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    G

    othic

    Art

    Sp

    ain

    I

    EUROPEAN COMMUNITY

    European RegionalDevelopment Fund

    G

    othic

    Art

    Sp

    ain

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    SPANISH TOURIST INFORMATIONOFFICES ABROAD

    CANADA. TorontoTou rist Of fice o f Spa in2 Bloor Street West Suite 3402Toro nt o, On ta rio M4W 3E2% (1416) 961 31 31) (1416) 961 19 92www.tourspain.toronto.on.cae-mail : t oront o@tou rspain.es

    GREAT BRITAIN. LondonSpan ish Tou rist Off icePO BO X 4009Lon do n W1A 6NB

    % (44207) 486 80 77) (44207) 486 80 34www.tourspain.co.uke-mail: lo nd res@to urspain.es

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    RUSSIA. MoscowSpan ish Tou rist Off iceTverska ya 16/2 Edif icio 3

    Moscow 103009% (7095) 935 83 97) (7095) 935 83 96www.tourspain.rue-mail: mo scu@to urspain.es

    SINGAPORE. SingaporeSpan ish Tou rist Off ice541 Orchard Roa dLia t To w er # 09-04238881 Singapore% 65 67 37 30 08) 65 67 37 31 73e-mail: sing apor e@to urspain.es

    UNITED STATES OF AMERICALos AngelesTou rist Of fice o f Spa in8383 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 960Beverly Hills, California 90211% 1(323) 658 71 88

    ) 1(323) 658 10 61www.okspain.orge-mail: losangeles@to urspain.esChicagoTou rist Of fice o f Spa inWa ter Tow er Pla ce, suite 915 East845 North Michiga n AvenueChicago, Illinois 60 611% 1(312) 642 19 92

    ) 1(312) 642 98 17www.okspain.orge-mail: chicago@tour spain.esMiamiTou rist Of fice o f Spa in1221 Brickell AvenueMiami, Florida 33131% 1(305) 358 19 92) 1(305) 358 82 23

    www.okspain.orge-mail: miami@to urspain.esNew YorkTou rist Of fice o f Spa in666 Fifth Avenue 35 th f loorNew York, New York 10103% 1(212) 265 88 22) 1(212) 265 88 64www.okspain.org

    e-mail: nuevayork@to urspain.es

    EMBASSIES IN MADRIDCanada. Nez de Balboa, 35 3% 914 233 250 ) 914 233 251Great Britain.Fernando El Santo, 16% 913 190 200 ) 913 081 033

    Japan. Serrano, 109% 915 907 600 ) 915 901 321Russia. Velzq uez, 155% 915 622 264 ) 915 629 712United States of AmericaSerran o, 75% 915 872 200 ) 915 872 303

    SPAIN

    At lant ic Ocean

    France

    Ireland

    Madrid

    Paris

    London

    Dublin

    Bay of Biscay

    Medi terraneanSea

    Ceuta

    Melilla

    Portugal

    Lisbon

    UnitedKingdom

    TABLE OF CONTENTS

    Introduction 1Go thic Art 2The three grea t ca thed ra ls 8

    A TourAnda lusia 14

    Ara g o n 20Ast uria s 24The Ba lea ric Isles 26The Ca na ry Isla nds 27Ca nta bria 28Ca st ile-La Ma ncha 30Ca st ile a nd Le n 35Ca ta lo nia 45Murcia n Reg io n 49

    Va lencia n Reg io n 50Extrema dura 53Ga licia 56La Rio ja 60Ma drid 62Na va rre 64Ba sq ue Co unt ry 66

    Glossary 70

    General information 72

    Text :

    Jess de la Cmara

    Tran slatio n:

    Michael Benedict

    Photographs:

    Archivo Turespaa

    Graphic Design:

    P&L MARN

    Published by:

    TurespaaSecretara de Estado

    de Turismo y ComercioMinisterio de Industria,

    Turismo y Comercio

    Printed by:

    EGESA

    D.L. M -52231-2004

    NIPO: 704-04-035-0

    Printed in Spain

    1st Edition

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    INTRODUCTION

    Pinn acles soarin g heavenw ards, ph antasmago ric

    garg oyles, ogi ves, stain ed-gl ass and ro se w ind ow s castin g

    ir idescent beam s of lig ht , in palaces, castles, guildh allsand churches, w i l l aston ish and astou nd the travel ler in

    any corner of Spain . So man y and such a variety of

    st ructures are to be fo und -f rom Extremadura to th e

    Balearic Isles and f rom Cant abria t o t he Canary Islands-

    that t o ment ion th em al l w ould b e impossible. The scope

    of t his brochure is only enou gh t o al low for a descr ipt ion

    of t he major sights ci ted in art t reat ises, and a few more

    in th ose cases w here the simple po etry of t he mon umentor th e beauty of t he surroun dings is such that i t m er i ts

    inclusion as an at t ract ion; and even th ough there is no

    space for more, this w i l l suf f ice for you to discover just

    how truly m oving Spanish Gothic can be.

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    in Mediterranea n regions theprofi le corresponded to arecta ngular paral lelepiped,w here the inter ior space w asopen, w ith scant di fferencebetw een na ve and aisles. Apart

    from this formal diversity, themat erials used o ffered a veryw ide array of t extures andcolours, ranging f rom thesands tone and grani te ofCastile, through the l imestoneof the so-cal led Levant region(Va lencia/Alicant e are a ), to t heab undan ce of br ick in Arag on.

    From 1300 onwards, a Manneristphase emerged, w ith buildingsbecoming stylised andmou ldings multiplying , as didthe tracery in the w indowopenings, in which curvedtr iangles and squares

    13 th century, germinal formscoexisted w ith those ofRomanesque. This was a periodof evolution, in which formalcri ter ia o f be auty prevai led andthe f igure of t he Virgin Mary

    bega n to a ssume grow ingimporta nce. It is a periodmarked by og ival vaultssupported by t hick arches andw alls tha t continue to be robust .During the 13 th and unt i l theearly years of the 14th century,French influence rema ineddominant , bu t , to the de l ight o f

    the tra veller, here in Spain, itacq uired very specific localtrai ts . Hence, wh ereas in theinland reg ions, churchelevat ions w ould fi t into a

    tr iangle, and t he a isles tendedto be lower in he ight

    than the central nave,

    predominated . There w as agreat er stress on g randiosespaces and increased height .The proliferation of mouldings(baquetones) on the pillarstended to break the spa t i a l

    unity. Vau lts became m orecomplex and t ierceronsappeared.

    From the out set of the15 th century, Spa nish Go thicpresents us with a very prolificBaroq ue phase, a consequenceof t he cultural and econo mic

    development and grea terwealth enjoyed by broad sectorsof society. The Flam bo yan tGot hic Style original ly a ppearedin the north of France andFland ers, but, on arriving inSpain and coming into conta ctw ith Moorish fo rms, led to the

    emergence of a very particularstyle, know n as Hispano -FlemishCastilian, a style that willdoub tless capt ivat e theonlooker. The Mudejar-inspireddecoration, w ith its tendencytow ards d ecorative lavishness,bl ind arcades, ornamen ta l r ibs,etc. , makes for something tha t is

    rather exclusive and can only beseen in this part of t he w orld.

    In th e 16th century, the vitality ofthe Go thic Style, with w ork onthree grea t ca the drals -Seville,Salama nca a nd Segovia- havingcommenced a t the turn of thecentury, entered a revivalist o r

    3

    GOTHIC ART

    The term Gothic, which comesf r om t h e w or d G o t h , w a sused fo r the f irst t ime by Vasari,the I ta l ian ar t histor ian of the

    16 th century, as a pejorativedescription of the architecturemarking the per iod be tw eenRoma nesque a nd Renaissance.Up until the 19th century, theseforms, which now att ract us so,w ere re lega t ed to a minorposition, since many authors,such a s Molire, were o f t he

    opin ion tha t they w ere a tor rent o f od ious mons ters .Shortly before the beg inning o fthe 20th century, the style be ga nto be regarded posit ively.

    Initiat ed in mid-12th century as a l anguage wi thout precedent ,

    the style be came g eneral isedthroug hout Europe over thecourse of the 13 th century, andits acceptance and deep-root edhold kept i t in vogue unti l the16 th century. In Spain, itcoincided w ith the m aximumdeployment an d culmination ofthe Reconquest , i .e . , the

    consolidation of the Christ iankingd oms. Under the CatholicMona rchs, whose fa vouritearchitect w as Juan Gua s, i t roseto a pinna cle of splendo ur.

    During these three longcenturies of survival, which wereto characterise the whole of the

    Lat e Middle Ages, Got hic passedthroug h d ifferent pha ses. Fromits beginnings unti l the ea r ly

    2

    Triptych on board.Valencia Gallery of Fine Art

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    re t ro phase tha t wa s to coexistwith the Renaissance. In thesearch fo r a n ew classicism, therew as a return to pure forms.

    The G ot hic Style w as a

    phenomenon in which theentire population pa rticipated:one sees churches andcathedra ls conceived anddesigned tha nks to a n overal lcombined effo rt , palaces,for tresses and commercial andindustr ia l edifices that mark theindependence of a r t f rom

    ecclesiastical patronage, as wellas an incipient craftsmanship.

    Imag ine Got hic spaces as theyw ere perceived in Mediaeva ltimes, without any differences

    betw een the major and minor ar tforms, in that all were regardedas equa lly important , a nd youwill come across interiors thatbring to gether a number ofdisciplines: g old- an d silverwo rk,

    ceramic, embroidery, stainedgla ss, ta pestries, rug s, arms,furniture, painting, sculpture a ndarchitecture. Often , the selfsameperson w as skilled in several o fthese techniques, e.g., sculptorswho w ere at once blacksmithsan d/or g old- an d silversmiths,painters that gilded retables and

    designed t apestries and youw ill see jew els, w eavings andfurniture enriching a narchitecture tha t succeededin reflecting art in suchexquisite detail.

    4

    Condestable Chapel . Burgo sRueda Mo nastery. Zaragoza

    ArchitectureGot hic architecture displays tw onew and hitherto unparal leledaspects: the use of light and theclose relat ionship bet w een

    structure a nd a ppeara nce. All isgeomet ry brimming w ith l ight ,geomet ry that is fel t though no tseen but t hat w ill nevertheless bediscovered if sufficient a tte ntionis paid. Columns, windo w s andot her points of refe rence delimitsquares, cubes, eq uilat eraltriangles, rhythmic series that

    convert space into a designedvolume. The stained glassw indows seem to render the w allporous, so that they filter andmerge w ith the light. No space isleft fo r paintings, frescoesbecome luminous iridescence.Arches are og ival an d vaults aremarked b y simple ribbing orassume complicated stellarfo rms. Thrust is transfe rred tothe a butments and flyingbut tresses. The t hickness of thew alls is reduced, and these nowserve to close off or support rosew indow s and stained g lass. Pillarssoar until they meet the roof,

    offer ing the sensation of a treetrunk branching o ut a ndspreading, yet a lwa ys with astructural function. Ground planstend to be ba silical, larg e-scale,feat uring a central nave and tw oor four aisles. The ambulatory,like the triforium, ano theressential element , tran smits

    grandeur, magnifying the space.The e nt ire edifice acq uires afeeling of verticality.

