| Zamora Cathedral Catedral de Zamora | |
|---|---|
| North façade. | |
| |
| Location | Zamora |
| Country | Spain |
| Denomination | Catholic Church |
| Architecture | |
| Architectural type | church |
| Style | Romanesque |
| Groundbreaking | 1140 |
| Completed | 1174 |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Diocese of Zamora |
The Cathedral of Zamora is a Catholic cathedral in Zamora, in Castile and León, Spain, located above the right bank of the Duero It remains surrounded by its old walls and gates.
Built between 1151 and 1174, it is one of the finest examples of Spanish Romanesque architecture.
A previous church, also entitled El Salvador ("Holy Savior") existed at the time of King Alfonso VII of Castile but it was apparently in ruins, so that the king donated the church of St. Thomas in the city to act as cathedral.
The church was built under Bishop Esteban of the Diocese of Zamora, under the patronage of Alfonso VII and his sister, Sancha Raimúndez. The date of construction (1151–1174) is traditionally attested by an epigraphy in the northern side of the transept, [1] although recent discoveries have proven that the church had been already begun in 1139, at the time of bishop Bernardo.
The cathedral was consecrated in 1174 by bishop Esteban, and works continued under his successor Guillermo (1176–1192), including the transept. The cloister and the bell tower date to the first half of the 13th century. The designer of the church is unknown.
The building, in Romanesque style, is on the Latin cross plan; it has a nave and two aisles, a short transept and three semicircular apses. The latter were replaced by Gothic ones in the 15th century. The transept is covered by barrel vault, the aisles by groin vault, and the nave by cross vault in late-Romanesque or Proto-Gothic style.
Over the transept is the dome-tower, featuring 16 side narrow and tall semicircular windows enclosed in and between four turrets. These support two domes, an external one with a slightly pointed top, and an interior one with semicircular shape. Over the turrets are small domes, also with columns and thin windows, and tympani with similar decoration. With its exterior, original scale decoration, the dome is one of the symbols of the city. Similar domes are found in other churches of the Duero valley (Salamanca, Toro, Plasencia, Evora). Several inspirations for the dome have been proposed, from Byzantium to France. Miguel Sobrino has argued for a now-disappeared Romanesque dome over the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. [2]
On the south side of the church, facing the Palacio Episcopal (Bishop's Palace), is the richly sculptured Puerta del Obispo (Bishop's Doorway). It is divided into three vertical sectors, divided by blind columns and topped by semicircular arcades. In the lower sides are lunettes with Romanesque sculptures.
Notable features of the interior include the choir-stalls constructed in 1512–1516 by Juan de Bruselas, carved not only with figures of saints and famous men of antiquity but also with vigorous and earthy scenes of country life. The Capilla Mayor has a marble table, and the high altar is flanked by two Mudéjar pulpits. In the Capilla del Cristo de las Injurias, which is found to the right of the south doorway, is a large figure of Christ by Gaspar Becerra.
The Cathedral contains numerous tombs; particularly notable is the tomb of Grado in the Capilla de San Juan at the east end. The Capilla del Cardenal (named after cardinal Juan de Mella), also at the east end, has an altar by Fernando Gallego, in Gothic-Flemish style (1490–1494).
The bell tower, with a height of 45 m, was built in the 13th century in Romanesque style.
The Cathedral Museum, in the 17th century cloister, is notable particularly for its fine Flemish tapestries of the 15th–17th centuries depicting scenes from the Trojan War, Hannibal's Italian campaign, and the life of Tarquin the Etruscan king of Rome. Another treasure is a Late Gothic monstrance of 1515.
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe that was predominant in the 11th and 12th centuries. The style eventually developed into the Gothic style with the shape of the arches providing a simple distinction: the Romanesque is characterized by semicircular arches, while the Gothic is marked by the pointed arches. The Romanesque emerged nearly simultaneously in multiple countries ; its examples can be found across the continent, making it the first pan-European architectural style since Imperial Roman architecture. Similarly to Gothic, the name of the style was transferred onto the contemporary Romanesque art.
The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See, better known as Seville Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It was registered in 1987 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, along with the adjoining Alcázar palace complex and the General Archive of the Indies. It is one of the largest churches in the world as well as the largest Gothic church.
The Cathedral of Saint Mary of Burgos is a Catholic church dedicated to the Virgin Mary located in the historical center of the Spanish city of Burgos. Its official name is Santa Iglesia Catedral Basílica Metropolitana de Santa María de Burgos.
Santa María de Regla de León Cathedral is a Catholic church, the episcopal see of the diocese of León in the city of León, Castile and León, north-western Spain, consecrated under the name of the Virgin Mary. It was the first monument declared by the Royal Order of Spain on August 28, 1844.
The Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica of the Holy Saviour or Cathedral of San Salvador is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica in the centre of Oviedo, in the Asturias region of northern Spain.
The Santiago de Compostela Arch cathedral Basilica is part of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela and is an integral component of the Santiago de Compostela World Heritage Site in Galicia, Spain. The cathedral is the reputed burial place of Saint James the Great, one of the apostles of Jesus Christ. It is also among the remaining churches in the world built over the tomb of an apostle, the other ones being St Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, St Thomas Cathedral Basilica in Chennai, India and Basilica of St. John in Izmir, Turkey.
