arte romanico en 2004

8/14/2019 Arte Romanico en 2004

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For the most part, Romanesque art tends to bescattered across the northern half of Spain, thoughnotable examples are also to be found outside this

area. Those who are so inclined, could spend days andweeks taking unforgettable snapshots of churches

nestling in tranquil scenic hamlets and villages besideleafy vineyards, hermitage chapels perched above

plunging ravines or silhouetted in the distance againstdeserted horizons, monasteries sunk in secludedvalleys of a stillness so profound as to be almost

audible, and elegant palaces entrenched behind sturdywalls amidst the hustle and bustle of city life.

Our aim in this guide is to bring the curious andinquiring traveller a little closer to the regions and

districts of Spain where this first European art formflourished. Inevitably, the approach taken has been toinform, one that is far removed from the solemnityand rigour of the art treatise or the fine detail of a

specialised guidebook.

Bear in mind too that, near any of the pointshighlighted here, there will always be art, cuisine,

scenery or active tourism on offer to complement this

cultural odyssey.

1

St. M arys. Un castil lo

ROMANESQUEART

C O N T E N T S

HISTORICAL-ARTISTICINTRODUCTION 2

GEMS OF THE ROMANESQUE 4

CATALONIA 10

ARAGON 16

NAVARRE 22

LA RIOJA 26

CASTILE & LEN 28

THE BASQUE COUNTRY 42

CANTABRIA 44

ASTURIAS 46GALICIA 48

OTHER AREAS 55

GLOSSARY 58

USEFUL ADDRESSES 60

Ireland

Madrid

Paris

London

Dublin

Bay of Biscay

Medi terranean

Sea

At lantic Ocean

Ceuta

Melilla

Portugal

LisbonSPA I N

UnitedKingdom

France

Text :

Jess de la Cmara

Tran slatio n:

Michael BenedictPhotographs:

Turespaa Archives

Graphic Design:

P&L MARN

Published by:

TurespaaSecretara de Estado

de Turismo y ComercioMinisterio de Industria,

Turismo y Comercio

Printed by:

Egraf, S.A.D.L. M-38206-2004

NIPO: 7-04-04-016-2

Printed in Spain1st Edition


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found a firm sponsor in the Monasteryof Cluny, which lent its support to thefirst " guide book" to the Way, theCodex Cal ixt inus(its oft en a musingaccounts serve to describe Romane squesociety). It w as the Way t hat served a s a

conduit for architectural advances.

Spain's contribution came in the shapeof the arcaded gallery, a social ratherthan a religious meeting point , and theMudejar variant (mudja rbeing theterm used t o de scribe t he stylefa voured by t he Moo rish minorities),seemingly a profana tion, inasmuch as

brick does not a llow for carving orsculpting, the symbolic language that isinnate to Romanesque. Lastly, thepervasive influence exerted by theCistercian and Military Religious Orderswa s to seed the country w ith buildingscharacteristic of their respective styles.

Architecture

Thoug h present in a w ide spectrum ofbuildings, it is churches that bestdisplay the basic principles ofRomanesque.

On entering a church in the course of

this tour and b eing permeated by thevery stillness of the silence, you willperforce feel that there is something inthe forms that is more than the meresum of the interconnecting componentparts. It is the sensation of a b uildingrationa lly conceived as the House ofGod . Its design revolves around a napse, a ma gnet f or al l eyes and crux of

all that is most sacred. Nave and aislesserve to fa shion a space in shado w thatpositively invites medita tion.

The fe at ures repeated ly present inRomane sque Style are churches built ona cruciform (Latin cross) ground planwith: a single nave, a nave and twoaisles, and, in exceptiona l cases, a naveand four aisles; thick walls supporting

barrel and groin vaults; few -generallythree- openings, nam ely, in the a pse;round and tranverse arches; and pierswithout any a pparent supportivefunction, w hich serve to b reak thehea vy uniformity of line. On theoutside, the most eye-catching featuresare the east ends, corbelled portalswith a bundant sculptural decoration,

tow ers and lanterns.

Painting and sculpture a re integratedinto form to enhance and i llustrate t hegrandeur of a space intended forprayer.

PaintingMany churches transmit the na kedpow er of the ston e. However, it mustbe borne in mind here that theaesthet ic being a ssessed is often no t theoriginal: churches we re a n a ll-encompa ssing, intensely coloured w orldof reds, ochres, yellows, wh ites and

blacks. Painting w as subordinated tothe a rchitectural structure and ten dedto ma ke use of t he wa lls to deploy anicono grap hic programm e. Techniquesranging from fresco to tempera w ereused to depict figures lacking innat uralness, heavily demarcated by line,invariably seen from the front andarrang ed hierarchically, viz., the figure

of Christ Panthocrator portrayed onapses and vaults, with ang els and saintsrelegat ed to wa lls .

There are many reasons for the dearthof painting ; these include Cistercianinfluence, Gothic Style, whitewashing,retables, Baroque exuberance, etc.Nevertheless, we are fortunate in thatpaintings of q uality abo und; indeed,

Spain is the country with the greatestamount of Romanesque paintingpreserved both in situand in museums,a fa ctor that g oes to enhance theattraction.

Sculpture

This is a w orld of suggestive andenigmatic forms, perfectly ad apted tothe a rchitecture. Sculpted f iguresapp ear in curvilinea r form a crossarchivolts and t ympana, f lat tened o ncapitals and stylised on shaft s, and arefa scinating b ecause, in preference torealism, they w ill assume de forme d

shapes in obedience to the spaceavailable.

While of a didactic natu re -a Bible instone for the faithful- the sculpturalgroup s were a lso elitist, app earing inplaces inaccessible to the public, privateareas of monastic life, open only to aminority. At times, they d eal w ith

matte rs that can prove difficult t ounderstand to t hose without priorinstruction.

Lastly, Romanesque sculpture ismonumental, with the artists using thefaade, tympa num a nd a rchivolts tow ork the stone directly.

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Tapestry of the Creation. Girona

HISTORICAL-ARTISTICINTRODUCTION

The term Romanesque wa s coined inthe 19th century to describe a rchitecturebased on t he round a rch, spanning the

era from Roman to Gothic. Now ada ys,how ever, it is taken to m ea n WesternChristian art in the 11 th and12th centuries.

In the wa ke of the Da rk Ages of t hefirst millennium, the 11th century sawthe we stern wo rld undergo arevolution as ag riculture improved,

famines receded, epidemics waned andthe population grew. A wave ofeuphoria swept through Europe and,w ith it, building f ever spread , givingrise to the first Europea n a rt fo rm. Thepoint from which these new buildingand fa rming ideas radiated o utwa rds,wa s the Mona stery of Cluny.

The situation in Spain wa s somew hatdifferent. Is lam had taken firm root o nthe mainland, and the Reconq uest wasalread y under w ay. The unification ofthe Span ish kingd oms under Sanchothe Great o f Navarre and t he fal l of theCaliphate o f Cordoba led to the rise ofthe so-called Taifas or independent

regiona l city-sta tes. In 1063, a pa palbull lent a dded impetus to theReconq uest. Alfonso VI capt uredToledo, pushing the fro ntier forw ard tothe River Tag us and so estab lishing thefounda tions of Romanesque Style.

Than ks to t he safe and secureconditions that now prevailed o n

Spain's upland plateau (meseta), thePilgrim's Way t o Sant iago (Camino d eSantiago) experienced a " boom" , and


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Santiago de Compo stela Cathedral

most blessed a nd exalted o f Spain'scities . This is no less true to da y, whe nthese a djectives have, in fa ct , takenupon a fu l ler and deeper meaning.

The Cathedral , goal and final

destination of the Pilgrims' Way,traces i ts origins to t he 9th century,to a ba sil ica tha t Alfonso II orderedbuilt over the tomb o f the Apostle.The present ed ifice w as beg un in1078, but i t w as only in the 12th

century tha t Maestro(master builder)Mateo completed i t . SubsequentlyGot hic, Baroq ue an d neo -classical

elements were to b e added .

To g ive a det ailed account o f such amasterpiece in the space of a f ewlines is altogether impossible. Whatfo l low s , therefore, i s an a t tempt toprovide a superficial description tha tgives an idea of this marvel.

In the Plaza del Obradoiro (plaza;square), the Cathedral 's Baroquefa ade shelters the Portico of Glory,which Maestro Mateo a rranged inthree g reat arches. The centra l archfeatures a pier surmounted by theApostle. There are angels, Ancientsof t he Apocalypse, Adam a nd Eve,

the Final Judge ment , the tribes ofIsrael , prophet s, apostles, mona rchswith recognisably differentfea tures a l l imbued wi th a newnat uralism: fa lan quedo (they ta lkin w hispers) as Rosala de Castro, theGalician poet ess, w ould say.

The PlaterasPortal (por tada)ref lec ts

the pinnacle of Romanesque. Whathad , unt i l then, been reserved forcorbels and capi ta ls was now brought

w ithin han ds' reach. The po rtal is laidout in coupled arches w ith smootharchivolts uphe ld by column s. Thetympan a represent the Tempta tionand Pa ssion of Christ , and the uppe rfrieze is a set of pieces created f or

this Door and o ther long -vanishedporticoes. In the Plaza d e laQuintana , the Puerta Santa (HolyDoor), ano ther o f Mateo 'smag nificent w orks, is opene d on ly inJubilee Years.

Of the interior, Aymeric Picaud hasthis to say, This church is with out

fissure or flaw of a ny kind. I t ismag nificently constructed. I t is large,spacious, luminous, harmonious,well-proportioned in width, lengthand height , and o f admirable andineffa ble stonew ork. Moreover, i t israised on t w o levels in the mann er ofa roya l pa lace. He w ho w a lks the

upper course of t he na ves and aisleso f t he t r i for ium, though he ascendsad , must nee ds return gladdenedand content on contempla t ing thesplendid bea uty of this church.

There w ill be very few occasionswhen the t raveller wi ll move throughRomanesque spaces of this

mag nitude. Like any ot her tourist ,jo in the q ueue to " darse los croqu es(the custom o f striking the hea d ofthe f igure reputed to be t hearchitect, MaestroMate o), place yourfingers wh ere millions of people havedone so before, make a w ish andclimb up t o em brace th e Saint -if somany peo ple do i t , there must be

something in i t .

5

with its novel architectural solutions;the cloisters of Santo Do mingo deSilos (St. Dominic), where the statuaryrises to universal heigh ts; Len 'sSt. Isidore's Basilica (San Isidor o),housing Europe's finest example of

Romanesque pa int ing; and Sant iagode Compostela (Santiago; St. Jame s),a ma gne t fo r pilgrims and all lovers ofRomanesque art .

