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela
Plaza del Obradoiro
Monastery of San Martiño Pinario
Hostal dos Reis Católicos
Mercado de Abastos
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

The cathedral is the traditional burial place of the apostle James the Greater, whose remains were said to have been rediscovered in the ninth century. Pilgrim routes have led to the shrine since then.

The Botafumeiro is the cathedral's great censer, swung on a rope across the transept on feast days. The current vessel dates to 1851 and weighs about 53 kilograms when filled with charcoal and incense.

Construction began in 1075 under Bishop Diego Peláez. The main Romanesque body was consecrated in 1211. The Baroque Obradoiro facade was added between 1738 and 1750 by Fernando de Casas y Novoa.

Yes. The old town of Santiago de Compostela was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1985, and the Routes of Santiago in France and Spain were added in 1993 and 1998.

The Romanesque inner portico was carved by Master Mateo and his workshop, completed in 1188. It depicts the Last Judgement and is regarded as one of the masterpieces of medieval European sculpture.

— about the piece in your home

It often is. Pilgrims who have arrived in the Plaza del Obradoiro tend to recognise the towers without prompting. A Medium hung in the entry, or a Small on the bookshelf with the scallop shell, carries the walk home.

The palette of dark granite, deep blue, and votive amber sits well in Old World Traditional, Spanish Colonial, and Romantic Maximalist rooms. It also reads warmly against plain plaster in a Minimalist Catholic-modern hallway.

Yes. The current interest in contemplative and liturgical interiors, candles, vellum, hand-bound books, and votive light, gives this piece a natural place above a writing desk or a small home altar.

A single Large sits well above a console table. Above a full sofa, a 4-tile Mural reads at scale; for a long wall, a 9-tile Mural gives the cathedral its proper weight.

Yes. Order in Dura Satin or Matte for a bathroom or kitchen installation; the surface is scratch-resistant and the colour lives in the ceramic. The Glossy finish is for dry wall display.

A microfibre cloth and water. Nothing else. The colour is infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure and will not lift; avoid abrasive pads and bleach-based sprays.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is drawn from the studio's own atlas under the eye of Reid Wender. The work is not licensed and is not sold through other shops.

— if this one stayed with you

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