Sant Pere de Rodes: A Monastery on the Cap de Creus Ridge
Catalonia, Spain
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Sant Pere de Rodes
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300
XP
+100 Spain
= 400 total
1 day
Sant Pere de Rodes: A Monastery on the Cap de Creus Ridge
300 + 100 XP
Sant Pere de Rodes stands high on the northern flank of the Serra de Rodes, above El Port de la Selva, with the whole bay of Roses and the Cap de Creus laid out beneath it. It was repeatedly plundered from the 17th century and the Benedictines finally left in 1793. Excavations after 1990 turned up gold and silver coins, old ceramic tiles and Romanesque painting in a lower cloister nobody knew existed until the middle of the 20th century — and the scale of the church, absurd for so isolated a spot, is explained by relics identified as St Peter's, taken out of Rome by sea in 610.
Required Activities
1
of 5
Climb to the monastery and look back down over the bay of Roses and the Cap de Creus
2
of 5
Work out why a church this size is on a remote headland at all — the answer involves relics shipped out of Rome in 610
3
of 5
Walk up to the ruined castle of Sant Salvador de Verdera above it, which is what protected the monastery
4
of 5
Work out why it was built here rather than in the valley, and what it was watching
5
of 5
Find out what happened after 1793, when the Benedictines left, and what the excavations after 1990 turned up in the lower cloister
Climb to the monastery and look back down over the bay of Roses and the Cap de Creus
Work out why a church this size is on a remote headland at all — the answer involves relics shipped out of Rome in 610
Walk up to the ruined castle of Sant Salvador de Verdera above it, which is what protected the monastery
Work out why it was built here rather than in the valley, and what it was watching
Find out what happened after 1793, when the Benedictines left, and what the excavations after 1990 turned up in the lower cloister
Before you go
The approach road is steep and narrow with tight bends; the final stretch is on foot. Fully exposed to the Tramuntana.
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About Catalonia
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
300 XP
Spain country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
400 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in Spain.
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