The Collegiate church of Santa María la Mayor is a medieval church in

Toro Toro may refer to: Places *Toro, Molise, a ''comune'' in the Province of Campobasso, Italy *Toro, Nigeria, a Local Government Area of Bauchi State, Nigeria *Toro, Shizuoka, an archaeological site in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan *Toro, Zamora, a ''m ...

province of Zamora Zamora () is a Provinces of Spain, province of western Spain, in the western part of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is bordered by the provinces of Province of Ourense, Ourense, Province of Le� ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. It is dedicated to Saint Mary the Great (a

Marian devotion Marian devotions are external pious practices directed to the person of Mary, mother of Jesus, by members of certain Christian traditions. They are performed in Catholicism, High Church Lutheranism, Anglo-Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and Orie ...

, it is a common name for churches and sites).

Construction

One of the most characteristic examples of transitional

Romanesque architecture 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 Ro ...

in Spain, the church of Santa María la Mayor is inspired by the

Cathedral of Zamora The Cathedral of Zamora is a Catholic Church, Catholic cathedral in Zamora, Spain, 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, ...

, in turn, inspired by the

Old Cathedral of Salamanca The Cathedral of Santa María (Spanish: ''Catedral Vieja de 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 fir ...

. The tower-dome is usually listed as one of the four most typical in León together with those in the cathedrals of Salamanca,

Plasencia Plasencia () is a municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cáceres, Extremadura. , it has a population of 41,047. Plasencia is located in the Western-Central Iberian Peninsula, to the south of the Sistema Central. Housing primarily ...

and Zamora. It was begun around 1170 and was finished in the mid-13th century. Two different directors of the work have been identified, according to the different types of stone used (limestone in the old sections,

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

in the most recent ones), and by the

barrel vault A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault, wagon vault or wagonhead vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. The curves are ...

s in the transept. The church is on the basilica plan, with a nave and two aisles, with a transept over whose crossing is the

hendecagon In geometry, a hendecagon (also undecagon or endecagon) or 11-gon is an eleven-sided polygon. (The name ''hendecagon'', from Greek ''hendeka'' "eleven" and ''–gon'' "corner", is often preferred to the hybrid ''undecagon'', whose first part is f ...

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

. The transept ends with three semicircular apses. Notable is the Majesty Portico (''Pórtico de la Majestad''), which houses the southern entrance. It was built in the reign of Sancho IV of Castile and León (1284–1295) and is decorated with polychrome sculptures depicting scenes of the life of the Virgin, Christ, and the Final Judgement.

Interior

Also in the church are the

Flemish Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...

painting ''La Virgen de la Mosca'' ("Virgin of the Fly") and an unusual sculpture of a Pregnant Virgin, dating to the 13th century. The painting of the Virgin of the Fly is especially unusual because of the realistic portrayal of a fly on the tunic which covers the Virgin's knee. Studies of the work demonstrate that this insect was added later. These same studies have pointed out numerous touchings-up in the original painting, such as the halo that surrounds the head of the Virgin, previously covered by a veil, or the rich embroidery on the dress of

Saint Catherine of Alexandria Catherine of Alexandria, also spelled Katherine, was, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, who was martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the emperor Maxentius. According to her hagiography, she was both a princess a ...

, whose face has a great resemblance to some paintings of

Isabella I of Castile Isabella I (; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''Isabel la Católica''), was Queen of Castile and List of Leonese monarchs, León from 1474 until her death in 1504. She was also Queen of Aragon ...

External links

Page at castillosnet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colegiata De Santa Maria La Mayor (Toro) 13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Spain Collegiate churches in Spain Romanesque architecture in Castile and León Roman Catholic churches in Castile and León

Construction

Interior

See also

External links