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The Cathedral of St Peter the Apostle ( es, Catedral de San Pedro Apóstol) 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 let ...
church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...
located in
Jaca Jaca (; in Aragonese: ''Chaca'' or ''Xaca'') is a city of northeastern Spain in the province of Huesca, located near the Pyrenees and the border with France. Jaca is an ancient fort on the Aragón River, situated at the crossing of two great ...
, in Aragon,
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 the seat of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Jaca The Diocese of Jaca is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the northeastern Spanish province of Huesca, part of the autonomous community of Aragón. The diocese is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical provin ...
. It is the first Romanesque cathedral built in Aragon (1070s – early 12th century) and one of the oldest in the Iberian peninsula. Its current appearance is the result of later additions and modifications introduced especially in the early modern period (from the late 15th to late 18th century). The cathedral was erected on command of King
Sancho Ramírez Sancho Ramírez ( 1042 – 4 June 1094) was King of Aragon from 1063 until 1094 and King of Pamplona from 1076 under the name of Sancho V ( eu, Antso V.a Ramirez). He was the eldest son of Ramiro I and Ermesinda of Bigorre. His father was the f ...
, who, after renovating in Rome his vassal oath to the Pope Alexander II (1068), had obtained from the latter the right to establish the episcopal seat in Jaca, then capital of the Kingdom of Aragon.


History

After Jaca became the capital of Aragon (1036), the city obtained the status of episcopal see in 1077. This made the construction of a cathedral church necessary. The starting date of the construction is unknown, but it is generally considered around that date. The main section of the church was completed around 1130. In 1395 a fire destroyed the cathedral's ceiling, which was rebuilt in the following years and was substantially renovated in the early 16th century. In the same period the aisles were added and the central nave was enlarged. In Baroque times the St. Horosia Chapel, the loggia and the cloister were added, while the interior received an altarpiece and other decorations. In the late 18th century one of the apses was demolished and rebuilt, and the central apse was renovated.


Description

The cathedral has a generally Romanesque structure, although several elements are in Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque styles. The plan is in the forms of a nave and two aisles, with three apses and two external portals, both provided with
loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...
s (one of which in Renaissance style). Only one of the current apses is original. Of the other two, the central one was renovated in the 18th century, and the other one rebuilt in the same age. The nave and the aisles are separated by arcades supported by piers which are alternatively cruciform and cylindrical in plan, an element inspired by contemporary French structures. The capitals of the piers, in
Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to: *Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible: **First Epistle to the Corinthians **Second Epistle to the Corinthians **Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox) *A demonym relating to ...
style, have decorative motifs with vegetables and geometrical shapes. The ceiling was originally in wood: in modern times it was replaced by
cross vault A groin vault or groined vault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or cross vault) is produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults. Honour, H. and J. Fleming, (2009) ''A World History of Art''. 7th edn. London: L ...
s. The large dome at the crossing is octagonal. On the four sides are several chapels built from the late-15th century to the mid-17th century. The earlier ones (those dedicated to the Holy Cross and to St. Augustine) are late Gothic in style, those designed in the 16th century (St. Michael and St. Jerome, for example) show late Renaissance and
Mannerist Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Ita ...
influences; the chapel of St. Horosia, completely remade in the 18th century, is in Baroque style. Artworks in the interior include the altarpiece of the St. Michael Chapel, sculpted by Gil Morales the Younger, Gabriel Yoli, Juan de Salas and the Florentine Giovanni de Moreto (or Moretto). The latter also directed the construction of the chapel, which is considered amongst the finest examples of the Renaissance-
Plateresque Plateresque, meaning "in the manner of a silversmith" (''plata'' being silver in Spanish), was an artistic movement, especially architectural, developed in Spain and its territories, which appeared between the late Gothic and early Renaissance ...
architecture in Aragon. The altarpiece of the high altar was finished in the early 17th century. The decoration of the central apse was painted by Manuel Bayeu, brother-in-law of
Francisco Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 174616 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, and e ...
, in 1792–1793.


See also

*
Roman Catholic Diocese of Jaca The Diocese of Jaca is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the northeastern Spanish province of Huesca, part of the autonomous community of Aragón. The diocese is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical provin ...


Notes


References

* * *


External links


Page at jaca.com
* *
The Art of medieval Spain, A.D. 500–1200
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Jaca Cathedral (no. 88) {{Authority control
Jaca Jaca (; in Aragonese: ''Chaca'' or ''Xaca'') is a city of northeastern Spain in the province of Huesca, located near the Pyrenees and the border with France. Jaca is an ancient fort on the Aragón River, situated at the crossing of two great ...
Churches in Aragon Romanesque architecture in Aragon Religious buildings and structures completed in 1130 12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Spain Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Province of Huesca