The story of this place
Legend holds that in AD 40 the Virgin Mary appeared to the apostle James beside the Ebro, standing atop a pillar of jasper still venerated inside the basilica—the first Marian apparition in Christian tradition. The vast baroque church with its multicoloured domes was built from 1681, its ceilings frescoed in part by a young Goya, a native of nearby Fuendetodos. During the Civil War, on 3 August 1936, aircraft dropped three bombs on the packed basilica; none exploded, and two are still displayed on a pillar inside, hailed by believers as a miracle. El Pilar remains Spain's most important Marian shrine and Zaragoza's beating heart.