Our Lady of the Pillar
Zaragoza is the capital city of the autonomous region and former kingdom of Aragon in Spain, and is located on the river Ebro, in a great valley with a variety of landscapes, ranging from desert (Los Monegros) to thick forest, meadows and mountains. Zaragoza is linked by legends to the beginnings of Christianity in Spain. According to legend, the Virgin Mary appeared miraculously to Saint James the Great in the 1st century, standing on a pillar. This legend is commemorated by a famous Catholic basilica called Nuestra Señora del Pilar ("Our Lady of the Pillar"). The event, called "Las Fiestas del Pilar", is celebrated on October 12 which is a major fiesta in Zaragoza. Since it coincided in 1492 with the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, that day is also celebrated as El Día de la Hispanidad by Spanish-speaking people worldwide. The Latin word basilica derived from Greek ,was originally used to describe a Roman public building (as in Greece, mainly a tribunal), usually located at the centre of a Roman town (forum). After the Roman Empire became officially Christian, the term came by extension to refer to a large and important church that has been given special ceremonial rights by the Pope, it is the "highest" or "most important" place of worship in the Holy Roman Catholic Church followed by Cathedrals, Churches, and finally chapels and thus the word retains two senses today, in an architectural context and in an ecclesiastical one.