Noyon Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church and former cathedral, located in Noyon, France. It was formerly the seat of the Bishopric of Noyon, abolished by the Concordat of 1801 and merged into the Diocese of Beauvais. The cathedral was constructed on the site of a church burned down in 1131 and is a fine example of the transition from Romanesque to Gothic architecture.
The Cathedral of Évora is a Roman Catholic church in the city of Évora, Portugal. It is one of the oldest and most important local monuments, lying on the highest spot of the city. It is part of the historical city centre, and the seat of the Archdiocese of Evora.
The Cathedral of the Saviour is a Catholic church in Ávila in the south of Old Castile, Spain. It was built in the late Romanesque and Gothic architectural traditions.
The Cathedral of Santa María, known as the Old Cathedral, is one of the two cathedrals in Salamanca, Castile and León, Spain. Founded by Bishop Jerome of Périgord, its construction began in the first third of the 12th century and was finished at the end of the 14th century, in Romanesque and Gothic style. It was finished thanks to the impulse given to the works by Bishop Alfonso Barasaque. It is dedicated to Saint Mary of the See.
The Convento de San Esteban is a Dominican monastery of Plateresque style, situated in the Plaza del Concilio de Trento in Salamanca, Castile and León, Spain.
The Cathedral of Sigüenza, officially Catedral de Santa María de Sigüenza, is the seat of the bishop of Sigüenza, in the town of Sigüenza, in Castile-La Mancha, Spain. It was declared Bien de Interés Cultural in 1931.
The Primatial Cathedral of Tarragona is a Roman Catholic church in Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. The edifice is located in a site previously occupied by a Roman temple dating to the time of Tiberius, a Visigothic cathedral, and a Moorish mosque. It was declared a national monument in 1905.
Vic Cathedral, officially the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Vic, Catalonia, Spain. It is the seat of the Diocese of Vic.
Romanesque architecture in Spain is the architectural style reflective of Romanesque architecture, with peculiar influences both from architectural styles outside the Iberian peninsula via Italy and France as well as traditional architectural patterns from within the peninsula. Romanesque architecture was developed in and propagated throughout Europe for more than two centuries, ranging approximately from the late tenth century until the thirteenth century.
The Ourense Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church located in Ourense in Galicia. Dedicated to St Martin, it was founded in 550. The first structure was restored by Alonso el Casto. The present mainly Gothic building was raised with the support of Bishop Lorenzo in 1220. Its local patroness is Saint Euphemia. There is a silver-plated shrine, and others of St Facundus and St Primitivus. The Christ's Chapel was added in 1567 by Bishop San Francisco Triccio. It contains an image of Christ, which was brought in 1330 from a small church on Cape Finisterre. John the Baptist's Chapel was created in 1468 by the Conde de Benavente. The Portal of Paradise is sculptured and enriched with figures of angels and saints, while the antique cloisters were erected in 1204 by Bishop Ederonio. The Capilla de la Maria Madre was restored in 1722, and connected by the cloisters with the cathedral. The eight canons were called Cardenales, as at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, and they alone did services before the altar; this custom was recognised as "immemorial" by Pope Innocent III, in 1209. The cathedral, which has undergone an impressive transition of architectural styles of Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical, was built to a Latin Cross plan. It has been a functional basilica since 1887. The cathedral has a crucifix that is held in great reverence all over Galicia.
The Old Cathedral of Plasencia is a Roman Catholic church in the city of Plasencia, Province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain. It is one of two buildings that make up the Cathedral of Plasencia, along with the New Cathedral. Commonly known as the Cathedral Museum of Plasencia, the building is an example of the transition from Romanesque to Gothic architecture, and is one of the most notable buildings in the town.
Spanish Romanesque designates the Romanesque art developed in the Hispanic-Christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula in the 11th and 12th centuries. Its stylistic features are essentially common to the European Romanesque although it developed particular characteristics in the different regions of the peninsula. There is no Romanesque art in the southern half of the peninsula because it remained under Muslim rule (Al-Andalus). The examples of Romanesque buildings in the central area of the peninsula are sparse and of the latest period, with virtually no presence south of the Ebro and the Tagus. Most Romanesque buildings can be found in the northern third of the peninsula. Romanesque art was introduced into the peninsula from east to west, so scholars have usually defined regional characteristics accordingly: the "eastern kingdoms" comprising the Pyrenean areas, Catalan Romanesque, Aragonese Romanesque and Navarrese Romanesque, and the "western kingdoms" comprising Castilian-Leonese Romanesque, Asturian Romanesque, Galician Romanesque and Portuguese Romanesque.
Gothic cathedrals and churches are religious buildings created in Europe between the mid-12th century and the beginning of the 16th century. The cathedrals are notable particularly for their great height and their extensive use of stained glass to fill the interiors with light. They were the tallest and largest buildings of their time and the most prominent examples of Gothic architecture. The appearance of the Gothic cathedral was not only a revolution in architecture; it also introduced new forms in decoration, sculpture, and art.