Santa Maria de Gerri is a monastery in

Gerri de la Sal Gerri de la Sal is a village and administrative center of the municipality of Baix Pallars, in Province of Lleida province, Catalonia, Spain. As of 2020, it has a population of 117. Geography Gerri de la Sal is located 119km north-northeast of ...

, in the comarca of

Pallars Sobirà Pallars Sobirà () is a comarca (comparable to a county or shire in much of the English-speaking world) in the mountainous northwest of Catalonia, Spain. The name means "Upper Pallars", distinguishing it from the more populous (and less mountain ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

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 ...

, situated on the shores of the

Noguera Pallaresa The Noguera Pallaresa (; oc, Noguèra Palharesa, ) is a river in Catalonia, Spain. It is named after the Pallars region. Course Its source is at ''Era Font d'era Noguereta'' in the municipality of Naut Aran (Aran Valley) at an elevation of ab ...

river.

History

The monastery was founded in 807, and its community adhered to the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

rule in 839. Located in the

diocese of Urgell The Diocese of Urgell is a diocese in Catalonia (Spain) and Andorra in the historical County of Urgell,

, the monastery contributed to the evangelization of the territory, which had been recently conquered by the Christians from the

Moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or ...

. In 996 the monastery was put under the director protection the Popes, and depended from the Abbey of St. Victor of

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

. In 1190 all the monastery's possession went under the protection of King Alfonso II of Aragon, and, thanks to numerous donations in the 12th-14th centuries, including the cave monastery of Sant Pere de les Maleses, it became the richest foundation in the

county of Urgell The County of Urgell ( ca, Comtat d'Urgell, ; la, Comitatus Urgellensis) is one of the historical Catalan counties, bordering on the counties of Pallars and Cerdanya. History The county of Urgell was carved by the Franks out of a former sectio ...

. Later it decayed, until, in 1835, it was secularized.

Architecture

Of the 9th century structure, today only ruins remain. The Romanesque church, built in the 12th century, has a nave and two aisles, without

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building wi ...

, and with three semi-circular

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...

s. The latter are preceded by a presbytery located at level far lower than the rest of the church. The nave is covered by barrel vaults. The central apse is decorated by seven blind arcades, supported by

pilaster In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...

s with sculpted capitals, similar to those in the

Sant Pere de Galligants Sant Pere de Galligants is Benedictine abbey in Girona, Catalonia. Since 1857, it is home to the Archaeology Museum of Catalonia venue in the city. The name translates to English as "Saint Peter of Galligants", where Galligants refers to the Riv ...

monastery. The same decorations, including vegetable motifs, fantastic animals, angels and biblical characters, characterizes the capitals of the church's interior. The main façade is surmounted by a sail-shaped bell tower with three floors.

References

External links

Page at Catalan Monasteries website
{{Coord, 42, 19, 12.32, N, 1, 4, 8.09, E, type:landmark, display=title Christian monasteries established in the 9th century 12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Spain Maria de Gerri Romanesque architecture in Catalonia Religious organizations established in the 9th century Religious organizations disestablished in 1835 1835 disestablishments in Spain