    SculptureAs any si te w as looked upon a sideal for locating sculpture, thisw ill be found aff ixed t o churchand cat hedral faade s, retables,

    choir stalls and funerarymonument s, and even in i tsow n r ight , unre la ted to t hearchitecture, put there fo r thepure enjoyment of the owner.Yet w hen i t does appear onthe e xterior, i t tends to bemonument al , executed inl imestone or gra nite and

    occasionally in a labaster o rmarble, since the noblema terials (such a s polychromedwood and metal) were reservedfor the sumptuous interiors.

    Subject ma tter a nd mot i fs tendto vary, consisting o f exq uisite,delicately shaped figures of thevirgin, a postles, narrat ive scenesdepicting b iblical passage s,

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    time (that is to say, the religiousdivisions) of the day. Thedecoration, e xtremely brightand colourful , tends to fea tureplant mo ti fs in the margins,historiate d initials (i.e. , enlarg ed

    and often i l luminated capita lletters) and exquisi tely w roughthandw r it ten le t tering .

    While mura l painting is spa rse,oi l paintings on panels abound .In particular, large-scale picturesof a religious nat ure werepainted for inclusion on

    reta bles. The sa int o r principalobject of devotion appears onthe central panel , with passagesillustra ting his sto ry and miraclesto either side. There is atendency for the form to bestylised, th e line sinuous, thecolours pale, and the characters,largely realistic, refined andw ith a bundant de ta i ls a s regardsappa rel. Scenes are set ag ainsthuman backdrops andreproduce anecdoticob jects, displaying akeen sense ofobservation.There is a lack o f

    perspective, depthbeing created bythe a rchitecturalsett ing, with acast le , town orda ily scene b eingdepicted in th eba ckground . In the15 th cent ury, Flem ish

    primitives appeared,constituting a pictorialrevolution.

    histo rical events, grotesq uega rgoyles, intertwined plantmoti fs , arabesques and the l ike.The execution is bo th a ttra ctiveand painstaking. In search of anew langua ge, sculptors came t o

    offer us real characters with acertain na turalism, individua lisedexpressions, an interplay of looksand expressions, and ga rmentstha t hung in cl inging folds.

    Coloured art

    Although spectato rstradit ional ly find pa intingsthe mo st representa tive andapproa chable pictorialmanifestat ion, during theGot hic period t he production ofcoloured ar t rel ied o n th reed i f ferent t hough equa l lyimportant forma ts , viz . , glass,vellum and panels.

    Stained glass windows are afundamenta l e lement of thearchitectural space to w hich

    they adapt . Mad e up of smal lpieces of multicoloured glassjoined t og ether by lead str ips(or cames), they formchromatic glass canvases thatflood the inter iors with colour .

    Theme s are varied a nd u suallyread from top to bot tom, wi thGod, the Divine Light, theprincipal source of revelation ofal l things placed a t th e very top,the sa in ts ha lfw ay dow n, andnearest the floor, scenesdepicting Man, with theearth and plants .

    The illuminated manuscript t ookits Spanish name of miniaturafrom the red lead oxide orminium(a na me derived fromthe Minius River in Northw estSpain) w ith wh ich i t wa spainted. I t w as a very highlyregarded t echnique, used toproduce Bibles and holy tracts,codices and t reatises and, a boveall, psalters or books of hours,these being bo oks for privat euse, arrang ed according t o the

    Gold and silverworkNow ad ays, this is gene rally fo undout o f conte xt, in museums,w hich perhaps accounts for thefact tha t such w ork has often no t

    been fully appreciat ed. Attemptto see it in all its gra nde ur,associated w ith the lustre ofmeta l, the brilliance o f t heceremonies, and meticulouscraftsmanship. Clergy andnobili ty demanded go ld andsilverwork for personal andliturgical use. Workshops, across

    the length and breadth of t hecountry, met deman d byinvariably turning o ut the sametypes of items: gob lets, pate ns,candelabra, caskets, reliquariesan d t he like. The shap esreproduced pinnacles, baldachins,arches and the like all rightfullybelonging t o architecture and yetelevated to fa iry-tale propo rtions.

    Other arts

    It shou ld be recalledhere tha t therew a s a w h o le

    creat ive w orldsurrounding a ndsupporting th ehighly manneredGot hic aesthetic,e.g. , wea vings,

    tapestries, arms,jewels and gri lles. Inbrief, a field w ide open

    to the ar t ist s imaginat ion.

    M ural. Girona

    Sacred precious met alw ork. Lleida

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    THE THREE GREATCATHEDRALS

    Declared UNESCO WorldHerita ge Sites, these are t hemaximum expression o f

    13th -century Spanish Gothicreligious a rchitecture. Theyrepresent t he po litical andreligious pow er of Castile, w hichw as then consolidating itself as akingdo m and w as destined torule over a g reat e mpire somedecades later. Needless to say,they are the culmination of a

    long a nd splendid histo ry, andhouse incalculab le artistic gemsin their interiors.

    Burgos

    In 1097, Burgos w as designa tedas an episcopal seat. ARomanesque church dedicated toSt. Mary (San t a M ara) wa s builtand soon became too small. Inthe 13th century, Bishop Maurice,journeyed through Europe,fa miliarising himself w ith newtren ds in building. Fernan do IIIsw edding to Beat r ice of Sw abia in

    the reduced confines of thechurch led him to see th e needfo r the construction of a larger,more solemn edifice.

    Commenced in 1221,its first lines, conceived by a nanonymous draug htsman know nto h ave pa rticipated in Las

    Huelga s Reales Convent, w erepurely Cistercian , w ith a straighteast end and chapels opening

    ont o the crossing. Maestro(master ma son) Enrique, w hohad a lready w orked on LenCathedral , brought a rad icalchange to the project ,transforming t he design to a

    style more in accordan ce withEuropea n ta stes. He ordered theeast end to be demolished andhad i t replaced w ith a chevetfeat uring an a mbulatory andchap els. Only St. Nicholas Chape l(San Ni co ls), with its sexpartitevault, remains from tha t firstfront ag e. The result is the

    present building, with a nave,tw o a isles, triforium a nd cha pels,many of w hich date f rom the15th century.

    Afte r Enriques dea th, w orkstar ted on t he main faadeunder Juan Prez, who patternedit on Amiens and Rheims, withthree ent rances and an H-shapedplan. The porta l, know n a s theDoor of Pardon (Perdn),w as tot ally reconstructed inthe 18th centu ry. Eachof the fa ades of thecrossing ha s a porta l.The tympa num

    of the nor th orCoronera Doo r, byMaestroEnrique,depicts the FinalJudgement. It w asthrough this doortha t pilgrims makingfor Santiag o deCompostela used

    to ent er, with the

    8

    some of t he chapels. In the latterpart of the century, the figureof his son, Simon of Cologne,burst ont o the scene w ith thegran diose Consta bles Chape l(Capill a del Con destable), a

    cathedral within a cathedral, inw hich German ic and Moo rishelements are merged.The t ransept lan tern,dating from the16th centu ry, isatt r ibuted toJuan de Vallejo.

    Golden Staircase, finished byDiego Silo, compen sating fo rthe difference in height betw eenthe street outside a nd theCathed ral. Napo leon is said t ohave be en the last to cross the

    threshold. On the southernflank, the Sarmenta l Doo r, ofano nymous origin, is a superbexample of Got hic sculptureand represents a n Apocalypseof the French school.

    In the 15th century, tha nks tohis German origins, John o f

    Co log n e (Juan d e Colon ia)introduced theFlambo yant Style.It is to him that w eow e the tow ers,needle spires and

    Burgo s Cath edral

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    LenTo m an y, the so-called PulchraLeoninais the mo st sublimeedifice in Spain. Its benefactorw as Bishop Manrique, a fr iend

    of King Alfonso the Wise, whogrant ed t he bishop privilegesfor i ts construction, a long w ithland from w hich to procure thenecessary wo od. Work beg an in1255, and in 1302 one prelatew rote , the wo rk i s a l readydone , thanks be to God .

    Erected in the classical period,i ts ground plan fol lows thepurest Go thic design of a l lSpains cath edra ls, comprising anave a nd tw o a isles, a not overlystated crossing, a chancel and a namb ulatory. Seen in elevation,the church is the pa radigm o f13 th -century Goth ic, an d indeedcame to s tand a t t he fore frontof European a rchitecture for theverticality a nd a iriness of itsw alls, which affo rd space for thestunning stained g lass window s.To e nte r the interior, in w hicheverything seems toreverberate , is to come into

    conta ct with t he celestia l cityof the mystics . Words fa i l .simply look around!

    Although the exterior may nothave the f r ag i lity of o thercathedra ls, i t no netheless

    10

    Len Cath edral

    possesses the most completeiconographic programme of theage , one o n w hich MaestroEnrique, a mong othe rs,laboured. Eloquent testimony toi ts importance is the f act tha t

    Alfonso X exempted twentymasons, a glazier and ablacksmith from t axes whilethey were engag ed in the work .

    At the w est end of the b uilding,b e t w e e n t w o r ob u st t ow e rsconnected to the na ve by flying

    butt resses, is the main fa ade,w ith three doo rs: the centredoo r, presided over by theWhite Virgin (Virgen Blanca) o nthe pier, decorated w ith theApostles and the Final

    Judgement ; to the le f t ,alon gside t he Be ll Tow er,is St. Jo hn (San Jua n); and,on the r ight , f lanked by theClock To w er, is St . Francis(San Francisco). Gracing thesouthe rn w ing is St. Froilansportal, equally marvellous.In th e inter ior, left t o stand

    among the chapels by thecompletion of the cloister, is thenorth doo r. On t he exterior,a l low your eyes to wa nderupwards and b e t r anspor tedby the ta ngled skein ofpinnacles, ga rgo yles, crestsand finials .

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    13

    hoarded as many wo rks of a r t a sthe Sforzas, wielded such pow ertha t he left instructions that hew as to be b uried in the chancel ,a roya l privileg e. Cisneros,Isab ella t he Cath olics confe ssor,

    had a hand in des igning theGot hic Style high a l tar, thelargest in Spain. Bigarny orderedthe b uilding o f the Chapel inhono ur of St . I ldephon sus(San Ildefo nso), the citys patro nsaint . Pause a moment a ndstroke the stone w here,according t o trad it ion, the

    Virgin Mary rested her footwhen she descended to robethe saint in h is cha suble. Silodesigned the Kings Chapel,w hich w as subseque ntly builtby Covarrubias. Card inal Taveracommissioned Berruguet e toenlarge the choir, since it washere tha t t he mos t importantdignitar ies of the ImperialChurch w ere seated. Thoug h no tGot hic, make a po int of seeingthe Transparente-Baroqueta ken to the e xtreme- w hichw as conceived to i lluminat e thesanctua ry (sacrarium) in t hechancel and t he doub le

    amb ulatory. Do not leave bef oreyou h ave visited t he cloister,gazed in aw e a t the ArfeMonstrance (named after thesilversmith, Enrique de Arfe) amat chless w ork that is parad edthroug h the ci ty duringthe annual Corpus Christiprocession, a nd seen El Grecos

    mag ical El Expol io (theSaviour stripped o f his Raimen t)an d Tw elve Apostles .