Santiago de Compostela

In the Codex Calixtinu s (12th century),

Aymeric Picaud states, And thenthere is Compostela, the sublime cityo f the Apost le , endow ed w i th a l lmanne r of charms and custodian ofthe mo rtal remains of St. James, byreason of w hich i t is held to b e the

Port ico of Glory.Santiago de Compo stela

GEMS OF THEROMANESQUE

The unquestionable artistic value ofthe f o l low ing Romanesque wo rksmean s that t hey occupy a special

position, not merely in the context ofSpain's remaining Roma nesquevestiges (so plentiful and, in certaininstan ces, of even highe r calibre dueto certain characteristic traits), butalso in a w ider European cont ext,tha nks to their singularity andorigina lity. These include: th e slende rsilhouette o f the Church of

St. Clement (Sant Climen t), set a ga instits scenic postca rd b ackdrop in Tall;the ba lanced l ines of the Collegiat eChurch of Santillana, w hich fo rmspar t o f a n urban ensemble o fexquisite harmony; Zamora Cat hedral ,


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St. Isidore'sBasilica, LenThis building is everything at once:royal panth eon, reliquary, cradle ofCastilian-Leone se Roma nesque , theleading European example of12th-century mural decoration, royalpalace, pilgrimage wa y-stage,w ellspring of n ew techniques

Its complex history da tes ba ck to t hetime whe n Fernando I and his wifedecided to ha ve a mausoleum made inthe old Mona stery of St. John theBaptist (San Juan Bautista, a buildingcompleted circa 1063 in primitiveRomanesque style, only a few w alls ofw hich are left standing), follow ing theconstruction o f a large sepulchre an d

the enlargeme nt of th e church.

The Royal Pa ntheo n (Panten Real) wa sbuilt in a n arthe x having six sections,and subseq uently extende d. Whilst theoldest capitals bear plant motifs, thelater ones depict biblical scenes. Thetruly marvellous fea ture, how ever, arethe pa intings on the vault ing, which

tel l of t he redemption of Ma n. Datingba ck to circa 1100, they a re the m ostnot ab le of the ir kind in Europe.

The church wa s erected in three stag esover the course of the 11th and 12th

centuries, with the east end coming

first , followed b y the transept and ,lastly, the n ave a nd a isles. In spite ofthe t ime spent on its construction, itbet rays no discont inuity: in contra st, ittransmits the idea of a w hole. Thecapitals of th e only apse visible fromthe exterior bear a resemblance tothose of Jaca a nd Frmista , a s do thetw o porta ls. The oldest portal , that ofthe Lamb (Cordero), leads into t henave, and, despite the appa rent lackof order between the f igures on thetympanum a nd spandrels, gives anoverall impression o f vigo ur. The Do oro f Pardon (Perdn), thoug h simpler, isvery lovely indeed .

Santo Domingo de Silos

Raised o ver a 10th -century Mozarabicmonastery (mo zrab e; the style of theChristian mino rities), the b uilding isthe result of t he intense work anddrive of St. Dominic (Santo Dom ingode la Calzada). In the period that

intervened b etw een his arrival andeventual death , he had the churchrebuilt and cloisters added.

As it happened , i t w as in these verycloisters that he w as to be b uried an d,in view of t he droves of pilgrims that

visited h is tomb, church a nd cloistersw ere subsequently enlarged .

All that remains of the Romanesquechurch is the Door o f t he Virgins.How ever, the impressive fea ture he reare t he cloisters, which represent ahighpo int in sta tua ry. The cloisters fo rma slight ly irregular squa re, in which theeast and west g al leries (pandas) havefourteen arcades, and the north andsouth g alleries have sixteen.

The eastern and northern galleries,recognisable by their exteriorbuttresses, were built tow ards the endof the 11th century, and i t wa s here

that the first Maestroof Silos,meticulous and serene, labo ured aw ayon a series of small-sized figures.Midway throug h the 12th century thew ork wa s concluded . These g alleriesno longer feature buttresses. Thesecond Maestroof Silos, immersed inthe Romanesque w orld, strove tomaint ain unity. His sculpture, larg er

and m ore naturalist tha n hisprede cessor's, creat ed a schoo l outsidethe confines of the monastery.

Certainly both , and p ossibly more suchmastersworked on the fascinatingpanels at the corners, in view of t he

fact tha t at least four distinct phasesare discernible. Their single g reat estachievement is the Coronation of theVirgin Mary. The upper storey,constructed in the latter part of t he12th century, already ema nate s aCistercian air. Rising from theimposing cloisters is the cypress,lauded by the poet, Gerardo Diego, asbeing an " enhiesto surt ido r de sombray sueo" (" steepling font o f shadeand dream" ).

Zamora Cathedral

Dedicated to the Saviour (Salvador),

the Cath edral ranks as a jew el in termsof universal art, despite the ma nyembellishments that detract from itsprimitive appe aran ce. Three majorunits of the original Romanesquechurch, consecrated in 1174, can beseen on the exterior. The Bishop's Door(Obispo), the only surviving doo r of t heoriginal three that the o nce led into

the church, is one of the few faadesthat f ollow a unitary programme tooccupy the entire southern faade.

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Mo nastery of Santo Domin go d e Si los. BurgosCollegiat e Church of St. Isidore. Len


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Collegiat e Chur ch of St. Julian a. Sant il lana del M ar

Tw o sturdy piers frame the w hole,

while two fluted shafts divide it intothree vertical bands; the lateralregisters are decorated with blindarches, heavily ornamented withswa gs, festoo ns and recesses or insets,in one of w hich is a head, ba dlydama ged b y the stones flung at i t bylittle children in the belief tha t itrepresented Juda s. It is an o riginal andexclusive work that recalls Frenchinfluences and Cordovan a ncestry.

The cat hedra l cupola -nota ble, original,stunning and a t rue Zamoran emb lem-has received w idespread recognition intreat ises on art. Over the transept, alantern w ith sixteen tra nslucent

window s supports a d ome sheathed inoverlap ping scale-like tiles, rising to aba ll tha t a pparently symbolises theuniverse. Flanking t he d rum are f ourround turrets tha t act a s buttresses.The int erior is impressive, thoug h th epainting t hat a dorns the arches tendsto d istort t he purity of th e lines.

There is only one tower, but two musthave been projected so as to make thew estern faade g rander. Built on a

square ground plan, it is braced a t the

corners, and has five separate sectionsw ith recessed roun d arches. The w holepresents a solid and vigorous prospect.

Church of St. Clement,TallThis tiny villag e in t he Boi Valley isinternationally renow ned fo r itschurch, whose silhouett e, w ith thePyrenees in the b ackground, makesfor a highly attractive tourist poster.The reconquest of these parts byAlfonso el Batal lador(the Battler)brought prosperity and renew al to thevalley, converting it into a centre of

Romane sque. Its very isolationfostered a certain structuraluniformity. Consecrated in 1123, thechurch is a masterpiece of theLomba rd Romanesque, a school tha twa s thenceforth destined to go into adecline.

The church ha s a ba silican g round

plan, with a nave and t w o aislesseparated by columns, a wo oden roof ,an ea st end consisting o f three a pses

and a w est-facing porta l . The columnsare essentially shafts without capitals,w ith some stylised chevron s as

their only decoration. The originalpaintings are on display in theCatalonian National Art Gallery.The elegant and unforgettable tower,characterised by window openings onall four sides, rises five floors a bovethe b ase, with t he individual storeysbeing separated by a decorative bandof ha nging a rches and, in the case ofthe upper three, a frieze of chevrons.

Santillana del Mar

This tremendo usly at tractive med ievaltow n and pilgrimag e centre, repletew ith palaces and mansionhouses, is

intact a nd clearly deserves a special

ment ion in this section. To p reservethe re mains of St. Juliana (or Illana ),martyred in the Emperor Diocletian's

time, a monastery was founded in theyear 980. This wa s to b ecome acollegiate church from the 11th centuryonwards .

The church's nave, t w o a isles, threeapses, lante rn and tow er are alloriginal, but the o utstandinghighlight is, without doubt , i tsprojecting portal, with archivoltsbearing rustic reliefs surmounted bythe f igure of Christ Panthocratorsupported by a ng els. The simplicity ofthe cloisters is manifest in th eplasticity of the basket capitals onwh ich b iblical the mes are depicted.The ha nd o f t he Frmista stone

masons is evident througho ut.

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Zamora Cathedral

Church of St. Clemen t, Tall. Lleida


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disp lay a t t he Ca ta lonian Art andFede rico Ma rs Museums.The f ormer is the most complet e

co l lec t ion in the w or ld o fRomanesque pa int ing, though themuseum a lso po ssesses sumpt uouscarvings, such as the Ma jestadBatll. The latter collection rangesfrom Iber ian vo t ive o f fer ings dow nto 19th -century sculptures, ca rving s,rel iefs and tw o Romanesque po r ta l s.

S ta r t your tour wi th the mura ls a tSt Mary's (San t a M ara) in Barberdel Valls, and cont inue onwa rds to

Sant Cugat del Valls, a monas teryw hose c lo isters a re one o f the f ines texamples o f La te Romanesque. Notfa r a w ay , is Corbera del Llobregat,an excel lent instance o f LombardRomanesque and , immedia tely

therea f ter , Vic, wh ere you shouldvisit the Episcopal Museum, fa mousfor the scu lp tura l group f rom theChurch of Erill-la-Vall depicting theDescent from the Cross, a l andmarkw o r k d a t i n g f r o m t h e 1 2 th century.In Llua a n d t h en i n LEstany, youw ill see t w o cloisters, bot h inmonas ter ies o f the same na me

(St. Ma ry's): the first , a b ea uty inminia ture; and the second, one o fthe finest in Catalonia. Your last stopis Cardona. Here, St. Vincent's(Sant Vicen) is the ma sterpiece ofLomba rd Romane sque, a bare andaustere a r t fo rm tha t enthra ls by i t sper fec t ion and gran diosepropor t ions. Perched on the hi ll topand rising alongside the castle l ikesome ship's figurehead, i t projectseas tw ards , overlooking t heMonta nya de Sa l , by the ba nks o fthe River Carden er.

Girona

Begin your tour in the provincialcapita l itself. Even t houg h it is notthe s ta te d purpose o f th is gu idebook, never theless be sure no t tomiss the wide rang e o f a t t rac t ionson o f f er in th is a rea , f rom the Da l Museum in Figue res, to scenicset t ings such a s the sand y p ine-

fr inged coves o f the Costa Brava orthe medieva l tow ns and v il lag esdot t ing the in ter ior .

11

and m ona s ter ies up in themounta ins. So ident i f ied we re theyw i t h t h i s a r t t h a t , w h en Eu r o p e w a sbusy bui ld ing High Roma nesque,the loca l popula t ion remainedfa i thf u l to the i r sty le , ma inta ining i t

w el l in to the midd le o f the 12thcentury.

