I lived 3 and a half years in this city, 7 in the United Kingdom.
Coventry was a city where I spent years of awareness, of maturity.
I really appreciated the multi-ethnicity of the citizens, the several initiatives that were organized every year, the lush parks where you can go to relax after work, its shops, the canals, the art.. Coventry is many things, it is history, it is contemporaneity, it is a wonderful city located in the West Midlands in which you get lost and then find yourself.
There are many places that deserve to be remembered, but today I want to mention the “old” cathedral, located a few steps from Broadgate square, the heart of the city where the statue of Lady Godiva stands.
What remains today of the “old” cathedral are portions of walls, some sculptures and Gothic features that remained intact after the bombing of the Second World War. It is evocative walking inside its perimeter, those “scars” so accentuated tell a story that is always modern.
The statue of the “reconciliation” located on one side, seems to be a rose born among the concrete. Very sweet. It is man and a woman who are reunited in a tender embrace representing a heart that is reunited after a war that has devastated souls and countries, it is the symbol of hope that is reborn through love, between people, between nations.
Next to these ruins was built the new cathedral, the modern, imposing St Michael’s Cathedral. Looking at the cathedral from the outside, you will soon notice a huge sculpture symbolizing good overcoming evil; an angel (St Michael) holding a spear and trampling a diabolical figure as a sign of victory. Suggestion inside the suggestion.
A “severe” statue whose presence can be felt from far away. The “old” that merges with the “modern” creates at night a mix of unique colours and shapes, those sensations that are experienced during the day seem to take shape and speak for themselves through these plays of light.. curfew permitting, I recommend a walk at night in the historic center of Coventry.
Seize the Path 