    ToledoThis imperial city, sea t o fSpains primatial churchfrom Visigo thic times,witnessed work

    commence on i tsCath edra l in 1226,under the reign ofFernando III. Theproject e njoyed thefavour of the grea tcardinals and so thebest maestroscouldbe cal led upon.

    The ground plan-a na ve and fouraisles- wa sdesigned byMartn.AlthoughPetrus Petrifou n d a nadmirablesolutiont o t h eambulatory,by al ternatingtr iangular

    and trapezoidal cross-sectionvaults in purest Go thic Style, hewa s unab le to w iths tand loca linfluences and d esigned atriforium featuring clearlyMudejar scalloped arches. By the

    end of the 14th century, thebuilding w as al l but complete.

    On the exterior, theoutstanding feature isthe rectang ula r tow erreinforced and decoratedat the a ngles, the city ssymbol tha t El Greco wa s

    to pa in t so of ten .The octagonal sectionw as added in the15 th century, as w asthe spire ringed byits triple circlet, an

    appa rent a l lusionto the pont i f i ca lt iara .

    The d oors are f ormidable: theClock Doo r (Reloj), the oldest,is decorated w ith archivoltsstudded with canopied ang elsand a tympanum bearing scenesta ken from the New Testament ;

    the Doo r of Pardon is the mo stmonumen ta l; and t he Llana Doo r,the on ly one no t to ha ve sta irs,dates from the 19th century.

    Argu ab ly, this is the Europe anCa thedra l tha t can boa st mos tworks of art, distinguishingmarks left by the grea t cardinals

    w ho s t rove to ou tdo o neanother a nd tes t ify to the i rpow er by bequea th ing evermore grand iose projects.Cardinal Mendoza, who

    Toled o Cath edral

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    Alczar (fo rt ress). Cor do ba

    Cadiz

    After the ag e-old city ofJerez dela Fronterahad been w restedfrom the Moors, Cordoba n-inspired churches flo urished ,e.g. , the churches of Santa Maradel Alczar, with its pointed brickarches, St. Dionisius, St Luke (SanLucas), etc. Subsequently, the citywas to be further embellishedby the cloister of St. Dominics(Santo Dom ingo), the Hispano-Flemish beauty of St. Michaels(San M iguel) and St. Marks(San M arcos), and the cresting o nthe Carthusian cloister. In Puertode Santa Mara, St. Marks Castle

    church, classical in style th oug hw ith marked Mudejar influence,is sure to prove interesting.

    Stop to ad mire the stonepor t icoes on the w hitew ashedwalls of the churches in Sanlcarde Barrameda, cradle o fseafarers , and St . Romualdos

    Castle in San Fernando, said tobe inspired by the Moslem r ibator f orti fied mon astery. Hispano-

    Flemish pro files are o n view in

    Medina Sidonia in the formof t he Pa lace of t he Counts ofguila, while Arcos de laFrontera is home to anoutstanding set of 13th -centurymurals, plus the Churches ofSt. Ma ry and St. Peter (San Pedr o).

    CordobaAs you w alk its street s, you w illf ind tha t the g lory of th i s grea t10 th -century metropolis andWorld Heritag e Site, t he citytha t w as to inspire Lorca andMachado, still resonates. After

    Cordoba wa s won ba ck from the

    15

    Cistercian designs sprea d f rom1236 onwards with the so-calledchurches of th e Reconq uest ,

    fo llow ing Ferna ndo IIIs seizureof Cordob a. In the 14th century,the scarcity o f s tone masons ledto buildings being re-used, atask which, though approachedfrom a Moorish perspective,w as executed w i th Goth icresources. The 15th centurysaw refined Hispano -Flemish

    fa shions becoming fused withIslamised Christian element s,a phenomenon w armlyencouraged by the CatholicMonarchs.

    ANDALUSIA Almera

    The city Cat hed ral is uniquefor ha ving b een buil t over astrong hold. Designe d by Diego

    Silo in t he 16th

    century, it maylack height, large w indowopenings or rose w indow s,yet its splendid stellar ribbingand chancel resting o npalm-tree-shaped of pillarsw ill not leave the visitorindifferent.

    Other outsta nding local sightsinclude the Shrine (santuario)of the Virgen de l Mar, the po rtalin the keep of the Alcazaba(fortress), and the Church ofSt. James (Santiago).

    14

    Alme ra Cat hed ral

    St . Ma rys. A rco s d e l a Fr on t er a Car th usia n mona st er y. Je rez d e l a Fr on t er a

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    La Rbid a M on astery. Huelva

    17

    Moors, Gothic came to

    permeate its churches, withstone on porta ls, rose window sand r ibs, and b rick for t herema inder. This, in t urn, g averise to the Churches of MaryMagda lene (La Mag dalena),St. Michael, St. Ma rina.. . a nd pa rtof t he Alczar , the pa radigm ofthe castle-palace. In CordobasMosque-Cat hedral , a place ofunimaginable perspectives,Mudejar is manifest in the RoyalChapel , in th e g uise o f

    Caliphate-style ribbed vaulting,sta lactite decoration and lavisharabesques.

    Out in the province, sightsinclude the palace-castle of

    Belalczar, the castle ofAlmodvar del Ro, a nd t hedelectable porta l of St . Clares(Sant a Clara) in Montilla.

    Granada

    Grana da has a splendid Cat hedral,

    designed b y Enrique Egas andcompleted by Diego Silo, inw hich Corinthian columns replacethe t raditional bea d-mouldingpillars. The mo st da zzling fea ture,how ever, is the Roya l Chap el,ag ain by Ega s, Pantheon of theCatholic Monarchs whose tombchests, in Carrara marble, were thew ork of Fan celli. The Cat hedra lmuseum ho uses nota ble Flemishpa nels. Othe r ma jor sight s includethe Royal (Real) Hospital, by Egas,

    16

    Royal Chapel . Granada

    Aracena Castle. Hu elva

    Royal Hospit al. Granada

    the cloisters of the Mo na stery ofSan Jernimo (St. Jerome) andSt. Jo sephs Church (San Jos),

    an d, in the Albaicn Qua rter, theadmirable lacery and intricatelycarved ceiling in St. IsabelsMonastery.

    In the surrounding province,tow ns and vil lag es of greatbea uty, such as Guadix, Loja,Motril a nd Ugjar, have Gothicchurches, w ith th e church inMontefro having been designedby Silo.

    Huelva

    Few places in th is province

    possess exam ples of Go thic.Among t hose tha t do a re :

    Trigueros, in its Cordob a-stylechurch of St. Anthony (SanAntn); Palos de la Frontera, inthe shape o f St . Georges(San Jor ge) an d th e simplecloister of La Rbida Monastery,

    w here Columbus once sta yed;a n d Moguer, in St. ClaresConvent, wh ich fea tures pointedarches and brick pillars. Amidstrugged hill country, Aracena isrecognisable by its castle, whereGot hic and Mudejar elementsa l terna te in the tow ers of i t stierceron-vau lted church.

    In Cortegana, there a re tw o

    Belalczar (Cordo ba)

    churches and a castle da ting

    from the 13th

    century, all in a nexcellent sta te of preservation.

    Jan

    While St. Cata lina Castle,St. Lawrences Arch (SanLorenzo) and t he churches of

    Mary Magda lene and St . Johnare th e most highly prized sightsin the city itself, th e La Loma

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    Seville Cathed ral

    Antequera (Malaga)Ronda (M alaga)

    SevilleAn inscription that formerlyadorned one of t he city gatesdef ined Seville: Hercules builtme, Julius Ceasar walled me...

    and t he Holy King t ook me .Cordoban Gothic was interpretedherelaAndalusian, with brickused on pillars, walls and arches,as in the case of the churchesof St. Anne of Triana (Sant a Ana),St. Giles (San Gil), OmniumSanctorumand St. Stephen(San Esteban). While t he first civil

    architecture is represented by theAta razan as, the sublime ribbedvaulting o f Don Fadriqu es Tow erand some vestiges of the Alcza r,the style wa s to flow er fully inthe 14th century.

    The Cat hed ral is a city land ma rk.Beg un in 1402, it is the large st inSpain an d w as the precursor ofthe Flemish style. Isam bret,Gil de Honta n a nd Simon o fCologne a ll played a pa rt in itsconstruction a nd left be hind ananthology of bead-mouldingpillars, Flambo yan t va ulting, ribs,etc. One o f t he b uildings lead ing

    features is the Royal Chapel, aPlate resque m arvel. The Birth(Nacimiento) and Baptism(Bautismo) portals are a ttributedto Mercada nte and t he design ofthe imposing high a ltar piece an dchoir stalls, to Pieter Dancart.

    There is no shortage of

    at tractions in the province either.Lebrija is home to the classicismof St. Marys, with t he best a rray

    of Moorish vaults anywh ere inAnda lusia, and t he CrdobaPalace, with its superb a rabesquew ork. Outsta nding churchesaw ait d iscovery in Carmonaa ndSanlcar la Mayor, and s itua tedin Santiponceis the cloister ofSt. Isido res (Isidoro). Othersignificant examples are the Dukeof Osunas Palace, by Juan Guas,in Marchena, th e churches ofUtrera, and t he castles in

    La Algabaand Alans.

    1918

    Distr ict is home to tw o of Spainsunique Renaissance treasurestha t a lso display a to uch of

    Gothic: beda, w i th thechurches of St. Nicholas a ndSt. Clare, the cloister of St. MarysColleg iate Church, and St Pauls(San Pab lo); an d Baeza, with i tsCathedrals Luna Door and theIsabeline faade o f Pa lace ofthe Count of Benavente andJabalquinto, a t t r ibuted to JuanGuas. Torreperogil and Andjarare similarly importa nt sites.

    Malaga

    Save for the por ta l o f theChurch of t he Tab erna cle

    (Sagrario), very few Got hic

    remains are to be fo und inthis populo us city. In t heneighbo uring province, VlezMlagaboa sts the Church ofSt. Mary Major (San t a M ara l aMayor); Ronda, the ce lebra tedurban jewe l , has the Convents ofSt. Dominic and St. Francis; a nd

    Antequera, bordering o n thecapricious geological limestonefo rmat ions of El Torcal, is thesite o f St. Zoilus Mona stery(San Zo ilo).

    St. Cat al in a Castl e. Jan

    Jabalq uin to Palace. Baeza (Jan)

    Seville Cathed ral

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    21

    In the proximity of t he city ofHuesca, plains and foo thills offera great profusion of sights.The re is Alquzar, set a midstgreat na tural beauty, a top aravine carved by the River Vero,with its castle-collegiate church,the loveliest in the Huesca area ,and porticoed square. Barbastrois home t o a Cat hedral of solidashla r, pra ised fo r its slim pillars

    and fine ribs. During the16th century, side chapels wereopened, some of w hich arecurious in th at they resembletiny churches. The town alsopossesses two Gothic churches,an a rcaded squa re and the Azudfounta in, with i ts Flamboyant-style tracery frontispiece. In the

    vicinity there are mo nasteriesand castles of not e, such asMonzn, Mequinenza, etc.