Their churches, devoid of carvedforms, never theless abo und inpa int ings , const i tu t ing a nexceptiona l case in Europe in te rmso f t h e q u a l it y a n d q u a n t i t y o f t h efrescos w hich, tho ugh happi ly

preserved , a re unfor tuna tely no t inthei r p lace o f or igin .

Barcelona

An indispensab le city fo r thoseseeking instruction in

Romanesque, thanksto the collections on

LEstan y M onastery. Bages

M onastery o f Sant Cugat del Valls

St. Vin cents. Cardo na

CATALONIA

I t was in these par ts , wi th thei r h ighPyrenean pea ks, undula t ing seas idescenery and ex tens ive coas ta l f l a ts

o f t h e s o rt f o u n d a l o n g t h e Eb r odel ta , tha t the Romanesque S ty lef i rst penet ra ted into Spa in . In thef i rst decad es o f the 11 th century,t h er e a r o s e a n ew a r c h it ec t u ra lsp ir it , cha rac ter i sed by l a rg erdimensions , the use o f hew n s tone,barrel vau l ts , qua r ter-round apses ,an a lmost to ta l absence o f ca rv ing,

etc . , which gave bi r th to the f i rstR o m a n es q u e , L o m b a r d o r C a t a l o n ia n L o m b a r d , a st y le t h a tw as enormously p las t ic , austere a ndsolid, and marked by l ine. Theflour ishing soc iety o f the d ayaccepted the se chang es and bui l tchurches dow n in the va l leys


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In Girona, t ake the Ca the dra l a s yours ta r t ing po int . Althoug h Got hic ins ty le f o l low ing i t s remodel l ing in the14 th century, i t houses two stunningRomanesque p ieces in a labas ter , thea l t a r st o n e , w i t h a n en gr a v ed

inscription o f consecration (1038),and Charlemagne's Chair. Inaddition, there is the Lombard-styleTow er o f Char lemagne, a nd thec lo isters , ranked among the mostouts tand ing o f t hei r kind for thei rcapitals and friezes, sculpted byvirtuoso master masons.

As a bo nus , there a re: the Ca thedra lMuseum, which exhibits anextraordinary 10th -centuryil luminated Codex (known in Spaina s a " Boato" ) , the Tapestry o f t heCrea t ion, t he on ly embro ideredw ork da t ing from t his per iod s t il lin tac t , and the Ca thedra l ' s wood-carved Virgin Ma ry; the Art Ga llery;and the Archaeo logica l Museum.The lat ter is housed in t heMonas tery o f Sant Pere deGalligants (St. Peter), where aRomanesque church and cloistersaw a i t d iscovery whi le you v iewGreek, Roman and Jew ish a r tef ac ts .This city is also ho me t o a n

extraordinary example of Civil ianRomanesque in the form o f theMoorish Baths.

Leaving Girona , ma ke for Sant Perede Rodes. Amidst a spectacularl a n d sc a p e b e t w een t h e m o u n t a i n sand t he sea , on a s i te which,according to t rad i t ion , marks

the spot w here the rel ics o fS t . Peter -brought here fromRome- l ie h idden , there s ta nds the

Sant Pere de Galligant s (St.Peters)

M onastery of Sant Pere de Rodes

St. M arys. Besal

St. M arys. Ripoll

Sant Joan d e les Ab ade sses (St. Joh ns)

St. M arys. Agr amunt

gr ea t m o n a s t e r y o f C a t a l o n ia .Put a s ide a l l your preconceived ideas

o f Romanesque: w ha t you w i ll seehere escapes all conventionalism.Height , Roman b ui ld ing t echniques ,

cap i ta l s tha t revea l Moor ishinf luence, marble rema ins tha t in

thei r day covered the por ta lthe very complex ity o f the bui ld ingdef ies classification .

In the medieva l town o f Besal,be sure to v isi t ano t her mona s terydedica ted to S t . Peter, endow edw i th a somew hat cur iousambula to ry, a s w el l a s the ru ins o fthe Church of St. Mary. Moving

fur ther in to the mounta ins now, youarrive in Ripoll, a t o w n b o r n i n t h es ha d o w o f t h e m o n a s t e ry w h o s eformidable por ta l greet s you .This grandiose work by the Maestroof Ripoll calls for a leisurelyinspection. In i ts cloisters, Go thicforms a re a l ready in ev idence.The nearby Benedic t ine monas tery

o f Sant Joan de les Abadesses(St . John) houses a mag ni f icentDescent from the Cross, w hich w ascarved in 1251 and displays thetypical Romanesque religioussolemnity.

LleidaAside from the Church of St. Clementin Tall, there are other places in thisa rea tha t w arrant your a t tent ion.In the city of Lleida the re is the OldCathedral (Seu Vella), a Romane squewo rk wi th elements o f t rans it ion toGot hic. The d oors on t he south side

are a g ood e xample of the so-calledLeridan Romanesque, meticulouslyand prof usely carved, w ith asomew hat Byzantine a ir. Should youfeel so inclined, the re is a l i ft to takeyou down t o the New Ca thedra l .

Your next stage requires leavingthe c ity and hea ding for Covet, a

mounta in vi ll age, wh ere one o ft h e f ew ex t a n t p o r t a ls a b u n d a n t l ydecora ted in Ca ta lonian

12 13


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Romanesque style is to be seen. Ofnote h ere a re the scu lp ted b ordersdepicting original sin in the centre,f l anked by a croba ts and music ians a tboth sides. Retracing your steps, got o Agramunt to see ano ther por ta l ,

different by virtue of i ts sheer size,and ma rking the highpo int o fLer idan Roman esque. Cervera ishome to the largest circular churchin Ca ta lonia , bu i lt in th e 11th

century.

Once in the Pyrenees , wi th t hei rmant l ing o f Alp ine meado ws and

lakes, tow er ing peaks and p lungingrav ines , head fo r the Aran a nd BoiValleys. The former is characterisedby tra nsitional constructions, such asSt. Andrew 's (Sant A ndreu) inSalard, nea r the ski slopes ofBaqueira-Beret, and St. Mary's inBossost. In Boi, the Lomba rd Stylereasserts i tself. This is the area of theslim ca mpa niles universallyassocia ted w i th Roman esque, e .g . ,the Church of Santa Eullia inErill-la-Vall. Aw ai t ing you in Tall a rethe Churches o f S t . C lement andSt . Mary, which da t e from t he samet ime. In the case o f the l a t ter ,cont inued use over the years as a

parish church has left i ts ma rk.For tuna t ely, res tora t ion w ork hasreturned it to i ts primitive state. Bynow you a re pract ica lly a t the g a te so f the Aiges tor tes Na t iona l Park ,a t t rac t ive a t a ny season o f t he year .

Solsonamarks the beg inning o f anew s tage, a s you fo l low the course

of t he Segre to your journey 's enda m i d st t h e g r a n d eu r o f t h ePyrenees. This tow n h olds a surprise

in the shape o f a museum devotedto Romanesque. En route to Seu

dUrgell, s top o f f in Coll de Narg t otake in the curious bel l tow er o fSt. Clement's. Once in the border

tow n o f Seu d Urgel l i t sel f , there i sSt. Mary's Cathedral , with i tss tupendous interna t iona lRomanesque, ra ther a ra r ity in th isreg ion. Finally , Isil comes into view.The vil lage, albeit somewhat

remote, i s w el l w or th the ef f or t ,w i th the s ight o f S t . John's opposite ,r inged by mounta ins, i t stonesl itera l ly ba t hed by the w a ters o f theRiver Nog uera Pa llaresa, g ivingtravel lers much foo d for tho ught .

Tarragona

This province ha s some of t he b estexamples of Cistercian architecture.Your s tay w i ll be shor t tho ughprofita ble. In the city of Tarrag onai tsel f , renow ned for i t s abundantRoman remains , the Ca thedra l ,d a t i n g f r o m t h e 1 2 th century, retainsits original Romanesque in the fivea p s es a n d a go o d p o r t io n o f t h ecloisters. Poblet, the last restingplace of royalty , is Spain's bestpreserved Cistercian a bbe y; nestl ingin i ts valley location, i t w as Josep Plw ho de scr ibed i t a s no-one else hasbefo re or s ince The s i lence o fPoblet i s the w ork o f God , and for

this reason its effects are efficienta n d g r ea t b ey o n d m ea s u re .In Vallbona de les Monges, acommunity of nuns has l ived in theconvent for the l as t eight h undredyears. In i ts cloisters Roma nesqu eand Gothic co-exist , as indeed theydo in the res t o f t he bui ld ing,s imi la r ly marked by t he pa ssag e o f

centuries. The last sto p on t hisitinerary is Santes Creus. Atop a hil lemerges th is monas tery, the resu l t o f

a ser ies o f bu i ld ing s tag es da t ingfrom the 12th t h r o u gh t o t h e 1 8th

centuries. Visiting it is a lesson inCistercian elegance, austerity andgrandeur .

14 15

St. Eullia s. Eril l-l a-Va ll

St. An drew s. Salard

Seu d Urgel l Cathedral

Tarragona Cathedr al

M onastery of Poblet

Sant es Creus M onastery


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windo ws. The building seems to merg ewith the very rock, and ea silycommands the best panoramic view ofthe Ribera district. Its singularity residesin its dual nature, tha t of a milita ryenclosure which, in turn, houses a

religious enclosure.

In Agero, at the fo ot of a series ofimpressive rock buttresses or towersknown as mallos (from the Lat inmalleus or ma llet), a short distancefrom the ir fa mous counterparts inRiglos, a pa th leads to St. James'Church, home to a superb bestiary

depicted on the corbels, fascinat ingmouchettes and an epiphany w ithByzantine connotations on the portal.You will be hard put to see anotherchurch with as many mason's marks. Inthe Guara Range, perched above theRiver Vero , is Alquzar. The firstimpression o ne g ets is that of streetsradiating o utwa rds from the MainSquare (Plaza Mayo r). This is yetano ther case of a church within astronghold. The cloisters of theCollegiat e Church are a haven of peace.Six capita ls along the no rth wing showthe t eaching o f t he Christian mysteries.

South o f Huesca, an e xtensive drivethrough t he Somontano district leadsto Berbegal and Peralta de Alcofea,

and an interesting series of tympana tobe seen, both at the Church of SantaMara la Blanca, with a Chrismon,Christ Pantho crator an d Tetra morph(or fourfold Gospel, represented by St.Mat thew depicted as a w inged man orang el , St Ma rk as a l ion, St . Luke as anox and St . John as an eag le, al l usuallyshown holding an open boo k), and atthe Church of Our Lady of Sorrows(Nuestra Seor a de lo s Do lo res).

