Palencia Cathedral (''Catedral de Palencia'') 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 * Chri ...

located in Palencia,

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") , ...

. It is dedicated to Saint

Antoninus of Pamiers Saint Antoninus of Pamiers (french: Saint Antonin, oc, Sant Antoní, and es, San Antolín) was an early Christian missionary and martyr, called the "Apostle of the Rouergue". His life is dated to the first, second, fourth, and fifth century by v ...

(''San Antolín''). The cathedral was built from 1172 to 1504 stands over a low-vaulted

Visigothic The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is ...

crypt A crypt (from Latin '' crypta'' " vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a c ...

(the Crypt of San Antolín). In front of the Proto- Romanesque temple is the old

chapel from the mid-7th century, built during the reign of Wamba to preserve the remains of the martyr Saint Antoninus of Pamiers, a Visigothic-Gallic nobleman brought from Narbonne to Visigothic Hispania in 672 or 673 by Wamba himself. These are the only remains of the Visigothic cathedral of Palencia. It is a large Gothic building, popularly dubbed as "the unknown beauty" because it is not as well known as other Spanish cathedrals, though it is a valuable building which has in its interior works of art of great value, including

El Greco Domḗnikos Theotokópoulos ( el, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco ("The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El ...

's painting ''The Martyrdom of'' ''Saint Sebastian'' (1576–1579) and a '' retablo'' of twelve panels by

Juan de Flandes Juan de Flandes ("John of Flanders"; c. 1460 – by 1519) was a Flemish painter active in Spain from 1496 to 1519. His actual name is unknown, although an inscription ''Juan Astrat'' on the back of one work suggests a name such as "Jan van d ...

, court painter to Queen

Isabella I of Castile Isabella I ( es, Isabel I; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''la Católica''), was Queen of Castile from 1474 until her death in 1504, as well as Queen consort of Aragon from 1479 until 1504 b ...

El martirio de San Sebastián, de El Greco (Catedral de Palencia)

Its more than 130 metres long, 42 metres high and 50 metres wide at the centre. Just by way of comparison, the internal length of the Cathedral of Reims, reaches 138m, in turn, the height of the central nave, reaches 33m in Notre Dame de Paris; Reims 38m, 42m in Notre-Dame d'Amiens and 48m in Saint-Pierre de Beauvais. Its solid, simple and austere exterior does not reflect the grandeur of its interior, with more than twenty chapels of great artistic and historical interest. The most recognizable feature on the outside is the tower, of 55 meters of height, solid and a little rough in its Gothic style. Recent studies and excavations show that it was a military tower, and after serving this function, pinnacles and cattail were added as the sole decoration.

Gallery

File:Crypt of Saint Antoninus, Cathedral of Palencia 031.jpg File:Catedral de Palencia. Altar de la Visitación.jpg File:Ábside catedral de Palencia.JPG File:Catedral de Palencia. Claustro.jpg File:Interior Catedral de Palencia.JPG

References

Bibliography

* Catálogo monumental de Castilla y León. Bienes inmuebles declarados. Vol I. Junta de Castilla y León, 1995. * Martínez González, Rafael A. ''Catedrales de Castilla y León. Catedral de Palencia''. Editorial Edilesa, 2002. * * Sancho Campo, Ángel. ''La Catedral de Palencia: un lecho de catedrales''. León: Edilesa, 1996. * Sancho Campo, Ángel. ''La Catedral de Palencia: guía breve''. León: Edilesa, 2005. * Martínez González, Rafael A., "La catedral de Palencia. Historia y arquitectura", Palencia, 1988, *CALLE CALLE, Francisco Vicente: ''Las gárgolas de la Catedral de San Antolín de Palencia'', www.bubok.com, 2008. Roman Catholic cathedrals in Castile and León Churches in Castile and León Palencia Burial sites of the Castilian House of Burgundy Roman Catholic churches completed in 1504 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Spain {{Spain-RC-cathedral-stub

Gallery

See also

References

Bibliography