    The moun ta ins to t he north , theheart of t he Kingdo m of Arag on,are abunda nt in Romanesque,yet Gothic is also to be found,e.g ., St. Victo rians Cha pel(San Vict or in) in the famo us

    Monastery of San Juan de laPea, and the Clock Tow erand some a ddit ions toJacaCathedral . In the a rea of t heOrdesa and Monte PerdidoNat ional Park are the evocat ivetow ns of Ainsa, Boltaa, Bielsa,Benasque, Panticosa, etc.

    Teruel

    So ref ined is Terue ls Mude jarthat the city has been officiallydeclared a World Herita ge Site.It ha s a Cat hedral featuring anave, tw o a isles and apses, thesides having b een dem olished t omake wa y for an a mbulatory, andthe Church of St. Firmin (SanFermn), a splendid 14th -centurystructure, b uilt in pure Go thicwithout recourse to brick so that itwould prove all the more singular.Of the former royal palace,only the solid ashlar Italianate

    Ambeles Tow er, encrusted in t hetow n w all, remains.

    Teruel pro vince can lay claim toexceptional artistic ensembles.Begin your to ur in Albarracn,an extraordinarily att ractivetow n tha nks to i ts sett ing andmediaeval layo ut. The Cat hedral,

    at t he fo ot o f the castle, is ringedby a cloister a nd t he Episcopa lPalace. In the rugged Maestrazgo

    Al quzar (Hu esca)

    Barbastro Cathed ral (Huesca)

    Huesca Cathed ral

    More tha n a nywhere else,here one sees tw o Got hicinterpretations at work, one in

    stone, a nd th e ot her in brick,yet both in the Mediterranea nsphere, since th e King dom ofArag on covered a t errito rystretching from Catalonia toSicily and beyond. Distinguishingfea tures included smoo th w alls,austere vaults, little sculpture, anabunda nce of painted retables,

    and massive polychrome woodenbosses positioned over keystones.

    Huesca

    Huesca, situat ed o n the Hoyaplain, is the regiona l provincialcapital having the least Mudejarand greatest Got hic importance.

    ARAGONIts Cat hedral, beg un by Jam es I(Jaime), is the culmination of thisstyle in th e province, there beingno brick present in its fabric.One is attracted by the portico,the finest in Arag on, w ith an

    ab unda nce of sculptures, anopenw ork gable and a t ypicallyAragonese eave added a t a la terda te. The alab aster retab le, byForment, combines Renaissancefigures w ith Go thic surrounds.In addition, there are thechurches of St. Lawrence, rebuiltin the 17th century, w hich ho uses

    an atrium concealed behind aBaroque faade, w ith the zodiacon t he bra ckets, and St. Peter,w hich feat ures a lantern andtow ers dat ing back to the13th century. A visit to theZudaor al czar is also to berecommended : its tow er is oneof t he best of t he mediaeval era .

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    Tarazon a Cath edral (Zaragoza)

    23

    Guildh all. Zaragoza

    w alls. Oth er points includeUncastillo, which conserves itsbest Go thic inside a fo rtress,Luna, with two palaces linked tothe f amily of the schismat ic Pope,and Daroca, in the Jal n Valley,

    an at tractive town w ith acollegiat e church tha t t races itshistory back to James Iscamp aig n in Valencia. Thischurch reached a pinnacle ofsplendo ur in the 15th century,coinciding w ith the a ddit ion o fGot hic element s, such as thetow er, Door of Pardon and

    the lavish decora tion in theCorporales Chapel. Lastly there isCalatayud, anot her Mudejarcentre, fascinat ing tha nks to itssquare, collegiate church, cloisterof the Holy Sepulchre andchurches.

    The 16th -centu ry Guildha llis a key piece in Zara go zanarchitecture. The g reat trad ing

    hall (saln de cont rat acin)masterfullly combinesRena issance annulat ed columnsw ith Got hic stellar vaults andkeysto nes surmounte d by largepolychrome wooden bosses.

    Travellers to th is province w illdiscover unforgetta ble tow nsan d villag es. There is Tarazona,w hose prize sight is theCathed ral, the principalflow ering of classic Arag oneseGot hic, w hich mixes local an dtrad itional elements, like thecontrast bet ween the frag i lebrick lant ern and t he stone w alls,

    or the purest Go thic of thetriforium, the on ly one of its kindin Arag on. Be sure not to missthe Zuda, converted into anepiscopal palace, with a Gothicga llery overlooking t he precipice.Sos del Rey Catlico, thebirthplace of King Ferdinand ,hon ours its royal sta tus with

    buildings such as St. Lucys(San t a Lu ca), St. Ma rtins and theGuildha ll, as well as the t ow n

    22

    Rang e, the Arag onese duo ofcastle-palace a nd collegiat echurch tend s to crop up a ga inand ag ain, as in the case of Morade Rubielos. The t ow nsex-collegiate church, joined tothe castle by a w all, w ith a singlenave that leads off into threeap ses, is similar in gra nde ur to

    Girona Cathedral. Just to w anderaround the interior is marvellous.On th e ba nks of th e River Ebrolies Alcaiz. Among its manymonume nts a re St. DominicsChurch, the castle, a porticoedsquare a nd th e characteristicGuild Hall or Exchange (Lonja)w ith three fine pointed a rcades

    in the style of a n Ita l ian loggia ,the f inest example of its typein Spain.

    Alb arra cn. (Teru el)

    M ora de Rubielos (Teruel)

    Al jaf era. Zarago za

    Zaragoza

    The city of the River Ebro andthe Church of Pi lar offe rs thetraveller a magnificent Seoo r

    Ca thedra l of Romanesqueor ig ins and Goth ic appearance ,t h a n k s t o t h e p a t r on a g e o farchbishops of the ro yal l ine.Constructed be t w een the12 th a n d 1 8th centuries,i t show s evidence o f a l l s tyles,something tha t makes it themost d i f ferent of ca thedra l s .

    It reserves all its charms forthe inter ior, except f orSt. Michaels Chapel, which,conceived as a n independentchurch, d isplays a surprisingMudejar wa l l , o f w hich you a resure to t ake more than o nephot og raph. The mo st ar t ist icfea t ures a re the chevet ,w i th a re ta b le in polychromea laba s ter, the l an tern and t heexceptional panell ing onthe choir and sta l ls .

    The 13 th -century Aljafera, asumptuously appointed castle,reflects a refined Mudejar taste.

    On th e out side, eyes w illtend to l inger on t he Trovad or(troub ad or) Tow er, so na medbecause i t is here tha tlegend si tuates the prisono f I l Trovatt orein Verdis opera .The interior, and theFlamboyant Goth ic pa laceof the Catholic Monarchs in

    particular, seem to comestra ight ou t o f a t a le byWashingt on Irving .

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    Villaviciosa, w ith St . Marys .This is followed by Llanes, withcastle, tower and town wall , andthe Church of Santa Mara delConcellu, with excellent Flemishpaintings. Heading inland from

    here, on e g ets to St. Eulalias inOns, and the landmark bridgeo f Cangas de Ons. Nestling inthe Picos de Europa Range,Arenas de Cabrales is not only amounta in resort , but , th anks tothe local Church of Santa Marade Lls, is also a b astion o fmont asproto-Gothic

    (montas; the a djective used todescribe this part of Spain andits people).

    25

    To t he w est is Avils, a city withan interesting Old Quarter.

    High ligh ts include t he Church ofSt. Thom as of Cante rbury, in theRoma nesque tradit ion, the14 th -cent ury Alas Cha pel,the ne ighbouring Church ofSt. Nicholas, the oldest in the city,and Valdecarnaza Pa lace, withits magnificent windows. Fromhere, there are t w o possible

    routes, namely: the corniche orcoastal route, marked byspectacular sea cliffs, tha t runs toCudillero, a picturesque fishingvillage w here St. Peters is anexcellent examp le of ruralGoth ic, and to Navia and theaustere lines of its parish church;

    or alternatively, the inland route,w hich first g oes to Salas and i tsGothic-Renaissance St. MarysCollegiate Church, and thenhead s for Tineo to ta ke in thechurch an d Tineo Ho use, w hichfea tures coupled w indow s.

    Eastwa rds lies Valded is

    Monastery and the first Asturianchurch to be entirely roofedw ith og ive a rches, and

    St. M arys. Llanes

    Collegiate Chur ch of St. M ary. Salas

    Chur ch of St. Tho mas of Cant erb ur y. Avils

    Ensconced betw een sea andmountains, a monochromaticparad ise o f marked scenic

    contrasts unfolds for o urpleasure. Its histo ry is tha t o fSpain itself. In t he cent uriesof the G oth ic era , Asturias was afeu da l society, wh ich po ssessednascent urban centres, hadbenef i ted from the Pi lgr imsWay and w as eager to breakaw ay from the Len crow n.

    Despite t he g eneral dearthof Got hic hereab outs, it is inOviedo, the principalitys capital,that the most significantexamples are to be found.The f irst t hing on e spies is theCathedral tow er, a stone indexfinger pointing heavenw ards ,

    as Clarn puts it in his novel, LaRegenta. This Flamboyant-stylechurch, beg un in the 15th century,has a na ve, two aisles and acrossing, w here all the Go thicprocesses may b e seen, thoug hthe o ldest feat ures ( the ribbedsquinches and eight-sectioned

    vaulting) are in the Chapt erHouse. In the Cma ra Santa ,

    the capita ls depicting h untingscenes and the three Maras

    constitute t he first AsturianGo th ic sculptures. Got hic is alsoto b e found in some palaces andin St. Vincents Convent .

    Oviedo Cathedral

    Oviedo Cathedral

    ASTURIAS

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    Las Palmas Cat hed ral

    THE CANARY ISLANDS

    26

    Guildh all (La Lonja)

    exceptiona l structural unity.

    The circular ground plan houses aporticoed patio reminiscent of asqua re or pa latial mansion.The ca stles stou t d onjo n is alsocircular.

    More sights are to be found inAlcudia, Menorca (Santa Marade la Ciuda dela) and Ibiza(St. Marys), tho ugh no ne of themattains the universal stature ofthose mentioned abo ve.

    Palma Cath edral

    Visitors are inevitab ly taken a ba ckby sight s of exceptional value inthe Mediterraneans leading sun-

    and-sea tourist destination. Onthe islan d o f Ma llorca (Majorca),Palma Cathed ral, mirrored in thew at ers of the harbour, wa s builtby o rder of Jam es I. Its slowconstruction g enerated enormousdifferences betw een the soaring,elongated nave and aisles, andthe na rrow chevet. Following

    the 1851 earthqua ke, majorrestorat ion work wa s undertaken.It should be mentioned herethat in the early years of the20th century Gaud was called in,and proceeded to transform theinterior radically, tho ugh his w orkby no m ean s escaped controversy.