From Barbastro, the route windsdeeper into the mo untains, betw eenthe Rivers Isbena and Noguera

St. James. Ag ero

ARAGON

Across the north-east of mainlandSpain, the River Ebro furrows its course,moulding the relief of the terrain and

the p ersona lity o f th e peo ple. ThePyrenees, the Maestrazg o hill countryand the plains of the Ribera (Riverside)lend shape to a land w hich, in medievaltimes, was a vast kingdom, a union ofstates tha t included Cata lonia a nd Sicily,until its unification with Spain.

The 11th century brought with it the

first (Lomba rd) Roma nesque Style f romCatalonia, which made use of ashlarmasonry to erect churches having arectangular ba silican ground plan,barrel vaulting a nd impressive to we rsfi t ted with abunda nt w all openings.Otherwise devoid of decorat ion, onlythe t ypical ha nging-arch device on theapse w as to be seen. When the pe riodwas at its height, International or JacaRomanesque arrived from the generaldirection of the Pyrenees, a style thatwas widely found along the Pilgrims'Way to Santiago and w as markedby a shlar ma sonry, groinvaulting and sculpturalrichness. Subsequ ent ly,

the severe Cistercianforms were to

arrive, and , influenced by Catalonia, t hisschool came to contribute interestingfrescos.

Huesca

This province, so popular amongto urists fo r its ski resorts (Pan ticosa,Astn, Candanch, etc.) -which rankamong the best in Spain- boasts a wideselection of Romanesque. Your startingpoint is the provincial capital city ofHuesca, w ith its att ractive Old Qua rter,Gothic Cathedra l and Renaissance City

Hall. For the local highlight, see thefinely detailed capitals in the cloisters ofthe fo rmer Monastery and Church of St.Peter the Old (San Pedro el Viejo), thework of the master mason of San Juande la Pea. The sole example of CivilianRomanesque is the Palace of theMonarchs of Aragon.

Overlooking the Pa mplona roa d is alandma rk of the Christian a dvance,LoarreCastle, a place o f imperturbabletow ers and an excellentchurch with alabaster

Loarre Castle

St. M arys M onastery, Obarra. Veracruz


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Riba go rzana . The interestingRomane sque e xamples in Tolva,Montaana and Sopeira are aforetaste of w hat is to come in Obarra,ensconced in its limestone setting. Thehorizontal l ines and Lomba rd hang ingarches gracing the apses of St. Mary's,intended as the chapel for what wasonce a pioneering m ona stery (1078),are a sheer delight. In summer, the sunpenetrates through the w indow of thecentral apse creating a uniqueatmosphere.

The next stop is Roda de Isbena, a ninstance of a vi llage w ith amonumenta l cathedral , built on the

site o f a previous church tha t w asrazed by t he son of t he Moorishw arrior, Almanzor. The Cathed ral's eastend displays g reat ma turity. Theinterior, with marked d ifferences infloor level, houses the admirablyfinished sarcophagus of St. Ramn,and, in one of the side chapels, arepresentation of the Apostles reveals

Cata lonian pictorial influence. A cryptand charming cloisters serve tocomplete its attractions.

M on astery o f San Juan d e la Pea

Ors Bajo

St. M arys. Sant a Cruz d e la Sers

Jaca Cathedr al

Cath edr al cloister. Roda de Isben a

apse; and St. Martin's (San Martn) inOlivn, where a rcades surmounted by afrieze of bead mouldings are to b e found

in the interior. In Ors Bajo an d G avn,similar churches offer the chance ofpleasurable sightseeing.

San Juan de la Pea, a short drive fromJaca, is a fundamental reference point.This monastery, which enjoyed royalprotection and w as both a place of inwa rdreflection a nd propagation o f the faith,stands against its legendary backdropunder a rocky overhang. Its unroofedcloisters are lined with columns andcapitals of the very highest qua lity, theuncanny expressiveness of w hich tends tomake one feel observed. The church,incrusted in th e rock, with its slant edarches and da mp stone, is unique. In the

adjoining village o f Santa Cruz de la Sersis St. Ma ry's Church, a rhythmic successionof different-sized a nd -shaped b uildingblocks that seemingly ascend to t heheavens. The mo st fa scinating aspect arethe corbels with their unde rsides depictingthe f our elements, represented by animals,monsters, etc., some still bearing vestigesof po lychrome painting. Here too is the

charming Hermitag e Chapel of SanCaprasio, its small dimensions coming instark contrast to those of its neighb our.

A second route, running pa rallel to th eRiver Gllego, pene trates into the Serrablodistrict. Leaving Sabi nigo b ehind, thefirst ta ste of Romanesque is to besavoured in three secluded 11th-centurychurches, each d ifferent in style andtechnique: St. Peter's in Lrrede, built ofrough a shlar, its slim tow er ending intripartite window s; St. John the Ba ptist's(San Juan Baut ista) in Busa, marked by thepronounced horseshoe shape o f itsdecorative hanging a rchwork and theunmistaka ble ship's-prow profile of its

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An interesting itinerary takes the w armand welcoming ci ty ofJaca as its pointof departure. Erstwhile capital of the

Kingdom o f Arag on and stag e on thePilgrim's Way, its Cathedral marks theadvent o f International Romanesque inSpain and its apses, east end, portaland Chrismon were destined to beimitated again and again. The DiocesanMuseum houses a Po or Man 's Bible inthe form of mural , one of the best inthe w orld. On the outskirts, pay a visitto Ba rs.

In Castillejo de Ja ca, an irregula r roadleads to Igucel. Ringed by count rysidetha t lends it grand eur is St. Mary's, animportant church that evolved tow ardsfull-blow n forms.

From Bora u, ma ke for St. Adrian's (SanAd rin) in Sasave. The brackets on itshanging arches al lude to the Spiritusmundi. The rout e proceeds to Canfran c,where a n enchanting bridge serves toconjure up the image of pilgrimscrossing the River Aragon.

With a little effort, you will manage to

reach the distant va lley of Hecho. Thefa scia of St. Peter's Mona stery in Siresais a lesson in how great height can be

offset by horizontality. Do not miss thenarrow defi le that leads to the nearbycirque known as the Selva de Oza.

Finally, in the arid Monegros district,there are Sigena and Chalamera: theformer with St. Mary's Monastery andits splendid portal of fourteenarchivolts (thou gh t he pa intings are inthe Cat alonian Art Ga llery); the lat ter,with St. Mary's Church, curious for t hewindow above the portal. An inspiredseries of heads emerge from the plantmot ifs gracing its capitals.

ZaragozaWithout lapsing into clichs, it has tobe said t hat the River Ebro, the Churchof Pilar, the Seo(Cathedral), the Lonjaand Aljafera alone are reason enoughto visit th is city. Yet it a lso possessesunforgetta ble examples ofRomanesque in the d istrict o f t he FiveTow ns (Cinco Villas). Sos del Rey

Catlico, a medieval town jacketed instone sandstorm camouflage, is hometo an exclusive ensemble: St. Stephen's(San Este ban) and St. Mary of Pardon(Sant a M ara del Perdn), connected bya gallery of groin vault ing, plaster

borders and surrounds that compensatefor the difference in g round level. Thestatue-columns on the north portal andthe frescos in the a pses of t he crypt aretruly captivating. Nearby is the spiritualand sensual St. Mary's in Uncastillo,plenitude being embodied in itsmat chless south do or, replete w ithfigures which, on one of the a rchivolts,

verge on the comic. In this same district,there a re also churches in Puilampa ,Biota a nd Ejea de los Caba lleros.

To t he south of the p rovince, Darocapossesses a highly regarded series ofchurches, some finished off in brick, anobvious Mudejar trait. Among these,special mention should be ma de of St.Mary's, famous fo r its CorporalesChapel.

20 21

St. Peter s M on astery. Siresa

St. Step hen s. Sos del Rey Catl ico

St. M arys. Un castil lo


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Fermin fiesta . The very fa ade s of i tsOld Quar ter seem to bei m pr egn a t ed w i t h t h e s cen t o f t h erunning of the bulls. Visits includethe impressive citade l , the Church ofS t . Sa turninus and the 14th -centuryCa thedra l , the 12 th -century buildinghaving long s ince d isappea red ,leav ing only some capi ta l s, o f ana lmost minia tur is t na t ure, on d isp layat the Nava rre Museum. TheDiocesan Museum, kitchen andrefec tory o f the present Ca thedra l ,possess a d azz ling collection o fpolychrome statues.

To the n or th , a relax ing wo odlandw alk through the Ara la r Rang e w i llbr ing you to t he Church o f SanMiguel (St. Michae l) the spiritua lcentre o f Navarre. Buil t on abas i li can g round p lan w i th threea p s es a n d a n o c t a go n a l d o m e, t h echurch keeps jea lous wa t ch over thelandma rk 13th -century example o f

go ld- and s ilverwo rk tha t i s theprodigious enamel led Aralarr e t a b l e .

The next stag e is the medieval tow no f Gazlaz, w here the church is hometo a rich 11th -century atrium and a nunusually beaut iful vault feat uringpointe d a rches. The ca pitals,enigmat ic in th eir meaning, carry a

hint o f the morisco(i.e., ChristianisedMuslim) and Cistercian.

Furthe r south lies Puente la Reina. Themorisco-influenced polylobed portalof t he Church of St. James is bound toenthuse you, as w ill the med ievalbr idge and the south por ta l o f theTemplar Church of the Crucifix

(Crucifijo), with i ts labo riously w orkedzoomorphic capitals. In the immediatevicinity, at the po int w here theSomport and Roncesvalles branches ofthe Pilgrims' Way meet, stands theenigmat ic octag onal Church of St.Mary's in Eunate. Its centralisedground plan is reminiscent o f tha t ofthe Church of t he Holy Sepulchre. Thelast point of call is St. Ma rtin's inArtaiz, an example of ruralRomanesque. Corbels and meto pesalternate o n the cornice over theporta l. Their expressive them es w ere

didactically arranged, e .g. , Manshowing his genitals, lust, gluttony,etc. , follow ed by th eir antag onists, thecoming o f Christ, St. Micha el with hisscales.

Another i t inerary w ill take you toEstella. Here, the north d oor of St.Michael's overflow s with figures andreliefs of the highe st calibre. Alsowa iting in store for the traveller is

22

St. M art ins. Art aiz

St. M arys. Eunat e

St. M ichael s. Estella

Pilgrims Bridge. Puente la Reina

NAVARRE

Lying t o the south o f t he Pyrenees ,Navarre encom passes scenery ofmarked contras ts , ranging fromPyrenean va l leys to the deep f o lds o fthe Bardenas Pla teau , through tothe vineyards of La Ribera , etc. Inthe 10th century, the region w asa l ready independent , expandingtow ards Arago n and Cas t i le . It w asaround 1035 that Sancho IIIimported the f i rst Romanesque f romthe Ribagorza , bu t t he s ty le ' s h ighpoint w as to come in the 12th

century. Pamplona Ca thedra l wa sdes t ined to be the grea t foca l po into f P i lgr image Roman esque. Tw oarterial routes of the Pilgrims' Wayp en e t r a t ed i n t o t h e h ea r t o f t h i sregion, leav ing b ehind a s t r ing o fbui ld ings wi th a mbula tor ies andtribune s (ga lleries).

