Basílica del Pilar

The basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar stands on the bank of the Ebro in Zaragoza. Tradition holds that on 2 January in the year 40 the Virgin Mary appeared to the apostle James the Great, giving him a jasper column and bidding him build a church there. The chapel was reputedly the first church dedicated to Mary; the pillar and image survived Muslim rule.

After Alfonso I of Aragon reconquered Zaragoza in 1118 a Romanesque church arose. A fire in 1434 forced a rebuilding in Mudéjar Gothic form, which kept the alabaster altarpiece carved by Damián Forment.

The Baroque church was begun in 1681 under Charles II; Ventura Rodríguez designed the Holy Chapel housing the statue in 1754, and Francisco de Goya later painted frescoes on its domes. Ignatius of Loyola, Teresa of Ávila and John of the Cross made pilgrimages.