    At the portside stands theExcha nge or Gu ildha ll (Lonja),designed by Sagrera in the reignof Alfonso t he Mag nanimous.The interior ta kes the f orm o f agrea t ha ll w ith six spiral columnsthat , w ithout recourse to capitals,receive the fu ll thrust of t he

    ogival arching o f t he vault.Outside, the buildings faades areembe llished w ith a rich plan tmotif-ba sed decoration.

    Dominating the b ay is theimposing presence o f BellverCastle, the m ost impressive andbest-preserved example o f

    Spanish med iaeval milita ryarchitecture. Erected in the e arly14th century, it conserves its

    Church of the Conception. Tener i fe

    Sant a An a Triple(Saint Anne with

    the Virgin a nd Christ Child) inSt. Francis Church in the islandcapital of Santa Cruz de La Palma;and, on Tenerife, the Church ofSan Juan de Teide, with a fa mousFlemish ret ab le of the VirginMary, the Church of t heConception, an d the celebratedCrucifixion in La Laguna,site o f t he university th athas a 15th -century illuminate dBook of Hours(Libro d e las Horas).

    The expedition led by Jua n d eBethen court in the 15th centuryheralded t he arrival of Go thic in

    th ese islan ds. The re cords showLe Ma on a s being responsiblefor FuerteventuraCathedral andthe Conde Tow er in La Gomera,w here the capita l is home tothe Church o f t he Assumption(Asuncin), a bucolic spot w hereColumbus paused t o pray priorto embarking on his voyag e.

    Las Palmas, the largest city,possesses a Cathedral w ithcompound pillars that exhibitCadiz and Portuguese influences,and the interesting retable ofSt. Christophe r (San Cristba l)in the Episcopa l Palace.Also w arranting men tion are:

    on La Palma, the sculpture of

    THE BALEARIC ISLES

    CANTABRIA

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    12 th -century Church of t heAssumption. On its sout h side,access is afforded by a porticofeaturing a wide pointed archand beautiful sculptures.The different height of t he navean d a isles lends grea t luminosity

    to t he ge nerously proportionedinterior. From this point, thet o w n o f Santoa is visible on theopposite side of the estuary, itsharbour a nd f ishermens quartermaking it a n unforget ta b lerendezvous. Head for the Churchof Santa Mara del Puerto, awell-balanced 12th -century

    structure in t he Cisterciantradit ion, w here the sculpturaldecoration w ill del ight you.

    The sea side re sort o fSanVicente de la Barquera isthe next destination. The firstsight to receive the visitor isSt. Ma rys, its defe nsivecharacter only too clear from i ts

    prominent perch above thetown and i ts posi t ion adjoiningthe l ikewise Goth ic castle andwalls. The exterior featuresthree doo rs, w i th the southdoo r, flanked b y but tresses,having a somewha t a rcha icappearance. The interior,w ide and majestic, is made

    up of a na ve and tw o a i s lesw hich, due t o t he styl isednat ure of the pil lars , tend toresemble the ground planof a ha l l.

    For th e curious, there a re moreplaces of interest : in Santi l lana ,

    the Collegiat e Church,Romanesque w i th Goth icelements; in the Picos de Europaarea and Libana Valleys,St. Torib ios in Pot es,St. Andrew s (Andrs), etc.; inthe Pas River Valley, Castaeda;in Trasmie ra, So lare s and Ajo(specta cular sunsets);

    in th e River Asn Basin,Ampuero and so o n , forever.Discover them for yourself !

    St. M arys. San Vicent e de la Barqu era

    St. M arys. Castro Urdiales

    Chur ch of Sant a M ara del Puert o. Santoa

    Santander Cathedral

    This idyllically scenic reg ion ishome to Gothic monumentsof great value. The upsurge intrade in the 12 th century,coupled w i th the grant ofcharters (fueros) and p rivileg esby Ferdinand III, made for

    communication w ith Europeand an early influx of a r t ist iccurrents. The coastal townsformed the vanguard fromw hich the new techniquessubsequently radiated outwards.

    In Santander, one cannot

    restrict oneself to the purelyart istic: the citys appea l isin f in ite , w i th the Ma gda lena ,Sardinero, Puerto Chico a reasand so on. Our go al is theCathedral crypt a nd Collegiat eChurch. The f ormer, austere an dda rk, does not tra nsmit Go thicsensations ow ing to i ts

    functional nature; its corbelleddoorw ay leads in to a nave andtwo aisles of stout pillars.

    The latter preserves the primitivelayout of the aisles, whichrespond to a Cistercian-inspiredsense o f b alan ce. The f ire o f1941 and the ensuing historicistrestora t ion means tha t wha t onesees may no t necessarily

    correspond to the original .

    The best place to begin yourtour of the region is CastroUrdiales, a picturesque f ishingvillag e w hich still reta ins thesa l ty t ang of the sea tha t ma kesit so delight ful . Dominating

    the to w n is St. Ma rys, its slimfaade delimited by impressivebuttresses pierced by an eye-catching number of loopholes.On the inside, the chancel,r inged by an amb ulatory, isspectacular, a cat alog ue ofarches an d lavish tracery.

    In Laredo, a fr iendly town w ithan extraordinary stretch ofstrand, there aw aits the

    CANTABRIA

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    Chinchi l la de M ont earagn (Albacete) 31

    Toled o Gate. Ciudad Real

    Church of th e Assum pt ion . Valdepeas

    Ciudad Real

    Outstanding sight s in the city ofCiudad Real are t he Cathed ral,churches such a s St. Pet ers an dSt. James, and t he to w n w alls,w hich contrast w ith the a shlars ofthe Toledo Ga te, a monumen ta lentrance with large fortifiedtowers.

    As your sta rting point, t akeCalatrava la Nueva, seat o f theOrder of Calatrava and o ne ofthe most important fortifiedstrong holds in Spain fo r its size,

    state of preservation, history, andstatus as a clear exponent o f thesophisticat ed techniques ofGothic fortification. Strolling

    around the fo rt in Aldea del Rey,imag ine the knights go ing aboutthe ir daily routine. There a remore castles to come, such asBolaos, w ith a curious access tothe keep, Alczar de San Juan,

    with artistic window openingsand loopholes, plus a smallmuseum with Gothic-Renaissancefurniture, Montiel, with brickvaults and dome s, Montiznthe list g oes on.

    To see religious mo nume nts,you will have to g o to Almagro,

    fa mous for its squa re andMona stery of the Assumption,and to Villahermosa, who sechurch is one o f t he mo stmonumen ta l in La Ma ncha.Round off your tour w ith a visitto the Church of t he Assumptionin Valdepeas, an interestingMannerist interpretation of

    Gothic.

    Cuenca

    In this World Heritag e city ofstartling ra vines and h ang inghou ses (casas colgadas), a grea tCathedral is w aiting to b ediscovered, the first Gothicchurch of its kind in Castile. It h asa de ep chancel and radial apsechapels, five aisles from the highaltar to the crossing and three inthe bo dy of t he church. Onceinside, the mag nificent triforiumwill leave you dumbstruck.

    The present fa ade is the w orkof Lamprez, who took charge ofthe restoration w ork after thecollapse of the bell tower in 1902.

    St. M arys. Letur (Alb acete)

    CASTILE-LA MANCHA

    church ofJonquera, set a ga inst abeautiful scenic backdrop in adefile on the River Jcar; the

    church of Villarrobledoflankedby emblazone d houses; thesuperb Late Go thic portal ofAlcaraz in the Sierra MorenaRange; and in the stunningset t ing of Letur, a cha rmingexample of rural Gothic. The tourends inYeste, to visit its church,featuring two clearly

    differentiated pa rts, Got hic andRenaissan ce, wh ich in turn g iverise t o a curious T-shaped gro undplan. From a hilltop, the localcastle, solid an d sturdy, bidstravellers farewell.

    Got hic w as an ea rly arrival on theManchegan plateau, with the

    conq uest o f Toledo by Alfonso VI.He established a frontier line,along w hich military o rderssettled, raising f ortified out posts,churches and monasteries inw hich the best master masonstoiled. At this point, readersshould perhaps be reminded tha tthey are about to move through

    a land of w indmills, w hosesilhouettes w ill be accompanyingthem from now on .

    Albacete

    In the city itself little rema ins ofthis style, with only the Cat hedral

    and the Posad a de l Rosario(posada; inn or ho stelry)retaining Go thic elements.Howe ver, the itinerary throughthe province will lead to idyllicspots, churches an d ca stles, suchas: Chinchilla deMontearagn, a townw ith a complicatedmediaeval layout,founded, according tolegen d, by Hercules;the parish

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    Infan tad o Palace. Guadalajara

    3332

    dominated b y the FlamboyantStyle, wh ich Juan Gua s w as to national ise by the use of

    mot ifs and Mud ejar fo rms. Thefaade, to pped by a high ga l lery,reminiscent of Italian palaces, isdecorated in diamond point , andpre-eminent o n its mag nificentportal are the savag es bearingthe Mendoza coa t of a rms.

    The interior opens onto a d oublearcaded courtyard, with do ubleogee a rches along the lower

    ga llery, a nd mixtilinea r archesw ith gr iffin decoration above.

    The venerable town of Sigenzahas a Romanesque-GothicCathed ral, chara cterised byrobust towers, extraordinaryw alnut choir sta lls, a lovelycloister and chapels, principalamo ng w hich is the Arce Chapel.Here, under a to mb chest arch, isthe sculpture of El Doncel(the pa ge, Don Martn Vzq uezde Arce), of w hom Ortega andGasset w as to say, This manseems more of the pen tha n thesw ord . Another tow n to visit is

    Atienza, its mediaeval streets,squares and a rcad es playing ho stto Got hic churches and h ouses,such as the Posad a d el Cord n.

    Posada d el Cordn.Atienza (Guadalajara)

    El Don cel (the Page). Sigenza Cathed ral (Guadalajara)

    Tw o to w ns call fo r our at tent ion:Alarcn, si tuated on a deep bendof t he River Jcar and a nexample of the fortified system,

    in the f orm of St. Dominics andSt. Marys; and Belmonte, w i t ha superb collegiat e church,classical and Flamboyant in style,as w ell as a castle-palace, w ith acomplicated ground plan, inw hich Juan Guas had a ha nd.The pa lace area w ith its Mudejarair and profuse decoration,fireplaces, stucco, plasterarabesques, polychrome workand coffered (caissoned) ceilingsrecreat es the sumptuo usness ofthe 15th century.

    Also meriting a visit are:Villaescusa de Haro where, rising

    from among the to wn roofs,is a lan tern w ith pinnacles,ga rgoyles, crests and finials;the imposing ruins of Almenara

    cast le; and Garcimuoz, who secastle witnessed the death ofJorge Manrique in the w arsbetween Isabella the Catholicand the pretender to the throne,Juana la Beltraneja (so named

    because her pat ernity w asatt r ibuted to the court favouriteBeltrn de la Cueva). As afinishing t ouch, see theFlamboyant rol lo(mediaevalstone jurisdictiona l column of tenused to display th e hea ds ofwrongdoers) in Villanueva dela Jara.

