Cell of the Walled-In Women in Astorga, Spain

Squeezed between the Church of Santa Marta and the Chapel of San Esteban is an architectural secret you won’t find anywhere else in Spain: a tiny, irregular stone room known as the Celda de las Emparedadas (“The Cell of the Walled-In Women”).

During the Middle Ages, some deeply devout women chose a life of extreme, self-imposed isolation. Rather than being forced, they voluntarily took a “Vow of Darkness” choosing to be permanently bricked inside this tiny stone space to dedicate their lives to prayer.

When you look closely at the exterior wall, you can still see the narrow barred window. This was the woman’s only link to the outside world, where locals and passing pilgrims along the Camino de Santiago would leave food and water on the stone ledge. Look just above the iron bars, and you’ll find a beautifully carved Latin warning: “Remember my judgment, for yours will be likewise. Mine yesterday, yours today”. Inside, another tiny window allowed her to peek into the church’s altar to follow Mass.