Inevita bly, the i t ine rary beg ins inPamplona, a city at once universaland s ite o f the w or ld-famo us San


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St. M ary Royal. Sangesa

Civilian Romanesque of the finestorder, in the shape of the Pa lace ofthe Mo narchs of Navarre (Palacio delos reyes de Navarra). Its fa ade seem sto ha ve been lifted from a church:w indows abo ve a gallery, arcade s

a long the t r ibune and capita l s, themost exquisite of w hich is the onedepicting t he legenda ry strugglebetween Charlemagne's nephew, theknight Roland (Rol dn), and t he GiantFerragut. Similarly important are theChurches of St. Pet er of t he Way (SanPedro de la Ra) and St. Michael.

Lying w ithin Estella's area of inf luenceare: St. Mary's Monastery in Iranzu,combining serenity of landscape w ithCistercian austerity; St. Andrew 'sChurch in Villamayor de Monjardn, atow n taken by Char lemagne, theEmperor of the flow ing beard (asCarolingian t radition has i t), feat uringa Chrismon with a serpent; and t heMonastery of St. Mary Royal (SantaM ara l a Real) in Irache, wi th ano therChrismon borne a loft by the ha nd ofGod, of tremendous symbolic import.

To t he sout h, flan king the Pilgrims'Way, Torres del Ro is the site of abuilding similar to (though bette r

conceived than) that of Eunate: theChurch of the Holy Sepulchre ap pea rson t hree levels, an effect a chieved bysuperimposing w all openings andblind a rches of immen se plasticity. Itsoc tagona l ground p lan , one o f thefew existing in Spain, acts as supportfor a dome framed b y ribbing.

You a re now drawn ea s twards onw hat will prove a fascinating tour. Inthe f oothil ls that rise ab ove the shores

of a d ammed lake, the lone mass ofthe Church of St. Saviour (SanSalvador) in Leyredisplays the e ntireconstructive sequence of theRomane sque school. The ea st end isdivided into tw o storeys: one fo r thecrypt, whe re the vault rests on squatshafts a nd superb trunco-pyramidal

capitals, the o ther fo r the subtlechurch. The western faade, alive withfigures, recalls the Plateras Doo r in

Compostela . Relax an d en joy thesilence of the scenery, but b ew are ofthe fa te tha t befe ll Virila , the ab bot ofthe monastery who remainedbew itched for three hundred yea rs onlistening to th e harmonious song of

the b irds. Might Washingt on Irvinghave learnt of this story befo rew riting Rip Van Winkle, do yo u th ink?

Close by to Leyre, the to w ns of Aibaran d Navascus excel for theirchurches. Yet it is Sangesatha t i shome to t he Church of St. Mary Royal ,w hich has one of t hemost ornate

porta ls in Spain. It is in tw o pa rts: thelower section, made up of pointedarchivolts with a tympanum depictingthe Final Judgemen t an d St. Michaelw ith his scales for we ighing souls, etc.;and, running along the top, the uppersection, made up of two a rcadedfriezes. Nearby is the to w n of Javierw ith a castle, dating b ack to the 13th

century, in which one of the f oundersof t he Society of Jesus wa s born.

Now head south-west. First comesUju, perched a top a hill , where theea st end o f St. Mary's Shrine(Santuario) will certainly enchan t you;next com es St. Martin's in Unx, with

an en igmatic crypt of capitals adornedwith tiny heads at the a ngles; andlastly, Olite, w ith its Church of St.Peter, w here eag les mount g uard overthe d oor.

Lying b etw een this and the f ollow ingroute is the fa r-off CistercianMonastery of St. Mary in La Oliva, aplace of great spirituality.

In the Ribera District, there is thet o w n o f Tudela, with its Church ofSt. Nicholas of Bari, Church of MaryMagda lene (La Magdalena) and

Ca thedra l , no table for i t sbea ut ifu lporta ls and sumpt uous cloisters. Inadd ition, you w ould be w ell advisedto visit the Monasteries of Veruela andTulebras.

Finally, Fitero, w ith its Church ofSt. Mary Royal: Cistercian, e normo us,with a n amb ulatory, chapels andelega nt p orta l. The cloisters, itsgreat est attraction, boast a superbchapterhouse w ith lancet-archedvaulting supported by foliatedcapitals.

24 25

Irache M onastery. Ayegui

Church o f t he Ho ly Sepulchr e. Torres del Ro

Crypt; Leyre M onastery


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Mary w ith Boy Child, and royaltomb s, l ike that o f Queen Blancaof Navarre.

Under the influence of the Pilgrims'Way is the Cathed ral of Santo

Domingo de la Calzada, with tribuneand amb ulatory. Thoug h mode lledon the Ca thedra l o f Sant iago deCompostela , i t introduces ribbing onthe vaults. An elega nt na rrativeba sed on fab le is represented insculptural form. Ask abo ut t helegend o f the hen you wi ll beas tounded!

Paraphrasing tha t p ioneer o fCasti lian Spanish, Gonza lo de Be rceo,San Milln de la Cogolla rises int oview amidst ferti le market gardens,s t retches o f open fa rmland andpleasant valleys. The Mona stery ofSuso -Visigothic and Mozarabic instyle- houses the alaba ster tomb of

St. Millan, a nd lying in the Mona steryof Yuso is St. Millan's w ood and ivorycoffer. Lined w ith fab ric of t heperiod, the pan els on the coff er tellthe l i fe of t he saint in a series ofnave vignettes.

Finally , in the tow n of Canales de la

Sierra in the Demanda Rang e, i s theHermitage Chapel of St. Christopher(San Cristb al). While th eextraordinarily detailed plant andge omet rical decoration -a copy oftha t in Silos- merits atte ntion, thechurch's origina lity reside s in itseastw ard-facing ga llery, w hich isunique.

27

Garc a Snchez , to commemora te thetaking of Jerusalem. The Holy Citywa s conquered a t the precise po intwhere the hea l ing pond or piscinaprobatica was located, which explainsthe origin of the church's name. The

apse and pictorial remains on theCrusaders are i ts chief at traction.Different tracks and trails hereaboutslead to ancient prehistoricsettlements and dolmens.

Once past Alfa ro, capitals adornedw ith delicately profi led figures inCastilseco announce the presence o f

Transitional Romanesque. Much thesame can be sa id o f Fonza leche andVillaseca, the latte r w ith timidlypointed arches. In Tirgo you are sureto f ind the famous mermaid cap i ta lin the apse and t he harp ies on thetriumphal arch enchanting, a s youw ill the ha rmonious archivolts of theHermitage Cha pel of Our Lad y of

Sorejana in Cuzcurrita del Ro Tirn.In Ochnduri, the parish church w illremind you o f Estella ; i ts triumphalarch, met iculously sculpted, repeat sthe scene o f the combat betw eenRoland and Ferragut . Lastly, there isthe curious bap tismal font ofRedecilla del Camino.

The f inal excursion ag ain de partsfrom Log roo. After making a shortha l t a t Navarretecemetery to admiret h e d o o r a n d t w o w i n d o w s o f t h evanished Hospital of t he Order of St.John, proceed t o Njera, the anc ientcapital of La Rioja. The Mo nastery o fSt. Mary Royal is the site o f a Got hic

church a nd e xquisitely workedcloisters, w ith high ly prized i tems,such as a 13 th -century seated Virgin

St. Christo pher s Chapel. Canales de la Sierra

Cathedral of Santo Domingo de la Calzada

Crypt; M onastery o f St. M ary Royal. Njera

LA RIOJA

Straddl ing the a rea b etw een Cas t ileand the Ba sque Country, La Rioja'svineyards and ferti le market gardens

are de marcate d by th e River Ebroand the Dema nda Range. After manya t tempts by t he Navarrese andLeone se to wrest this reg ion from theMoors, it w as finally incorporated b yAlfo nso VI into Castile. La Rioja, t hecradle of Castilian Spanish, receivedthe f u l l fo rce o f the inf luence o f thePilgrims' Way t o Santiag o, po ssibly

because the reg ion's sombrelandscape struck the mon ks as afi t t ing backdrop for their appointedmission. Its architecture representsPilgrimage Romanesque.

Leaving f rom Log roo, a provincialcap ita l o f wide b oulevards , engagingOld Quar ter and abunda nt w ine

cellars, the first e xcursion lead s to anisolate d spot, Viguera. In the lee ofthe w ind, a spectacular rocky outcropon the River Iregua shelters St.Stephen's Chapel, a crude buildingw hich reaches as far ba ck as theGoths and features pictorialdecorat ion. The scenery framed by

the surrounding Iregua Valley andCameros Rang e is mag nificent.

The second excursion skirts th e RiojaAlavesa a rea: San Vicente de laSonsierra, famous for the picaoso fHoly Week (bare-backed peniten tswho flagellate themselves in theEaster procession), is home to the

Church of Sant a M ara d e la Piscina.Its classical line and proportions wereconceived by El Cid's son-in-law ,


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A huge round to we r in the w all is infact the a pse of the Cathedral , yournext visit. In a ppeara nce a Go thicstructure, its ea st end (1170) is in fa ctexcellent Romanesque, likewiseatt ributed to the Ma ster, Fruchel.

Meander through the streets and alleysto g et to El Grande , the city's busiestsquare; here, the harmon ious Church ofSt. Peter deserves a ment ion for itsenormous rose window. Afterwa rds,take in St. Andrew's, St. Mary's, St.Nicholas', etc. For an exam ple of CivilianRomanesque, see the D vila Palace.

It is rather surprising that the calibre ofits surrounding province falls short ofthat of the city Avila. The localconstructions are ma de of brick,perhaps ow ing to the fact that theytend to b e concentrated aroundArvalo , w here sto ne is scarce. The

churches, bare of sculptural details, areatt ractive fo r the bi-chrome deta il ontheir fo rms.

Arvalo possesses churches w ith slimtowers and elaborate apses, e.g., St.Dominic's, St. Michael's and the Churchof St. Mary Major (San ta Mara laMayor). The city wall is Romanesque, as

are the nea rby bridges of Medina a ndLos Barros, and the sumptuous east endof La Luga reja Mona stery.

Paint ing ; Church of St. M ary Major.A rva lo

CASTILE &LEN

This high, perfe ctly horizonta l platea ufringed by m ounta ins, w here history

has left Spain's greatest artisticheritag e, is the custodian ofinnumerable marvels. Its Romanesqueproduction rang es from the finaldecades of the 11th to th e first decadesof the 13th century, two hundred yearsof profound polit ical and culturalupheaval . Follow ing the conq uest ofToledo in 1085, the na tura l frontier

betw een the Christ ian a nd Moo rishkingdo ms shifted southw ards tothe Tagus.

