The Cathedral of Santo Domingo de la Calzada is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

in the village of

Santo Domingo de la Calzada Santo Domingo de la Calzada is a municipality in La Rioja, Spain, situated on the banks of the Oja River. Its name refers to its founder, Dominic de la Calzada, who built a bridge, hospital, and hotel here for pilgrims on the French Way the most ...

La Rioja La Rioja () is an autonomous community and province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other cities and towns in the province include Calahorra, Arnedo, Alfaro, Haro, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, and N� ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. It is dedicated to the Saviour and St Mary.

History

Santo Domingo de la Calzada is on the

Camino de Santiago The Camino de Santiago ( la, Peregrinatio Compostellana, "Pilgrimage of Compostela"; gl, O Camiño de Santiago), known in English as the Way of St James, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle Saint ...

. The town is named after Saint Dominic de la Calzada, who aided the pilgrims travelling through the district. Dominic died in 1109."Santo Domingo de la Calzada", Pilgrim Pathways
He was buried in the village church, which became a

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons: a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a ...

later in the 12th century and was rebuilt on a more ambitious scale. The building was raised to cathedral status in the 13th century. It is currently one of the cathedrals belonging to the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Calahorra y La Calzada-Logroño The Roman Catholic Diocese of Calahorra y La Calzada-Logroño ( la, Calaguritan(us) et Calceaten(sis) – Lucronien(sis)) is a diocese located in the cities of Calahorra, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, and Logroño in the ecclesiastical province o ...

, the others being at

Calahorra Calahorra [] ( an, Calagorra, la, Calagurris) is a municipality in the comarca of Rioja Baja, near the border with Navarre on the right bank of the Ebro. During Ancient Rome, Ancient Roman times, Calahorra was a municipium known as ''Calagurris ...

and Logrono

Sculpture

The cathedral's facade contains statues of

Emeterius and Celedonius :''Another Saint Emeterius is associated with the legend of Saint Severus of Barcelona.'' Saints Emeterius (or Hemeterius, Madir) and Celedonius ( es, San Emeterio y San Celedonio; la, Emeterius et Caeledonius; died 300 AD) are venerated as saint ...

, saints associated with Calahorra. The retable was sculpted in 1537-40 by

Damián Forment Damián is a Czech, Slovak and Spanish male given name, which is a form of the name Damian. Damian is derived from the Greek name Δαμιανος (Damianos), from the Greek word δαμαζω (damazo), meaning "to tame" or "to master".''Behind the ...

in the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

style. In the 20th century it was moved from the

East end The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

of the church.

Chickens

Santo Domingo de la Calzada-06-Huehnerkaefig-1996-gje

A miracle is attributed to Dominic according to which two beheaded cooked chickens resurrected to testify in favor of a pilgrim wrongly accused of theft. A pair of descendants of the chickens are kept at all times in the choir loft of the cathedral. Other descendants are kept in the local pilgrimage refuge. A similar miracle is said of the

rooster of Barcelos The Rooster of Barcelos ( pt, Galo de Barcelos) is a common symbol of Portugal. Folk tale The folk tale of the rooster of Barcelos, tells the story of a dead rooster's miraculous intervention in proving the innocence of a man who had been false ...

in Portugal.

Conservation

The Camino de Santiago is designated a serial

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

by UNESCO.

References

External links

{{coord, 42, 26, 31, N, 2, 57, 09, W, region:ES_type:landmark_source:kolossus-eswiki, display=title Santo Domingo de la Caldaza 12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Spain Renaissance architecture in La Rioja (Spain) Animals in Christianity Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in La Rioja (Spain) Former collegiate churches in Spain