    Guadalajara

    Although the nobility beautifiedthe city with palaces andchurches, almost no thingremains sta nding. Some idea o fw hat these palaces must have

    looked like can be got from theInfantado Palace, where Philip(Felipe) II and Philip V were bothma rried. The b uilding is

    Cuenca Cathedr al

    Castle-pal ace. Belmont e (Cuenca)

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    CASTILEAND LEN

    Avila Cath edral

    Mo nastery of San Juan d e los Reyes. Toledo

    Escalon a Castl e (Tole do )

    Similarly interesting are:Cifuentes, w ith the Churchesof St. Saviour (Salvador) andSt. James, the latter decorat edwith the vices (a she-devil amongthem) and virtues; Molina de

    Aragn, feat uring a Moorishtow n p lan and Alcazaba, withSt. Clares Convent (Clarisas; PoorClares) and St. Francis Chapel;and Brihuega, the importance ofw hich is att ested t o b y St. Philips,St. Michaels and the PeaBermeja Chapel.

    Toledo

    After the Batt le of Navas deTolosa, Toledo beca me a ma jorcity in the Kingdom of Castile, adevelopment that favoured theconstruction o f a Cat hedral,w hich remodelled the urban

    setting w hile preserving theMoorish imprint o n the layout o fits streets, which, in the wordsof a 16th -century document, w ere narrow, winding and t w istedw ith a score of turns .An itinera ry throug h th is WorldHeritag e city w ould do w ell totake in the Franciscan Conventof the Conception, St. PaulsConvent and t he funeral chapelsof different churches. A gem toend off your tour wo uld be theMonastery of San Juan delos Reyes, commissioned bythe Catholic Mona rchs tocommemorat e the Ba ttle of Toro.

    Basically this wa s the w ork ofJuan Gua s, w ho in fa ct lived inToledo , and f ea tures a sing lenave, a slender lant ern with

    34

    This is the large st a nd mostmonumental region. Indeed,

    history and ar t a re present to ad isproport iona te degree andeven more so w here Got hic iscon cerned . This stylisticsplendour coincides with thepolit ical highpo int reached b ythe Catholic Monarchs,beg inning in 1230 with theunion of Castile and Len and

    culminating in territorialunification un der Isabe lla andFerdinand. Some three centuriesw hich, to o ur delight , havebequeathed an unrival ledartist ic out pouring.

    Avila

    Within its walls, this WorldHeritage city encloses a numberof historical and artistic vestiges.

    Examples of these are t heValderrban os and Pedro D vilaPala ces, the Velad a Tow er, theBracamonte Chapel , one of themost harmon ious in the Goth icStyle, the churches of St. Vincentand St . Thoma s, the la t ter w ithsuperbly carved choir sta lls,and inevitably, the Cat hedral ,

    w here the genius of Fruchelada pted a Romanesque g roundplan to a Goth ic elevation. Thechevet of this granite church-fortress actual ly fo rms part ofthe town wall. The interior,where the red and w hite ve insof i ts fa bric produce a strangeeffect , consists of a na ve and

    tw o aisles, i lluminat ed bysplendid sta ined g lass windo w s.The exquisite apse and retablewarrant special a t tention.

    cresting, and a cloister, therebycombining Flamboya nt f orms,Caliphat e inspiration andPlateresque ornamentation.The granite faade, was the workof Covarrubias in t he 17th century.

    High ligh ts in the pro vinceinclude: Escalona, where,according t o t he records, thecastle, a luxurious 15th -centuryresidence, w as once inhabited b ylvaro de Luna; Talavera dela Reinawhich atta ined greatimportance in the Middle Ages,

    tha nks to its strate gic position a ta crossroads the rose windowgracing the fa ade of the tow nsCollegiate Church is one of theleading Flamb oyan t elements inToledo Province; and lastlyIllescas, site of a ma gnificentparish church.

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    Len Cath edral

    3736

    Begin your tour of the outlyingareas by going wes tw ards,

    following the Pilgrims Way,and then turning south .The first stop is in Sasamn, t osee the Cruz del Humilladeroand i ts Church of Sant a Ma ra laReal (St. Mary Roya l), w ith a13th-century portal reminiscentof Burgo s Cat hedral s Sarment alDoo r. In t he so-cal led Campos

    Gticos(or Campi Gothoru m, are ference to the t ime of t heGo ths) lies Castrojeriz, w h e re ,amo ng i ts churches, St . Johnsenjoys pride of place. Cont inueon a s fa r a s Santa Mara delCampo, where the to w er,by Diego de Silo, marks theskyline of a tow n reputed tohave p layed hos t to QueenJuana s funera l cortg e.In the Arlanza Valley isCovarrubias, with a superlat ive15 th -century Collegiate Church.While here, visit t he loca lmuseum, which housesimportant sculptures

    and paintings, such as theCovarrub ias Triptych, a w orkdisplaying m arked Flemish

    real ism. Covarrubias a ffo rds astriking example of Castiliantow n p lanning in it s a rcadedstreets and t imber-framehouses, including theDoa(denoting Queen) Urraca

    Tow er. On a rriving in Arandade Duero, s top to see St . Ma rysChurch, its fronta ge g racedby an interesting heraldic porta land crowning cornice of majorpropor t ions a t t r ibu ted toSimon of Cologne. Close byare Si los and the Roma n ruinsof Clunia .

    Len

    The city tra ces its origins to th eRoman Legio VII Gemin a whichwas stat ioned in the terr i toryto protec t the mines andw hence i t takes its name. Court

    and cap i ta l o f the Kingdo mof Len, i t is a s ite shared bygems of t he ca l ibre of t heCath edra l, St. Isidores Basilica(San Isidor o) and St. Marks.While no Got hic examplesremain inta ct in Len i tsel f ,the surrounding province isnevert heless rich in the se.

    Covarrubi as Collegiate Church (Burgo s)

    St. Stephe ns, site of the retab lemuseum, where the containeris no less importan t tha n thecontent s. In the Santsimo Cha pelof St. Giles Church the re is amag nificent Crucifixion, and in

    St. Nichola s, a surprising ston eretable attr ibuted to Simon ofCologne. Tw o sight s to f inish thetour are: Las Huelgas Reales -royal pantheon, church andcloister- with a whole catalogueof styles and a n interestingmuseum (among the items ondisplay is a f igure of St. James

    fi t ted w ith the ar t iculated armthat had the privi lege o fdubbing knights of the realm);and the Isabeline-Got hic StyleCartuja de Miraf lores (cartuja;Carthusian m ona stery, theSpanish term be ing derived fromthe French chartreuse, throughthe Latin cartusia, of w hich the

    English charterhouse is acorruption), designe d by Joh n ofCologn e, with t w o ma sterpiecesby Gil de Silo, namely, themausoleums ho using Isabellathe Catholics father and mother.

    In Avila Province, our ro ute w ill,in part , take us throug h the

    Gredos Rang e, a ma gnificentscenic run do minated byMt. Almanzo r. The sta rting pointis Villatoro, w here St. Micha elsat tests to the survival of Go thicin the 16th century. The next stopis Bonilla de la Sierra, wherehighlight s in th e local churchinclude the pointed barrel vaults

    and the curious pulpit s ta irw ayopened into t he w all , in themanner of Cistercian refectories.Sights In Barco de vila includeValdecorneja Castle a nd theChurch of the Assumption, andin the mount ains there isMombeltrn, with a castlew hose lines reveal the hand o fJuan Gua s.

    Burgos

    Burgos is an essentially Got hiccity, and its present urban layoutand mo numental configuration

    dat e from t his t ime thanks to i tsstatus as a royal ci ty . Amongthe churches to be visited is

    Las Huelg as Reales Con vent. Burgo s

    M om belt rn Castle (Avila)

    h f h N i i i l

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    that of t he Novios in pa rticularand tow er. Also wo rth a visit a rethe churches of St. Micha el,St. Francis and St. Clare.

    Lying a short distance away is

    Dueas, with a church that boa stsmag nificent tomb chests andexceptional choir stalls. In Tamara,Burgos-bo rne influence w ill benot iced in St. Hippolytus, w hichcontains a stunning polychromearab esque pulpit. Surrounded bychurches lining the Pilgrims Wayis the tow n of Villalczar de Sirga,

    w here t he pa rish church possessesa f rieze on its fa ade w ith thefigure of Christ Panthocrator a ndTetra morph (or fo urfold Gospel,represented by St. Matt hewdepicted as a w inged man oran gel, St Mark as a lion, St. Lukeas an ox and St. John as an eagle,all usually shown holding an open

    bo ok), and t he Tw elve Apo stles;in addition, the interior housessplendid sep ulchres. The la st stopis Aguilar de Campoo. Risingab ove the arcaded streets of thismedia eval to w n is St. Michaels, aCastilian landmark by reason of itsflaw less architecture.

    Salamanca

    Among its sights, this WorldHerita ge Site and university citypar excellenceconta ins vestigesfrom d ifferent period s, includingthe landma rk Plaza M ayor

    (Main Sq ua re). The visit w illstart at the Cathedral, w hich isunique ina smuch as it combines

    3938

    Romanesque and Gothic structuresas if they were a single building.The Go thic section, w hich a ffected

    the original to an almostnegligible degree, wa s begunin 1513 under the supervision ofGil de Honta n. In the inte rior,ribbed va ults spa n the nave, a isles,chevet and crossing. The exterior isa po sitive fea st of decoration, w ithfeat ures of no te being the CockTow er (Torr e del Gallo) and Do or

    of Pardo n, bearing 17th -centuryreliefs. Stroll throu gh the city a tthe end of the da y and see howthe setting sun lends a golden hueto the Villamayor stone of itsbuildings.

    To b egin your tour of the a rea,one of the mo st gra ndiose ogivalchurches in the Province ofSalama nca is to b e found inSantiago de la Puebla. En route t oBjar, where you will see Flemishpaintings and have a chance tow and er through El Bosque, alovely Italianate ga rden, yousimply must ma ke a stop in

    Guijuelo, w here the ruins ofSt. Marys def y the element s.Nearby is Candelario, with a

    Salaman ca Cath edral

    Du eas chur ch (Palen cia)

    Palencia Cathed ral

    To t he n orth lie Barniedo,s itua ted amidst fields andmead ow s, i ts 15th -century churchha ving curious verna cular-stylepaintings, and Yegueros, wherethe capitals of its church merit a

    stop. At this point , you aremoving into the domains ofthe Knights Templar, e.g . ,Ponferrada, home to animposing castle constructed forthe prot ection of the Pi lgr imsWay, an d close by, the Ancaresan d Las Md ulas area s, scenicspots that defy description.

    Once in Astorga, t h e ca p it a lof t he Marag ate ra distr ict(Maragatos; a people whosett led these parts in bygo netimes), visit t he Cat hed ral, w hichbrings together a number ofstyles, ranging from th e Got hicapse to the Baroque tow ers.Standing a cross the w ay is theEpiscopal Palace, a work ofgenius by Gaud . Carry on toVillaverde de Sandoval to see itslovely church po rtal, de pictingmonks hidden be hind acanthusleaves and end the t r ip inSahagn, genera tor of theMudejar school, as will be borne

    out by a visi t to t he Church ofthe Peregrina (Pilgrim), wherearab esques cover the w alls.

