A Guide To: Spain Portugal

A GUIDE TO
Spain and
Portugal
ARCHITECTUR
E
Romanesque Architecture
Romanesque architecture, architectural style current in Europe from
about the mid-11th century to the advent of Gothic architecture. A
fusion of Roman, Carolingian and Ottonian, Byzantine, and local
Germanic traditions, it was a product of the great expansion of
monasticism in the 10th–11th century.
CHARACTERISTI
CS OF
Romanesq
ue
Architectur
CHARACTERISTI
CS OF
Romanesq
ue
Architectur
Combining features of Roman and Byzantine buildings along with other
local traditions, Romanesque architecture is distinguished by massive
quality, thick walls, round arches, sturdy piers, groin vaults, large
towers, and decorative arcades . Each building has clearly defined
forms and a symmetrical plan, resulting in a much simpler appearance
than the Gothic buildings that would follow. The style can be identified
across Europe, despite regional characteristics and materials.
ARCHITECTURE IN SPAIN AND
PORTUGAL
• 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.
• The Romanesque style of architecture was introduced in Portugal
between the end of the 11th and the beginning of the 12th century.
In general, Portuguese cathedrals have a heavy, fortress-like
appearance, with crenellations and few decorative elements apart
from portals and windows.
EXAMPLE ARCHITECTURES IN
SPAIN AND PORTUGAL
Santiago De
Compostela
The
Santiago de Compostela Cathedral is
one of the most important religious
structures in the whole of Spain.
Construction of the Santiago de
Compostela Cathedral began in
1075, during the reign of Alfonso
VI. It was built under the direction
of Bishop Diego Peláez, on the site
of an old church dedicated to Saint
Santiago, or St James as he is known
in English.
Santiago de Compostela
• One of the pinnacles of Romanesque architecture, Santiago De Compostela is a true gift to behold. With an
entrance said to be one of the greatest pieces of medieval art known as the Portico de la Gloria, or Porch of
Glory, with its amazing tympanum hosting a beautifully carved central male figure with additional heavenly
figures, the magnificent cathedral invites all to view its splendor This glorious sculpture houses numerous
figures, the largest being a robed figure sitting in the center of the sculpturing with both hands raised. Above
the center figure lies a row of smaller figures, arranged in a semi-circular fashion, whom are also sitting. To
either side of the central figure, are smaller figures situated around the center of the portal. On either side of
the central entrance of the Porch of Glory are smaller entrances decorated with smaller, but no less
impressive, carvings.The cathedral holds mainstays of Roman style architecture, such as thick, rounded
marble columns, as well as rounded arches. Built with what appears to be stonework and marble, including
the roof, the cathedral is massive in size, with various styles of vaulting in the ceilings depending on where in
the cathedral you are in, with groin vaults in the aisles and barrel vaults high above the nave, with ribbed
vaulting in other parts still (“Cathedral”). The cathedral has various chapels connected to it, a commonality
of such huge cathedrals. The main chapel of the cathedral is where an integral tomb is held, the resting place
of what is said to be the remains of St. James and houses a stone image of the aforementioned Saint as well
as other gold and silver works of art from more recent times (“Main Chapel”).
Santa Maria
de Repoll
The Monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll is

a Benedictine monastery, built in
the Romanesque style, located in the town
of Ripoll in Catalonia, Spain. Although
much of the present church is 19th century
rebuilding, the sculptured portico is a
renowned work of Romanesque art. The
Monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll was
founded in 888 by Count Wilfred the
Hairy[1] (called Guifré el Pilós in Catalan)
who used it as a centre to bring about the
repopulation of the region after conquering
it.
architecture
• The original monastic church had a nave and four aisles, roofed by barrel vaults. The nave and aisle terminated in five
apses, later increased to seven when apses were added to the transepts also. The current church dates to Rogent's
reconstruction in 1896, and although maintaining features of the original church, the present building has only two
aisles. The transept houses the tombs of the counts of Besalú and of several counts of Barcelona, from Wilfred the Hairy
to Ramón Berenguer IV.
• The cloister contains more of the original structure than the church itself, the first floor having been built between 1180
and the early 15th century. The second floor dates to the 15th and 16th century. It is formed, on each side, by thirteen
semicircular arches supported by small pairs of columns with carved Corinthian-like capitals, sculpted by Pere Gregori
and Jordi de Déu. Each one of the latter has a different decoration, inspired by mythological themes or by daily life.
• The portal, although damaged by fires and restored in modern times, is a notable example of Catalan Romanesque
sculpture. The frontal section features a relief from the mid-13th century (stylistically similar to the tomb of Ramón
Berenguer III in the cloister), divided in seven horizontal bands. The upper two show God enthroned, near whom are the
symbols of the Four Evangelists; the scene is completed by several angels in adoration and the Twenty-four Elders. The
central bands are dedicated to the story of David and Solomon (left) and Moses (right). At the bottom are various
mythical animals commonly identified with the visions of the prophet Daniel.
• The portico is flanked by two statues, nearly destroyed, of St. Peter and St. Paul. Around them are various scenes,
including the stories of Cain and Abel, that of Jonah and others
San Tirso,
Sahagun
This is one of the oldest
Romanesque churches in Spain in
the province of Leon and combines
the Romanesque and Mudejar
architectures. It’s construction began
in the 12th century. It uses a lot of
brick above and stone below.
The church is located very near to the

