Statue of the Virgin Mary in Montserrat
One hour away from Barcelona, inside the Monastery of Montserrat, you can admire this wonderful Romanesque wooden sculpture of the Virgin Mary with the Baby (XII century), also known as "La Moreneta" because of the dark color of the wood, result of an oxidation process.
As you can see Mary is holding a sphere, symbol of the universe, and Jesus is blessing and holding a pinecone, symbol of fertility and eternal life.
Her devotion began in the IX century, when some young shepherds saw a light inside a cave and, moved by their curiosity, discovered an image of the Virgin Mary. Thanks to this, a chapel was built on the mountain: it was the origin of the monastery we can admire nowadays.
