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Tree of Jesse

There are traditions when you reach Santiago: hugging the Apostle, kneeling before the casket and then putting your hand on the Tree of Jesse on the Portico de Gloria 



However this is no longer allowed when you get to Santiago - there's a rail all around the area but if you live in the UK there is a possible alternative (that you still cannot touch but you can get close to) at the Victoria and Albert museum.

The Victorians liked to do plaster copies of many sites and the copy of the Portico was made in 1866 by a team from the South Kensington Museum (as the V and A was then known) and its display and, along with a serious of photos by Charles Thurston Thompson, helped to raise awareness in the UK. At its opening it was said to be a, 'glory of the museum'.

A visit is a great chance to see what the Portico looks like as the actual Portico is surrounded by a lot of scaffolding at the moment that makes it difficult to see anything. I didn't take any pictures of the whole thing though, just the Tree of Jesse



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