The Lowe r Middle Ages saw localVisigothic and Mozarabic traditionsbeing gra dually ousted a nd replacedby liturgical rites and monasticorga nisations hai ling from beyond the

Pyrenees. Imposition of the newbuilding methods met resistance, andislamic decorative motifs wereretained.

Alfonso VI and his successorscontributed t o the rapidspread o f th ese influences via

the Pilgrims' Way to Santiago.

It was along this axis that Romanesquewa s to be propagated , both nor th- andsouthwards.

Avila

This seductive World Heritag e cityenveloped in t he mysticism of St .Teresa is ring ed by splend idRomanesqu e w alls, the best inEurope, and studded with palaces,convents and almo st a score ofchurches.

Start your visit at St. Vincent's (Baslicade San Vicente), w hich w as begu n inthe 12th century and completed in the13 th century thanks to the g enius ofFruchel. This adm irable chu rch ha s anelaborate t r ansept and a nar row ea s tend, but the extraordinary feature isthe sculptural w ork on the po rtals .The sout h d oor, w ith portico, is

ad orned w ith superbly sculptedfigures on the jambs and amag nificent Annunciation:

St. Vin cent 's Basilica. Avila

the wes t end , f r amed between non-symmetrical to we rs, repeats thes ta tues on the jambs, thoug h th i st ime w ith Apostles, a pier with atorso-column and, surmounting th ew hole, God the Fat her. The interior is

remarkable fo r i ts slenderproportions.

This is a g ood vanta ge po int fromwhich to look at the w al ls ,undoubtedly the ci ty's landmarksight. They w ere b uilt by Alfonso VI'sson-in-law, Raimundo d e Borgo a,over the rema ins of a n ea rlier ci ty

wall . The powerful batt lements andsemi-cylindrical flanking towers werean a t tempt to make Avil a a f ron t ierstronghold. Of the ci ty gates, the SanVicente and Alczar Ga tes (al czar;fort i fied pa lace) are the mostattractive. Climb up and walk alongthe rampar ts to enjoy the v iew of thecity at your feet , an absolute delight .


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Very nearby, the to wn of Madrigal delas Altas Torres, birthplace of QueenIsab el the Ca tho lic, offers the visitortw o Romanesque churches and theremains of the to wn w all, made ofado be a nd pebble interspersed w ith

horizonta l and vertical strips ofbrickwork.

Burgos

This admirable city, lying be nea th thesoaring needle-like spires of itsma gnificent Cath edral, is lacking in

Romane sque, possibly because Goth ictook root with such strength that i trendered the former's preservationdifficult. The only surviving testimonyto Romanesque are the " Claustrillas" ororiginal cloisters of Las Huelga s RealesConvent (Mon aster io d e Sant a M ara laReal de las Huelg as). How ever, theout lying pro vince boa sts the high est

concentrat ion of churches in Spain,many of the first mag nitude. Not fa roff , the prehistoric archae olog ical siteof Atapuerca may also be visited.

Begin your tour w ith the mona steriesclosest to the city. These are: San Pedrode Cardea, an extraordinary 11th -

century w ork fo rever linked to El Cid;Rodilla, with a ttra ctive blind arcades inthe a pse; Villamayor de los Montes,w ith its splendid cloisters; a nd SanQuirce, a refined monument, withelega ntly carved capita ls.

For tho se following the Pilgrims' Wayto Santiago, surprises await in the

shape of San Juan de Ortega, amonastery and pilgrims' hospital with amag nificent east end a nd stunning

capitals, the e x-Collegia te Church o fSant a Mara del M anzan o, inCastrojeriz, and t he imposing Churchof St Nicholas, dating from the12th century, in Itero del Castillo.

To th e North, in the Me rindade sregion, an a rea of pronounced val leysand rugged scenery, are t he Churchesof : St. Saviour in Oa, the first g reatedifice to b e built on Burg os soil;St. Mary in Siones, its nave simulatingthe beg inning o f a small transept, overwhich rises a tower resting on a seriesof small shrines of a kind to be seen

now here else in the province; andSt. Nicholas in Miranda de Ebro, withits elabo rate a pse. Nearby a re anumber of churches with na rrow ea stends, e.g., th ose of San Vicentejo, inTrevio, with exquisitely cont rivedwindow openings , and San PantalendeLosa, on a steep hill top. Set aga instthe scenic rea ches of the Upper Ebro,

the Hermitag e Chapel of Tablada deRudrnwith i ts harmonioustympanum, serves to further enha ncethe appeal of this singular spot. Themost adm irable at rium in the Burgosarea is to be found in Rebolledo de laTorre.

To t he sout h, the buildings areal toget her more modest . In theEsgue va Valley stand the churches ofPinillos, Bahabn, Santibez, the last-mentioned with a hermitage chapelfeat uring Lomba rd hang ing a rches. Inthe proximity of Aranda de Duero,bou nd fo r the Roman ruins of Clunia, isthe town of Corua del Conde, i t s

hermitag e chapel featuring a squareapse w ith blind arches, a relat ive rarityin these parts.

The last po int on t he itinerary ta kes usto t he Silos area, w ith the intention ofseeing a group o f churches on w hichthe Silos artists left their imprint, e.g.,Jaramillo de la Fuentewith i ts arcadedgallery, Castrillo de Solaranawith i tssingular decoration, Vizcanos, etc . In

the stillness of a n arrow valley lie theruins of San Pedro de Arlanza, o n e o fthe g reat Burgos mona steries, toda y in

30 31

St. M art ins. Vizcano s de la Sierra

The Assump tio n. Jaramillo de la Fuent e

M onastery of San Pedro de Arlanza

Las Huelg as Reales Conven t. Bur gos

Rodilla pari sh church

Church of Our Lady of Manzano. Castrojeriz

St. M arys. Sion es


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St. A nt olns crypt . Palencia

a phase of consolidation. While in thispart of the w orld, i t is a g ood idea topay a visit to t he tow n of Covarrubiasand the Visigothic Hermitage Chapelof Quinta nilla d e las Vias.

Len

This attra ctive, to urist city an d capita lof t he ancient Kingdo m of Len has alovely Go thic Cathed ral w ith adm irablestained glass, a valuable ensemble ofmonumenta l buildings and apicturesque Old Quarter (or Barrio

Hmedo, l iteral ly, the " Wet Qua rter" ,an idea l place to have a d rink withfriends). Len doe s not o ffer mu ch inthe w ay of Roma nesque remains, yetsuch as it do es possess, are t op q ua lity.Indeed, some a re unique, e.g. ,St. Isidore's Basilica (San Isidor o), an dothers are exceedingly harmonious,e.g. , the Church of St . Mary of the

Market (Sant a M ara del M ercado)facing onto the evocative Plaza delGrano, a nd the Church of St . Martins,transformed in the Baroq ue era. Inadd it ion, there are the Roman wa lls ,consolidated in the 11th century.

Nearby are the astonishing Cistercianmona steries of St . Mary of Sandoval ,St . Mary of Carrizo, now very changed,and St . Mary Royal of Gradefes, withits mag nificent ambulato ry and, by al laccount s, the sole convent of Cisterciannuns. Similarly, there is San Miguel dela Escalada, a genuine Moza rabic gemcomplete with Roma nesque tow er.

El Bierzo, a m ining district w ith ahighly repute d cuisine, traversed bythe Pilgrims' Way, off ers att ractive

scenery and monasteries of distinctpersona lity, e.g., Corulln, Villafra ncadel Bierzo, Otero de Ponferrada, e tc . ,as w ell as the restored St. Mary's ofCarracedo. In the vicinity is theincompa rable land f ormation of Las

Mdulas, the w orkings of the Romanopen-cast gold mines of yore.

If you have time, take a side-trip toCompludo to see the medievalsmithy in operation.

To the ea st, Sahagnis home to awa tershed Romanesque Mudejar Style,

thanks to Benedictine fr iars who aerected a series of stunning churches,instances of wh ich a re St. Thirso's w ithits stately towe r of coupled window s,and St. Lawrence's (San Loren zo),whe re the e ast end is dist inguished bya b lind ho rseshoe -arch design.Excellent e xamples are a lso t o befound in Gordalizadel Pino, with a

highly decorated double apse, andSaelices del Ro, which combines stonean d b rick.

Palencia

Palentine Roma nesque has beengrant ed World Heritag e status.

Palencia itself, the provincial capita l atthe very hea rt of Castile, is a plea singcity. Remains do not a bound and yetthere a re nevertheless some excellentexamp les, such a s: the Visigot hic cryptof St. Antoln (a saint who has lent hisname to the local rosquillas, deliciousdoughnut-shaped cookies) in the city'sCathedral , the oldest Romanesquebuilding in Ca stile &Len; St. Micha el'sChurch, a proto-Gothic structure, withthe city's loveliest bell tower; and theChurch of Villanu eva d el Ro, w ith itspristine, finely dra w n lines, movedhere when the town w as inundated bythe Aguilar Dam.

The rolling hill country of El Cerratoand the f lat expanses of Tierra d eCamposor Campo s Gticos(Campi

Gothorum, a reference to the t ime of

the Go ths) are do tted with churchesof no ble carriage, e.g. , the Mona steryof St. Isidore o f Duea s, the church ofSt. Mary Ma jor and the Templar church-fortress of Villamuriel de Cerrat o.

The Pilgrims' Way to Santia go is linedw ith singular churches. In Frmista,there is St. Ma rtin's, built circa 1066

and subsequent ly restored in l ine w iththe shift to ornate decorative flourish.Outstanding fea tures here are theimpeccable exterior decoration andexquisite sculpting on the interiorcapitals, which rank among the mo stperfect in the Romanesque Style.

32 33

Church of San M igu el de la Escalada

St. Thir sos. Sahagn

Carracedo M onastery St. M art ins. Frmista


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Chapel o f St. Pelayo. Perazancas

M oarves de Ojeda

M onastery o f San An drs del Arr oyo

In Carrin de los Condes, threechurches aw ait you: St. James' , amasterly and invaluable Spanish workof a rt , i ts superb porta l with ChristPanthocra tor and the Apost lesmarking a peak in Romanesquestatua ry; St . Mary's, with a denselydecora ted fr ieze, no t q u i te asper fect a s tha t o f S t . James '; andSt. Zoilo's, a restored Ben edictinemonastery.

Not far from this focal point isVillalczar de Sirga, where you w illcome upon an impressive Got hicchurch wi th a bundant Romanesqueelements, and be a ble to v isi t two

Roman villas -La Olmeda andQuintanil la de la Cueza- with theirsuperb mosaics.