    PalenciaOnly the River Carrin ca n a tte stto the historical importanceenjoyed b y this city, the site o f astrikingly bea utiful Cathed ral,

    with Visigothic foundations(e.g., St. Antholians crypt SanAn tol n), a Roma nesque ed ificeand Gothic construction. Notablefeat ures are the chevet, which hasa steppe d structure in the chancel,supported by double flyingbuttresses, and the a mbulatoryand radial chapels, surmounted by

    fine g a rgo yles. Tom bs, includ ingthat o f DoaUrraca, are to b efou nd in the interior. On theexterior, note the apse, porticoes

    Ponferr ada Castle (Len)

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    To see the para digm o foutstanding Go thic monuments to this activity are the sights that we

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    St. Pauls. Vallad oli d

    To see the para digm o f15th -century Gothic, a fusion ofthe Burgo s and Toledo schoo ls,make for the Church of St. Pauls.Its majestic faade, by Simon ofColog ne a nd Diego de Silo, issimply intoxicat ing. A ba sket a rchleads through t o a cruciformground plan, deep chancel andcha pels. The 16th -century vestrymerits deta iled a ttent ion.To f inish off , visit th e SculptureMuseum, at St. Gregorys College(San Gregorio), where Franciscode Vitoria a nd Barto lom de

    las Casa s taug ht. The chap el,by Juan Gua s, reflects thesumptuousness of theHispano-Flemish style. The cloister,Lat e G ot hic in style, is profuselydecorated , and the heraldic-typefa ade, at tributed to Gil de Silo,is a rich sculptura l reperto ire.

    Althoug h the cata logue isimmense, the to ur through thisprovince w ill be limited t o justthree tow ns. In Medina delCampo castle, situated at op amound (or mo tte), Csar Borgiaand Pizarro w ere incarcerated .Your visit should includeSt. Antholians, a stone and brickstructure of a kind tha t iscommonplace in these pa rts,designed by Gil de Honta n a ndhis son. As a ma tt er of curiosity,Isab ella the Ca tho lic died in ahouse on the to wn squa re.

    More history a w aits in Tordesillas.

    It w as here that the treatybetween Portugual and Castiledividing the o cean w as signed;

    4342

    and i t wa s here too tha t Juanala Loca (Queen Joan the Ma d)found seclusion and dea th.Its ma in sigh t o f no te is St. Clares,a combinat ion of Mudejar, Gothicand Renaissance elements.

    The Mudejar Courtyard andGolden Chapel are o f interest.The la st point on this tour is amag nificent example of militaryarchitecture, i.e., Peafiel castle.Perched on a n outcrop thatimposed its long na rrow structure,this fort relies on a double lineof w alls to d efend its keep.

    Its silhoue tt e, encircled by t heRivers Duero a nd Dura tn,dominat es the countryside.

    Zamora

    On the ba nks of the Duero, thecity tha t t he Romans once calledOcellumand Moors Samurahrisesfrom b ehind its wa lls, those sameramparts that witnessed thefrat ricida l infighting bet w eenDoaUrraca a nd Sancho II ofCastile, killed here at the hands ofBellido D olf os. The citys history isreflected in the na mes of its

    monument s: the Treason Ga te(Port illo de la Traicin), Do aUrraca Arch, Olivares Gate, El Cids

    Medina del Campo Castle (Valladolid)

    outstanding Go thic monuments tooff er. Beginning in greda, a focalpoint fo r Sorian Gothic painting,visit St. Micha els, w ith its splendidstellar va ult, St. Johns with itspentag ona l chancel, and t heChurch of Nuestra Seora de losMilagros (Our Lady of Miracles),w ith its sumptuo us interior. Driveon to Morn de Almazn to see abea utiful 16th -century a rchitectura lensemble. How ever, to see SorianGothic at its most elega nt andharmonious, continue onw ards toMedinaceli and its Collegiate

    Church of Santa Mara. Anothercollegia te church, t his time inBerlanga de Duero, is singular f orits cha ncel, w hich w as conceivedas a church apa rt. A special noteon which to finish is the Cathedralin Burgo de Osma, commenced in1232 on Cistercian lines. Inside, a llis grand eur a nd stylistic unity:

    outside, there is a fusion b etw eensculpture a nd a rchitecture a s avaried iconog raphic programmetakes shape and develops.The cloister is one of the mostelegant Spanish Gothic examplesof its kind, and the Chapter Housecontains an exceptional w ork offunerary art, in the form of thetomb o f San Pedro de Osma.

    Valladolid

    This city, a Royal villa(the w ordsuse in this sense being eq uivalentto the French ville) since 1208,

    w as favoured by an a ssiduousroyal presence that served tofo ster urban prog ress. Evidence of

    this activity are the sights that wesee tod ay. Take you r time a s thereis a lot to see. Start your tour atthe Church of Santa Mara de laAntigua, w here a haughty tow erand portico tell of its Romanesqueorigins. The exterior is markedby bu ttresses an d pinna cles,complemented by flyingbuttresses and gargoyles.The harmony of the differentparts make it a mag nificentinsta nce of Ca stilian Got hic.

    Now head f or the Main Squa re

    to visit t he Church of St. James,w here the most significant fea tureis the chevet, w hich is na rrow ertha n the na ve. The reta ble, inFlorentine terracotta, is attributedto Della Robbia. Without strayingtoo fa r, you w ill come a cross theimposing faade of St. Benedicts(San Benit o), looking more like a

    fort ress tha n a church. Its am pleinterior reveals the f inal sta gesof Late G ot hic, and a choir risingab ove the t racery vaulting.

    CATALONIAof the Virgen de la M osca

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    CATALONIA

    Goth ic Quart er. Barcelona

    Toro Collegi ate Church (Zamora)

    M anresa (Barcelona)

    4544

    Influenced b y the Roma nesquetradition, master masons arrivingfrom Europe provided solutionstha t w ere more superficial tha nstructural. It is perhaps fo r thisreason that Catalonian Gothicimpresses one a s being

    uninterrupted space in theinterior a ccompanied by aw ell-defined volume on theexterior, mod erately rather t hansteeply raked roofs, unado rnedarrises, pillars and w alls shorn ofdecoration, and po inted archesthat are somewha t understated.

    Barcelona

    The citys Gothic Quarter is oneof the mo st famous and mostpopular w ith tourists coming toSpain -na rrow a lleys lead ing tosecluded squa res, palaces and

    churches that are sure to leaveyou w ith indelible memories.In the midst of a ll the se

    monumental sights is theeye-catching Cathedral. Started in1298, the w ork progressed slow lyuntil the 14th century w hen themost artistic part w as added byFab re. The a tt ractive faa de(inspired by a 15th -century

    drawing) and lantern are both19th -century neo-Gothic. The belltow ers positioned at the a rms ofthe crossing, along with a thirdtow er rising abo ve the mainentrance and na ve, evoke thenails of the Cross of Christ.

    House, etc. Our goa l is the

    Romanesque-style Cathedral,w hich houses Got hic grilles andpulpits w ithin its wa lls, along w ithchoir sta lls carved by RodrigoAlem n (note the misericords)and a collection of 15th -centurytapestries. The Momos and Condede Alba Houses are examples ofcivil Gothic.

    Our tour t hrough these historiclands will centre on tw o tow ns,Toro a nd Bena vente. Many a nunsuspected gem is to b e fo und inthe surrounding area s. Toro,birthplace and residence of kings,seat of the Royal Court situa tedon the b anks of the Duero, opensits gates to display its treasures tovisitors. These ta ke the fo rm o fpalaces, churches, bridges and,needless to say, the CollegiateChurch, built at the time w henLate Romanesque was giving wayto incipient G othic; indeed, da tingfrom this latter period is its portal,

    a compendium that wo rds arepow erless to de scribe. Inside thechurch is the exceptiona l painting

    M omo s House. Zamora

    of the Virgen de la M osca.Follow this with a visit t o t heHispa no -Flemish pa nels inArcenillasand, before reachingBenavente, stop in Villamayorde Campos to see the Flamboya ntpara pet o f the choir of St. Marys,the only one of its kind in theProvince of Zamo ra. Awa iting inBenaventeis the Church of SantaMara del Azogue (take a closelook at the sculptures on thepedestals in the main arch), theChurch of San Jua n del Mercad o(St. John of the Market) and the

    Caracolor Sna il Tow er. Befo recasting your net w ider, make astop in Villalobos, to ta ke in thecurious frieze o f t ritons (a seamonster, half ma n, half f ish) thatruns along the nave in the Churchof St. Felix. To see o ne o f t he mo stinteresting and beautifulprovincial G ot hic churches, on

    which both Juan de Hontanand his son worked, make forVillamayor de los Escuderos.The list could g o o n a nd o n, yetthis is an a rea best left o pen tothe curious.

    Pause a w hile to examine the Lleida

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    47

    cloister, templete(sma ll pavilionor folly) and fountain. As youstroll through the streets you willcome across a number of palaces,the best know n of wh ich is thelandmark Palace of theGene ralitat (Region al Authority),with its stunning stairway,Flamboyant tracery andSt. Georges Chapel. The churches,distinguished b y having a singleaisle, are typified by Santa Marade Pedralbes and Santa Ma radel Pino, the most grand iose of

    all. Nevertheless, the mostad mirable example is the Churchof St. Mary of the Sea (SantaMara del M ar), w hich ha s a na ve,tw o a isles, an a mbulatory butno crossing . The slend er pillarsmake for a space tha t is at oncetransparent and a ppealing.

    Barcelona Province to o h asexceptional monument s to offer.ManresaCathedral has an o riginalground plan: taking the pillarsand arches as reference, one g etsthe impression tha t th ere is anave a nd tw o a isles, yet ta kingthe va ults as reference, one get s ato ta lly different impression, i.e.,tha t there is only a nave andside chapels. VicCathedral,which combines Romanesque,Renaissance and Gothic elements,possesses a surprising andunforgettable cloister. AlthoughCardonais home to a Go thicchurch, the single m ost

    memorable building here is theParador, one of the a reas bestmediaeval fortifications. Equally

    46

    The outlying province boasts

    outstanding mediaevalensembles. In the Pyrenees thereare the towns of Besal, wherethe a rcades of drop (ordepressed) arches and theexceptional fortified fount ainta ke one back to the MiddleAges, and San Juan de lasAbadesas, with an a rcaded

    square an d cloister thatcomplement the b eauty ofthe Romanesque Mo nastery.Down o n the coast there are:Castell d Empries, with a lovelypalace and t w o guild halls, onetha t is the present-day porch ofthe Tow n Hall, an d the o the r,the portico of the magnificentchurch; and Torroella de Montgr,with a church, splendid mainsquare, palace of the Kingsof Aragon, convent a nd amag nificent panora mic view f romthe castle. Finally one come s toPals, a small, entirely Got hic,fa iry-tale to w n of intricat e lanes

    and alleyways, watched over bythe Tow er of t he Hours (Horas)and local church.