ruins of the Monastery of San Benito in
Sahagún. It has Romanesque stone
foundations supporting a brick structure,
and there were difficulties fitting the
shapes of the two materials together:
blind arches with brick mouldings and
material of different proportions.
San Tirso, Sahagun
• This is one of the oldest Romanesque churches in Spain in the
province of Leon and combines the Romanesque and Mudejar
architectures. It’s construction began in the 12th century. It uses a lot
of brick above and stone below.
• The church is located very near to the ruins of the Monastery of San
Benito in Sahagún. It has Romanesque stone foundations supporting a
brick structure, and there were difficulties fitting the shapes of the
two materials together: blind arches with brick mouldings and
material of different proportions.
San Tirso, Sahagun
• A Mudejar church.
• It has a triple apse and sanctuary. It is made up of a tower above the
straight section of the central apse, a compartmentalised transept
and 3 naves, with a wooden roof. Both the church and the apse were
begun in stone slabs, but continued in Mudejar style, as the boxed
semicircular arches remind us.
La Lugareja, Arevalo
• The hermitage of the Lugareja or church of Santa María de Gómez Román is a hermitage ,
located 1.5 km south of the Avila town of Arévalo , considered one of the most outstanding
Mudejar monuments . A scale model of this building can be found in the Mudéjar de Olmedo
theme park .
• Built in the 12th century, the building that remains was the head of the church of the
Cistercian convent of Santa María de Gómez Román. 2 This was mentioned for the first time in
April 1179 and abandoned around 1240 by its occupants - canons -, at which point it was
handed over to nuns of the Cistercian order . It has a triple apse decorated with a series of
arches. Above the transept there is a dome mounted inside based on a dome on pendentives
, decorated on the outside by a series of seven brick arches on each façade.
• The hermitage belongs to the diocese of Ávila and was declared a historical-artistic
monument on June 4, 1931. 3 . Despite being the property of the bishopric, the owners of the
farm in which it is registered do not allow the passage to it except for one hour a week, on
Wednesdays from 1 to 2 p.m.
La Lugareja, Arevalo
• 13th-century temple more characteristic of the mudejar style of the
tierra de Arévalo.
• It has three apses with tall blocked up arcades, a dome and a tambour
inside the large 12th-century lantern over crossing tower. They are
the remains of a medieval monastery and only the triple wall and the
transept arm are still standing. The remains are reminiscent of the
late Romanesque and early Gothic style of the capitals and the style
of the roofs and ornamentation.
San Martin de Fromista
The church of San Martín de Tours de Frómista in Frómista,
province of Palencia, Spain, was built in the 11th century in
Romanesque style. It is located on the Way of St. James to Santiago de
Compostella.
It was part of a Benedictine convent; and the church emulates the Jaca
Romanesque style, it was founded by Doña Mayor, the Countess of
Castile back in 1066. One of the most representative Romanesque
buildings in the province of Palencia.
Architecture
• San Martín has a typical Romanesque exterior. The three-level façade shows the differing height of the
nave and aisles of the interior; at the sides are two cylindrical bell towers. The transept is as high as the
central nave. Horizontally, it does not exceed the aisles. In the crossing, the interior extends upward into
an octagonal dome. The nave and the aisle, covered with barrel vaults, end with three apses.
• The church has four entrances, one in the north, one in the west and two in the south. However, only
two are currently used. The walls have a solid appearance, with the few windows enclosed in rounded
arches. All the four sides are topped by some 300 modillions with human, animals and fantastic figures,
including some erotic scenes. Above the main portal is a chrismon with six arms.
• One of the most remarkable facts of Frómista's sculpture is that the famous "Maestro de la Orestíada",
also called "Maestro de Jaca-Frómista", worked on it. This author was inspired by a Roman sepulchre
coming from the nearby Palencia town of Husillos, which today is exhibited in the
National Archaeological Museum of Madrid. The result is that his sculptures -of great plastic quality-
partially recover the naturalism and perfection of the naked human body typical of classical Greco-
Roman sculpture. In addition to the Maestro de la Orestíada, several sculptors worked in the workshop
with different techniques, although the homogeneity of the whole is not lost.

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The Monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll is

The church is located very near to the

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