Thereaf ter , a drive throug hpatchwork val leys and the uplands of

Guardo and Cervera de Pisuerga wil lbring you to the churches ofCillama yor, Villan ueva de la Torre a ndSan Salvador de Cantamuda, with i tscaptivating collegiate church buil t byAlfonso VII.

Memories of a g lorious past arepreserved in Aguilar de Campoo:in the Church of St. Cecilia and itsshapely tower , st and ing a t the fo otof t he castle; in the Church ofSt . Michael , a Got hic structure w ithRomanesque elements; and in theMona stery of St . Mary Royal , whichrecreat es different styles and is theheadq uar ters of a n associat ion for the

preservation of Romanesque, thanksto w hich a great number of churchesowe their restoration.

A short d ista nce off in Mave, St.Mary's Mona stery, a singular buildingdating from 1208 and now convertedinto a hote l , houses a pret ty church.St. Cecilia's in Vallespinoso de Aguilar,s trateg ical ly posit ioned , conveys the

idea of a fortress, while St . Eulal ia's inBarrio de Santa Mara is a bea uty, as isthe pa rish church, w hich is likew iseRomanesque.

Lastly, in La Ojeda , in the vicinity ofHerrera d e Pisuerga , you w ill comeacross a str ing of t ow ns and vi llagesw ith charming churches, including:

St. Eufemia's in Cozuelos (11th

-12th

century), w ith i ts single na ve, transeptwith dome and tr i-apsidal east end;the Cistercian Mo nastery of SanAndrs del Arroyo, founded byAlfonso VIII, an ensemble of the firstorder in w hich the finest 13th -centuryCasti lian stone ma sons worked on theexquisite cap itals flanking the

cloisters, including the muchcelebrated one w i th leaf-openworksculpture; the Church of Moarves,w ith a porta l of archivolts supportedby capitals and a f r ieze of immensequ ali ty, w hich you might possibly findreminiscent o f tha t in Carrin; Zoritadel Pramo, w i th two fabulousporta ls, the ma in one of w hich is aPlateresque work (pla ta, Spanish fo rsilver, denoting the style'sresemblance to silver filigree) basedon the " recycl ing" of a r t ist i cRomanesque f igures of the tw elveapostles; Colmenares de Ojeda,featur ing a s ingular ba pt i smal fo n t ;Perazancas, si te of tw o Romanesque

buildings, namely, the parish churchand t he Hermi tage Chapel ofSt . Pelayo, with Romanesque

pain t ings of note ; Arenilla de SanPelayo, who se church forms part ofan a ncient 12th -century mona stery,another mas terpiece and so on .The list is almost endless. Any directionyou care to take w ill inevitably lead

you to eye-catching Romanesquevestiges, al l of astound ing bea uty.

34 35

Church of San Salvador d e Cantamuda

St. James. Carrin d e los Con des

St. M ary Royal . Agui lar d e Campo o

St. Cecilias. Agu ilar d e Campoo


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Ciudad Rodrigo Cathedr al

w ith an o culus (roundel) in the ap se, isseemingly unique; among others, thereis also the church o f Almenara deTormes, engraved with ornamentationof a ma rkedly Moo rish air.

The churches in Alba de Tormesa ndPearanda de Bracamonte are no lessfascinating b y reason of theirbrickwo rk, e.g., Alba d e Torme s,Gajat es, etc. Special interest a tta ches tothe border post of Ciudad Rodrigo a ndthe Romanesque section of the city'sSt. Mary's Cathedral, built circa 1165.

Segovia

This monume nta l World Heritag e City,fam ed fo r its cuisine, boa sts the wo rld'sbest Roman aqueduct, a fairy-taleal czar(fortified pa lace), a cat hedraland a prod igious collection of porticoedchurches. Moreover, it is also th e site of

the charming Romanesque Quarter ofLas Ca non jas.

In a pe destrian precinct ta ilor-mad e fo rtaking a pleasurable stroll, St. Millan's,the most out standing of these churches,echoes Jaca Cat hedral. Walk around itand notice the rhythmic distribution ofthe a rches in each of its atria, a s well asthe priceless capita ls.

In the very heart o f the city, surroundedby palaces, St. Martin's serves to createan a ttractive urban space. The to werrises abo ve a central nave, a f eat urethat is somewhat odd in this type ofbuilding. It has t hree stunning

porticoes, the best a nd oldest of w hichfaces north. The city also offers othercharming churches: St. Stephen's, with

Segovian Romane sque's most slenderto w er; the Church of t he Trinity(Trinidad), with its beaut iful polychromecapitals; the Church of th e Knights ofSt. John (San Juan de los Caballeros), builton the site of a Palaeochristian basilica,

now ada ys a museum; and the Church ofSt. Justus (San Justo) and St. Pasto r,which houses the finest Romanesquepaintings. Be sure to take in the Churchof the True Cross (Vera Cruz), a curiouspolygonal church, which imitates theChurch o f t he Holy Sepulchre inJerusalem a nd ha s a rema rkable interiorwith Caliphate-Style vaulting.

En route to Sepulveda, visit: the Churchof Our Lady of Las Vegas, in Requijada,the only example with a baptismal font;St. John's, Orejana, with the finest ofcapitals; and the porticoed church ofSotosalbos. A short drive aw ay a re thepalace, park and g ardens of La Granja,through w hich you can ta ke an

enjoyable w alk and, in summer, wa tchthe fountains play.

Seplvedais the site of th e exceptionalChurch of the Saviour, the oldest in theprovince a nd po ssibly the first sout h ofthe Duero; pay pa rticular a t tention tothe free-standing tower. In thead joining River Durat n NatureReserve, atop a majestic gorge, withvultures hovering a nd g lidingoverhead, is the Hermitage Chapel ofSt. Frutos. The locals say tha t t hose w hosucceed in ma king a complete circle ofthe building will cure t hemselves oftoot hache, but do not even try it is avery long w ay do wn. Nearby is the

t ow n o f Duratn, with anotherextraordina ry church a nd a Visigothicburial site.

Fuentiduea is ano ther Romanesquelandma rk. One o f i ts churches hasbeen dismantled and m oved bod ily to

New York, and the o ther, St .Michael's, is a ma rvel. In th eneighbour ing tow n o f Sacramenia,there are tw o churches (one w ith 14th -century paintings) and two hermitagechapels, one in a very deterioratedstate o n a steep h illside, and t heother, San t a M ara d e Crd ab a, wi thVisigot hic elemen ts. Fina lly, th ere isthe Cistercian Mona stery of St. MaryRoyal, the o ldest in the regio n (1143),fea turing a prod igious church w ith asingle ea st end an d five apsesarranged in hierarchical order. Thecloisters w ere sold a nd rea ssembled inMiami. In the environs are oth er goo dexamples too, such as the att ractive

medieval town o f Cullar, with tw ochurches and a couple of civicbuildings.

36 37

Cock Tow er. Salaman ca Cath edral

St. M art ins. Sot osalbos

St. Ste ph ens. Sego via

SalamancaThis golde n jew el, this university city o fhigh-spirited student activity andPlateresque has little to of fer in the wa yof Romanesque. The most significant

sing le sigh t in t his World Heritag e City isthe Old Cathedral. Commenced in 1150,its outsta nding fea tures include tw obea utiful apses and t he fa mous CockTower (Torr e del Gallo), a scallop-tiledlantern. The view on e ge ts from theidyllic Patio Chico(sma ll squa re) is trulymemora ble. On emerging into the city'sunrivalled Main Squa re, take a go od

look around : you w ill spot St. Martin's,and, at the end of cal le Zamora, theshopping street in which the localcharra handicrafts can be bought,St. Mark's (San M arcos), which resemblesa round tow er from the old wall .

Another excellent g roup o f churchesw ill be fo und in the Armua district.

The chu rch of San Pelayo de Guarea,


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Church of San Esteb an de Gorm az

St. Domi nics. Sor ia

SoriaThis ho spita ble city, e nsconcedbetw een high severe hills along t hefamo us bend on t he River Dueroimmortalised in the poetry of Antonio

Machado , offers Roman esquebuildings of particular b eaut y. In thecity centre is St. Do minic's (SantoDomingo), a f ascinating church builtby high ly skilled French ma sons at t hebeh est of Alfonso VII. The ea st fa adefea tures a rose windo w, tw o series ofblind a rches and a marvellous portalwi th the f igure o f God t he Fa ther

depicted on the tympanum. On thew ay to the Knight s TemplarMonastery of St. John's (San Juan deDuero), take time out to see themeticulous sculpting on the arches of

the Cathe dral Church Cloisters. Oncein the b ucolic setting of St. John'sexclusive cloisters, pause t o a dmirethe fo ur types of arch as they changestyle a t t he corners, passing f romRomanesque to pointed, from

pointed t o simple, and simple tocomplex strapwork. It is a delightfulsight . Inside, the re are tw o originalcanopies with a dmirable capitals.From here, th e stroll a long theriverside to t he Church of St. Saturio isextremely pleasant. On your return,visit the Church of St. John o fRabanera in the city. I ts best f eat ure is

i ts singular apse, w ith fluted piers andblind arches covered in d ecoration.The do or in the f aade comes fromthe ruined Church of St. Nicholas.

Numerous churches are to be f ound inthe city's out lying area s. These includethe Hermitage Chapel of the Ma rtyrsin Garray, marking th e turn-off to the

famo us ruins of Numancia, and t heChurch of the Assumption in LosLlamosos, with Moza rabic elements.

A tour through the province w illmake you fully conversant with t hetypes of arcaded structures. Indeed ,i t is hereabo uts that the f irst typeappears, characterised by Moorishelements, as in Gormaz; then, thereare those with highly ornamentedclassical forms, as in El Burgo deOsma, and oth ers with Aragone seinfluences, as in greda.

In San Esteban de Gormaz, see thesouthern faad e of St. Michael's, with

an a rcade d ga llery that is unequa lled,not f or the a rtistic work alone, butalso for being ahea d of i ts t ime.

In the surrounding s, there a re moreporticoed churches to be unearthed,such as St. Ma ry's in Tiermes, on aCeltiberian archaeological site, and theHermitag e Chapel of St. Bartholomew

(San Bartolom) in Ucero, set ag ainstthe incompa rable scenery of the RiverLobo s canyo n.

Lastly, stand ing in the Jaln Valley isthe Cistercian Mona stery of SantaMara de Huerta, wh ich is open t otourists and w hose sight s include thepantry (cilla), kitchen a nd some curiousrampant arches in the refectory.

Valladolid

This modern and dyna mic city, capitalof t he Castile &Len Reg ion and siteof the National Sculpture G allery, is

lacking in Roma nesque b uildings ofrelevance, thoug h, as the churchtow ers of Santa Mara La Antigua a nd

St. Martin's show, the re wa s a timew hen th is w as not t he case. Theprovince, on the other ha nd, offers avaried repertoire.