    Old Cath edral. Lleida

    M onastery of Bel lpuig (Lleida)

    Pals Church (Giron a)

    LleidaOne cannot fa il to b e impressedby the silhouette o f the OldCathedral dominating t he cityskyline, the artistic work of Perede Coma in the 13th century.The ma in items of not e here a rethe po rtals of t he apo stles,cloister and slender bell tower.In a ddition, there is the Zudadat ing from Moo rish times andtransformed under James I,and the Church of St. Law rence,important b ecause it became a

    cathedra l under the reign ofPhilip V.

    fa mous sight s include Balsareny

    castle, the walls of Centellesand ma ny more.

    Girona

    This is a city redo lent w ithmediaeval atmosphere tha t of fersa Cathedral born in the shadow

    of an earlier Romanesqueconstruction, of w hich only thecloister and famous CharlemagneTow er rema in. One is filled w ithan indescribable feeling when,af ter climbing t he stairs andentering through its Baroquefaade, one emerges into agrandiose Gothic nave, the mostcolossal of its type dating from theMiddle Ages. Wand ering ab outthe city, you w ill come uponbuilding s such a s the Co ll, PaAlmoina or Carles Palaces, withmullioned w indow s, richlyembellished courtyards an delegant stairways, and churches

    such as St. Dominics, with a finerose w indow and a notablecloister graced b y bea utiful arches.

    Girona Cathedral

    MURCIANLleidas provincial area has a Tarragona

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    MURCIANREGION

    Shrin e of Caravaca de l a Cruz

    Famed for i ts bea ches, orchardsand market ga rdens, this regionhardly developed a ny rel igiousarchitecture due t o i ts being arelatively uninhab ited f rontierarea. How ever, the g eopoli t icalconditions favoured the re-useand construction of a numberof imposing castles, someextremely old, such as those ofLorca a n d Aledo, and other

    more mod ern, but no lessattractive, examples, such asCaravaca,Jumillaa n d Mulacastles.

    Murcia

    The citys ma in monu ment al

    building of not e is the Cathe dralwhich dates back to the14 th century, thoug h the hightow er and grand iosefrontispiece on the ma in faade,designed by Jaime Bort in the18 th century, make it seemBaroq ue. The unita ry groundplan and e levat ion sugg estCatalonian and Casti lianinfluences respectively. Inside,visitors are sure to be e nchantedby th e Vlez Chapel , aligh t-filled space w ith afa scinating t iered decoration,consisting of Lombard arches,gables, small canopies,

    pinnacles, coats of arms and t helike typical o f Isab eline G othic.The cloister is simply cha rming .

    Other buildings include theChurch of St . James and t heexuberant 16th -century cloister

    of the Roya l Monastery ofSt. Clare, Isabeline Go thic w itha touch of Mudejar, reminiscentof St. Grego rys in Vallad olid.

    Travelling thro ug h the reg ionw ill br ing yo u to the castle andshrine of Caravaca de la Cruz,w hich make an a ttractive

    picture and are inextricablyl inked to the history of the Crossof Caravaca a nd i ts holy rel ic.The fortress, conquered byFerdinand III, formed part ofthe Mora ta lla-Mula-Aledo -Lorcadef ensive axis. Further sight s areto be f ound inJumillaa n dYecla.

    M urcia Cathedral

    4948

    numbe r of surprises in store.Cervera is hom e to the Churchof St. Mary, an ambitious14 th -century project, with a nextraordinary collection ofsepulchres. The Monastery ofBellpuig de les Avellanes, l inkedto t he House of the Counts ofUrgell, is the site of an a usterecloiste r. Then th ere is SolsonaCathedral , a mix of Romanesqueand Gothic, and museumsreplete w ith wo rks of ar t ; andlastly, Balaguer, w ith St. Marys

    an d St. Dominics, the lat terfea turing a large-sized cloister.

    Tarrago na Cath edral

    Tort osa Cath edral (Tarragona)

    TarragonaThe Roma n ruins dicta ted thesiting of the Cathed ral, whichexplains why it does not face ea stan d w hy the cloister is on th enorth ern side. The church w asconsecrated in 1331 by ArchbishopJuan of Arago n, who se tomb chestlies in the cha ncel. Other sight s ofnote are the retables in St. MarysChapel and the high altar, madeof a labaster. A monumenta lfaad e w ith multiple mouldingsand statues of great quality

    decora tes the exterior, w hile yetmore extraordinary statuary is tobe fou nd in the Cistercian-stylecloister.

    A visit to the province starts inTortosa, where, behind aremarkable Baroque fa ade, is asplendid Gothic Cathedral, the

    chevet of w hich exemplifies theachievements and techniques ofthe g reat Catalonian buildings.The Episcopal Palace, reflected inthe River Ebro, po ssessesRoma nesque and Gothic details ofgreat value. Montblanc, thecapital of the Conca, ha s a fine setof b uildings, including a nexceptional Franciscan churchsituat ed out side the w alls, and theMag da lena Hospital. Similarlyinteresting are th e mura ls in Arbocdel Peneds, the Church ofSt. Columba (Santa Colom a) inQueralt, a nd St. Peters Church inReus. Not t o b e overlooked

    are the areas Romanesquemona steries, endow ed w ithvaluable Gothic elements.

    CastellnVALENCIAN

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    Morella Cathedral (Castelln )

    CastellnAltho ugh the city of Ca stelln isdevoid o f Go thic, the style is to b efound in some o f t he surroundingtowns, such as Morella, a charmingmediaeval villaat the foot of arocky outcrop, surmounted by afo rmidab le castle. The picturefrom the trefo il arcades of the13th -centu ry cloister of St. Francis isutterly unforgetta ble. The to w n isalso the site of the Church of SantaMara, a local landma rk.

    San Mateo, a burgeoning urbancentre, w as the seat o f the GrandMasters (Maestrazgo) of the Orderof Mont esa, something that isechoed in the arcades of theMarket Squa re (Plaza delMercado), the pa lace fortress ofthe Maestresand the church, themost outstand ing building of all.

    Farther south, protruding into thesea and f ringed by fine sandybeaches, is Pescola, the mo strepresentat ive cultural to urist iconalong the Mediterraneanseaboard. Its long historytranscends the merely local andhas come to occupy a place on t he

    w orld stag e. It w as the KnightsTemp lar in the closing yea rs ofthe 13th century who g ave thetown its present appearance. Thefamous Pope Luna (Benedict XIII),made t he tow n his seat during theSchism o f t he West, makingalterations to the castle, e.g. , the

    Got hic Hall an d Basilica. A wa nderthrough the steep alleyways willleave you w ith vivid memories.

    ValenciaThis lan d o f light an d flow ers ishome to an extremelycomprehensive range of buildings

    and a visit w ill therefore dema ndtime. Rath er than being adefensive element, the SerranosGat e, w ith its imposing14th cen tury civil-militaryarchitecture, is a triumphal a rchon which the principalthoroughfares converge. Throughit entered the people from the hill

    country, del s Serran s , hence itsname. An absolute must is theGuildhall, a prime exampleof mediaeval commercialdevelopment. Beg un by Comptein 1483, all eyes will be d raw n tothe eno rmous trading ha ll, wherethe e ight spiral columns bea ringthe da zzling ribbed vaulting,

    accentuate the buildings heightand a iriness allow your gaze tow ander and let the space flowabo ut and around you. Thega rgoyles are among the mostimag inatively cont rived in Europe.

    Nearby is the Cath edral, a Late

    Roma nesque structure to w hichGothic elements were ad ded untilthey became dominant. You w ill

    VALENCIANREGION

    Villena Castle (Al icante)

    Biar Castle (Alicante)

    and market ga rdens. ItsCathed ral is the only one in the

    area having a na ve and twoaisles. Here, in th e spiral ribs ofthe crossing, Pere Compte left hisma rk. The p arish churches ofSt. James and Saints Justaand Rufina are further localattractions. Cocentaina, a fewkilom et res from Alcoy, preservespart of its Mediaeval Quarter

    intact , with remains of t he w all,castle and counts palace da tingfrom the 13th -14th centuries.Castles such as tho se of Biar,Denia and Villena, out linedimposingly a ga inst the sky,w arrant special a t tent ion.

    After conq uering Valencia, JamesI wa s instrumenta l in spreadingGothic throughout the Levantregion. The new style sw iftlytoo k root, a lbeit w ith notabledifferences as aga inst t he ot hermainland kingd oms. Here, flyingbuttresses and pinnacles -crucialin naves and a isles of differentheight s- are no t commo n, sinceintern al space is clea rly perceived

    as a n und ivided w hole. There is apredominance of rectang ularand square forms, flat sparinglydecorated surfaces, anduniformity of height.

    Alicante

    With the exception of the14th -century Church o f SantaMara, the city of Alicante has norelevant examples to off er, but atour through the neighbouringprovince w ill take one toOrihuela, ringe d by fe rtile fa rms

    EXTREMADURA(w edge stones), decorated

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    53

    In this extreme region ,continually la id wa ste by Moorsand Christians until the13 th century, Gothic too k root a ta relat ively la t e da te. Followingthe Reconquest , the localeconomy w as placed in thehand s of the dioceses andmilita ry orders, which th us sawtheir assets prosper and g rowunder t he Cat holic Mona rchs.

    Badajoz

    Huddled under and a round t heAlcazaba, this ci ty on t he ba nksof the River Guad iana st il lexudes an air of its brilliantMoorish past. After beingreconquered , wo rk bega n on it s

    Cathedral, which is more warlikethan religious in design. Detailsof note are the churchs naveand i ts tw o, a lmost identical,a isles, and the w indow s in thetower. Highlights include thestellar vaulting of its chapelsan d th e Flemish ta pestries inthe vestry and museum.

    To t he n orth , Piedrabuena,Azagala, Mayorga, etc. , form aline o f castles, the b est of w hich,by virtue o f its beaut y, is tha t o fAlburquerque, a town wi th twoGothic churches. Montijo,birthplace of Eugenie, w ife of

    Napoleon III, also has a Gothicchurch. In Olivenza, you w ill becharmed by the Flamboyant-

    styled Cadava l Ducal Pa lace.The t ow ns Portug uese past iseng raved in the delicateManueline style o f t he churches

    of St . Mary and Mary Magda lene.

    Points of interest in the Serenadistrict a re Medelln, DonBenito, Herrera del Duque...all with churches and castles.

    Moving south, pause to a dmirethe Flamb oyan t Style doo r of

    the Parish Church of Our Lady ofConsolation in Azuaga, theConven tu al Sant iagui sta

    (or to give it its full name, theConven tu al de lo s Caballero s de

    Santiago, a residence built forthe Knights of the Order ofSt. James) in Calera de Len,

    and the Mude jar to uches in St .Bartholomew s (San Barto lom)in Campillo de Llerena. Finally,

    Alburq uerque Castle (Badajoz)

    St. M ary Magd