On the outskirts, you will encounter

places such as Wamba, a town namedafte r a Visigot h king and the site of alovely church, w ith Moza rabicelements, nave a nd tw o a isles,constructed by the Knights of St. John.On going inside, the somewh atgruesome o ssuary may come a s ashock.

The a rea is also hom e to mona steriesof incalculab le value, such as tha t ofSanta Mara de Valbuena, deep in theheart of the Ribera del Duero (DueroRiverbank) area, near the world-fa mous w ine cellars of Veg a Sicilia.Founded by the Countess of Urgell for

38 39

St. M arys. Tiermes

M onastery of Sant a Mar a de Huert a

Wamb a parish church

the Cistercian Order with t he a im ofrepopulating these lands, thebuilding's surviving sections displayexquisite style. Murals on profa nethemes, dating from the end o f the12th -century, are exhibited in theTrea sure Cham be r. The m ona stery iscurrent ly being restored, refurb ished

and re-equipped to act as thepermanent si te of The Ages of Manexhibition.

i bl b i i ih b if l d b k J f kil h d i i


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unqu estiona ble bea uty, its interior -luminous an d stylised- is gra ced byfine capitals, and th e Goth icpolychrome d West Doo r is simplygrand iose. The to wn a lso ha s othercomparable brick constructions.

In Benavente, there are t he Churcheso f Sant a M ara del Azog ue, with i tsmonumental east end of five apsesand two heavily decorated portals ,and St . John of th e Market (San Juandel Mercado). In the environs, furtherexceptional structures are to b e fo und,such as the ruins of Moreruela

Monastery, the ea st end of w hich ismade up of an a pse and sevenapsidioles, and wh ich is rega rded a sone o f the m ost beaut i ful buildings inthe Cistercian style.

Santa Marta de Tera is home t o achurch that is considered unique. Builton t he site of Moza rabic rema ins, i t

has a single nave and a squared a pse,chiselled with such painstaking careand skill that the finish is perfect. Steelyourself for a surprise and go inside.

There is also the Santa EspinaMonastery, built on t he orders of theQueen, Doa Sancha , to house a rel icof the Christ 's crown of thorns (espina;thorn). The church possesses a superb

retable w hich original ly belonged t othe Retuerta Mo nastery.

In the Toroz os hill coun try a ndsurrounding area , you should try andvisit Trigueros del Valle a n d it sinteresting Hermitage Chapel of St .Mary, which, judging by the slightlyattenuated horseshoe-shaped arch on

the po rtal , may po ssibly be Moza rabic .In Uruea, the Hermitag e Chapel ofthe Annunciation is the m ostfa scinating and complete example ofLombard Romanesque in the area.Once here, it is a go od idea to visi t theMoza rabic Church of San CebrinMazote .

Zamora

Situa ted o n a hi l ltop be side the Duero,Zamora is home to churches ofdifferent styles. The ideal w ay t o g etto know the city is to w and er itsstreets and a ccidental ly come upon i ts

pleasant squa res and hidden corners.However, whatever route you take,make sure to head for the Mag dalena,

the most beauti ful and best knownchurch afte r the Cathed ral .The enlarged wa lls indicate tha t theedifice w as buil t in tw o stag es, beingcompleted by the Knight s of St . Johnwitho ut ever being g iven the height

initially intended. If the apse isprodigious, the hea vy decoration onthe south faade tends to t a ke oneaba ck. In the interior, the t omb isconsidered to be a masterpiece. Thefollowing point of cal l is the Church ofSt. Ildefonso, which guards the relicsof t he Archbishop of Toledo an dshould be noted fo r its elega nt porta l .

Recog nisable by the look-out t ow errising a bo ve the river is St. Cyprian's(San Cipriano), with square apses.The Church of Santa Mara la Nuevahas the o ldest vestiges, a Moza rabicpor ta l and an eas t end that i s un iquefor the seven blind arches on its apse.Other sight s of interest are t he rosewindow on St . John's , the bead

moulding and pe ndant in the Churchof Sant i ago d el Burgo, and thestraight-cut east end o f St . Andrew's.

In the area around the Cathedral ,go od examples of Civi lianRomanesque Style are to be fou nd inthe castle g at e a nd keep, Traitor 'sGate , B i shop's Gate , and the tow eran d ho use of El Cid. Lastly, a little bitfurther a wa y, there is the imposingDoa Urraca Gat e .

The province of Zamora o ffers a rang eof sights as w ide and varied as that ofthe ci ty. How could a nyone beanything b ut impressed by the

Collegiate Church of Toro: a top thedrum its majestic dome shines with al ight of i ts own, i ts North portal is of

40

Chapel of t he An nun ciation . Uruea

Sant a M ara del A zogu e. Benavente

Collegiate Church of St. M ary Majo r. Toro

Mo reruela Monastery

Church of Sant a M ara del Azo gu e.Puebla de Sanabr ia

Just a few kilometres awa y, head ing inthe direction of Galicia, lies Mombuey,with i ts strang e Romanesque do micalbell tow er, unprecedented in th eseparts .

Although Puebla de Sanabria is hometo a stunning church, there can b e nodoubt tha t the mo st a t t r ac t ivebuilding hereab outs is the Mona steryo f San Martn de Castaeda,grand iose, elegant a nd close by theshores of t he fa mous lake.

Finally, to the south, in the Saya go

area , betw een the Almendra Dam a ndthe impressively sheer bluffs of theArribes del Duero(upper course of t heRiver Duero), there are some villageswith mo dest , though eye-catching,churches. Should the f ancy ta ke you,the river along this stretch can b eexplored by boat .

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The Church of Our Lady of the As for th e rest of the Basque Countryla te (da t ing from the 13 th century)


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Hermit age Chapel of St. John. M arkinez

Basilica of St. Prudent ius. Arm ent ia

The Church of Our Lady of theAssumption in Lasarte has amag nificent w indow . Five archivoltswi th in t r ica te " baroque" p lant-mot i fdecorat ion rest on tw elve columns inthe f orm of t he tw elve Apostles, six

w ithout a nd six w ithin. The imag esshow the marks of weathering. Thenarrow loop w indow crea tes aunique a tmosphere.

Armentia calls. Here, th e o rigina lapse and one a rm o f the t ransept o fthe Basilica o f St. Prudent ius (SanPrudencio), a collegiate church since

1135, have survived intact. In theinterior, the d iago nals (og ives) of t hevaulting are supported by evan ge listswi th the head o f a n animal . Thesculptural quali ty tends to b econcentra ted in the a t r ium, wi threliefs plainly linked t o Silos. Anane cdota l detail here is provided bythe relief: due to a miscalculation o f

the space available, only elevenApostles are represented .

If you a re in the mood, there a re tw omore points, lying a go od distanceapar t f rom ea ch o ther and outs idethe per imeter o f the Vi tor ia a rea .One is Tuesta, si tua ted betw een theArcamo Range and Burgos, whosechurch is a forerunner o f Go thic, itsportal overflowing with every-day,not t o say amorous, characters.The ot her enclave l ies to th e ea st ofthe Cond ado de Trevio, nea rMarkinez, a town of singular caveswhich have been used from ancienttimes a s a b urial site. The River Ayuda

f lows pas t the Hermi tage Chapel o fSt. John, a n example o f Transitiona lRomanesque.

As for th e rest of the Basque Country,ment ion should be made o f thepor ta l s and decora t ion o f thechurches in Idiazabal, Abalzisketaand Zumrraga , in Guipzcoa, a n dthe cap i ta l s o f Mung ua , a s wel l a s

those o f Frniz, Arrigo rriag a a ndAbrisketa, in Vizcaya.

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Church of the Assump tion. Tuesta

THE BASQUE COUNTRY

B et w een t h e t h u n d er in g s u r f o f t h eBay o f Biscay and the low-ly ingterrain of the Ebro valley, this region

of a ncestra l custom a nd love o fgo od foo d o f fers a sparse yeta t t rac t ive range o f Romanesquebased o n the cu ltura l contr ibut ionsof i ts mona steries. The Pilgrims' Wayw as never tha t fa r o f f , inasmuch asi t penetra ted a long the RiverBidasoa in to the l ands o f lava .The local Roman esque , the result of

tena c ious and exper t prac t ice,displays a lack of origina l solutions.Abundant in decora t ion, i t has theiconographic peculiarity of theAndra Mar i , i .e. , carvings of t heVirgin Mary.

lava

Alava is home to the crme de lacrme. Its art , know n as inertialRomanesque , is Burgo s influenced, is

l a te (da t ing from the 13 th century)and is splendidly decorat ed w ithfi l igree w ork.

This influence te nds to radiat e ou tfrom t he capita l , Vitoria , a city with

an excellent he rita ge, particularly inthe w arren-like Old Quarter, with i tsRenaissance palaces, two Cathed rals,combination of the Plaza de la VirgenBlanca an d Plaza d e Espaa , a ndseveral museums, such as theFournier Playing Card Museum andits display of ant ique collections.

Your first visit w ill be t o a place ofgrea t venera t ion, the Monas tery o fOur Lad y of Estbaliz. The o gival(acute-arched) vaulting in thetransept rests upon b rackets bea ringarchetypal High Romane sque scenes,such a s the o riginal sin, or theAnnunciation depicted on t he so-called Puert a Specio sa or south portal ,

characterised by po inted a rchivoltsexhibiting a slightly more flatt enedstyle. In full view, just a few hundredyards off, is the Church of Argandoa,w ith excellent carved stalls and anapse defined by pencil-thin columns.

M onastery o f Ou r Lady of Estbaliz

Fotos: Gobierno Vasco

In Yermo St Mary's displays a series Near Reinosa is the Collegiate Church


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St. M arys. Bareyo

CANTABRIA

Framed a ga inst the ba ckdrop o f thePicos de Europa Rang e, theCantab r ian s t retch o f the Bay o fBiscay runs from the Somorrostro tothe Tina Ma yor river estuaries. Intan dem wi th Astur ias, th is regionconst itu ted the f i rst l ine o fres is tance to the a dvance o f Is lam,and formed the f i rs t Christ i ankingdo m. Alfonso VIII reactivat edthe economy by fos ter ing the f lowof pilgrims along the Pilgrims' Way,

from wh ich po int onwa rds theregion's h is tory wa s to be l inked totha t o f Cas t i le .

Romanesque, in i t i a lly unref ined a nddevoid o f scu lp ture, made use o fpre-Romanesque buildings. Spreadt h r o u gh t h e m ed i u m o f a p o p u la rlangua ge, the high s ty le swe pt in

from the Pla tea u , wi th co l legia techurches sta r t ing to a ppear as from1150 onw ards. Their single mo stpeculiar aspect is the erotic natureof their corbels.

Set t ing out from Sant i ll ana de l Mar-w here you wi l l have w a lked thes t reets , lined w i th s ta

arte romanico en 2004

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